Merino football’s season ends in the quarters
No one said the postseason would be easy.
Merino’s football team certainly knew that heading into its quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 Dove Creek on Saturday. As the No. 10 overall seed in the 8-man state playoffs, the Rams knew such a matchup would be an uphill battle.
Their comeback fell just short as the Bulldogs put them away with a 26-20 final.
The two teams entered the contest evenly matched, as neither managed to get on the board in the first quarter. The Rams put a touchdown on the scoreboard in the second frame — but missed the 2-point conversion attempt — but they couldn’t quite match the Bulldogs’ 14 points.
The third quarter transpired without another score from either team, leaving the fourth frame for one final showdown. The Rams staged a rally, touching the end zone twice with a couple of successful PATS, but the Rams added a couple more touchdowns of their own with failed PATS.
In the end, the comeback wasn’t enough and the Rams ended their season in the second round of the playoffs.
Sophomore quarterback Coen Schmidt earned a touchdown through the air, which he connected with junior Kaden Piel for, as he threw 14-for-18 for 206 yards. Some of his favorite targets included senior Tyler Frank (65 receiving yards), senior Deacon Trenkle (50 receiving yards), junior Andrew Kaus (34 receiving yards) and sophomore Gabe Hickam (33 receiving yards).
Trenkle led the ground game with 119 rushing as Schmidt collected two scores through 94 yards and Frank scored a touchdown by accruing 31 yards. Schmidt took charge of the defensive side of the ball with 14 tackles, followed by Trenkle (12 tackles), freshman Jace Curtis (12 tackles) and Frank (10 tackles).
The Rams ended their season with a 6-5 record and will say goodbye to five seniors: Trenkle, Frank, Miguel Razo, Unai Lekunberri and Mason Rank.