Meridian football has state playoff aspirations after missing out

Extracting honest information from Bob Ames about the quality of his team can be as challenging as recovering an onside kick.

This year he delivered another gem: “What did Don James use to say,” Ames rhetorically asked. “Twenty percent of your kids are really good football players, 70 percent are average to below average and 10 percent of the kids scare all the rest of the kids .... so we don’t have any in that 10 percent.”

The Class 1A State Playoffs weren’t quite the same last fall, as Meridian was absent after finishing 5-5 and taking a 36-22 season-ending loss to King’s during the Class 1A Northwest District Playoffs. It was the first time in six years and only the third time since the turn of the century that Trojans didn’t advance to state.

And Ames might be on to something with his Don James quote, at least from a size standpoint.

Meridian might not scare anyone off the field this fall with its mass — Ames said his team returns only one player who logged significant varsity time in the trenches — but the Trojans’ skill players could certainly frighten some defenses.

“We’ll probably be a fast team with good receivers and a good quarterback and running backs, a lot of flying to the ball,” said senior running back Nick Dritsas.

Ames will be choosing between 6-foot-6 senior, ultra-athlete Marcus McGuinn or up-and-coming sophomore Spencer Burkett to replace Tanner Tutterrow at QB. McGuinn has great speed and a strong arm, but Burkett can also play, and if the sophomore gets the nod, that will free up McGuinn to use his size and speed as a premier pass-catcher.

“We just have to see where Marcus will help us the most,” Ames said. “We are in a good dilemma. Marcus has worked his tail off. He’s one of our stronger kids.”

Seniors Dakota Jones and Daniel Young are expected to either work alongside McGuinn at wide receiver or catch balls from him.

Dritsas, Meridian’s leading rusher last year, brings a wealth of speed out of the backfield and should also benefit the pass game.

Along the line, Ames will be leaning on returning starters Jackson Day and Brenton Fox to bring the rest of the unit up to speed.

Seniors Mack Hughes, Koby Smith and Jones should log plenty of tackles from the linebacker spot, while Hunter Holt, Andrew Logan, Brenton Fox and Day should be ones to watch along the line and Dritsas gives the Trojans a veteran presence in the secondary.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Meridian football has state playoff aspirations after missing out."