Take a glance at the stat sheets and it looks like a stalemate. But in the end, it’s the numbers on the scoreboard that matter.
And the Friday Harbor football team ended up with eight points too few at home Saturday against Meridian in a rematch that was even closer than the 21-13 final score might suggest.
The Trojans tallied 294 yards of total offense, just 12 more than the 282 amassed by the Wolverines over the course of the game. The two teams went into the locker room tied 7-7 at the half.
Friday Harbor (3-5) was clipped by two touchdowns in the second game of the season despite outplaying the Trojans after the break on their home field. This time, however, Meridian made the most out of the final two periods of play, tallying two touchdowns in second half.
The Trojans twice took advantage of blown coverage by the Wolverine secondary to put points on the board. With their backs against the wall in the opening period, quarterback Zach Slesk, on 3rd-and-10, tossed a 30-yard touchdown to a wide-open Tyler Pruitt on a sideline route that put Meridian out in front 7-0. Friday Harbor took the kickoff and answered with a 75-yard scoring drive.
But on Meridian’s first possession of the second half, Slesk did it again. But this time the Trojans, after successive penalties and a 20-yard sack, were faced with 3rd-and-40 when Slesk hit a wide-open Ryan Clark in stride streaking down the sideline. Clark raced 50 yards before being dragged down just outside the end zone. Two plays later Meridian was in the end zone and up 14-7.
“Those two (passes) cost us dearly,” Friday Harbor Head Coach Darrin Scheffer said.
The loss knocked the Wolverines out of playoff contention for the second year in a row. It also overshadowed a breakout performance by wide receiver Dylan Galligan. A senior, Galligan turned in a season-best outing by a Friday Harbor receiver, hauling in seven passes for 70 yards on the day.
“I was thinking of it as my last game ever that I was going to play and I wanted to do whatever I can to help us win,” Galligan said. “I was pretty pumped up before the game started and hungry to get after it.”
Quarterback Roy Taylor, 15-of-23 on pass attempts for 132 yards and one interception, fed passes to six different receivers. Jordyn Taylor and Jordan Nash had two a piece, and Mike Ausilio, Cody Price and Zach Hayes each had one. Ausilio completed a 33-yarder to Jordyn Taylor, as the Wolverines gained 165 passing yards.
Trailing 21-7 at the end of the third, the Wolverines closed to within a touchdown and a 2-point conversion after Taylor bulled into the end zone on a 2-yard keeper early in the final period. Ausilio breathed life into a possible comeback by snagging an interception deep in Wolverine territory and returning it to the 27-yard line with 70 second left in regulation. But the comeback collapsed when Taylor tossed an interception two plays later. Meridian ran out the clock.
Friday Harbor can match last season’s record and play the spoiler with a win in the regular-season finale Friday at Lynden Christian. A victory over the Lyncs, who beat the Wolverines three weeks ago in overtime, would force a sudden death playoff between Lynden Christian and Meridian with position in the first-round of the post season on the line.
“The challenge for us it to keep working hard this week and be ready for Lynden Christian on Friday,” Scheffer said. “They have a lot on the line and we know they’ll be ready for us.”
The Wolverines can end the season on high note with a win.
“Our desire is to get a win,” Scheffer said. “I know the kids want to walk away with a win at the end of the season.”
Next: The Wolverines are on the road Friday at Lynden Christian; kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
