ARLEY, Ala. – The Meek Tigers looked to finish out region play strong as they hosted the Berry Wildcats in their final region game of the season. A solid running game and a stingy defense was key for the Tigers as they pulled away late in the second half to defeat Berry, 28-7.
Both defenses forced a punt on their opening possessions. Meek got the ball at the 32-yard line to start off its second series and they got the running game going behind Matthew Clark, Ethan Grace, and Blake Miller. All of the Tigers’ plays were running plays as Clark picked up four first downs during the drive and Braylen Roberts finished off the 10-play, 68-yard drive with a two-yard run to give Meek a 6-0 lead with 3:39 remaining in the opening period.
A huge sack by Ethan Pounds on first down was the turning point during the Tigers’ next series and Meek stopped Berry just a yard short on fourth down. The Tiger offense continued to wear down the Wildcat defense on the ground as Miller converted a huge fourth down play. Two plays later, David Tidwell found Ory Frith for a 26-yard gain and that put them at the seven-yard line, and Cam Deaver found the end zone on the next play to give Meek a 12-0 lead.
Brayden Webster recovered a Berry fumble on the kickoff and the Tigers looked to stretch its lead even more. It was more of the same for Meek as Clark picked up a couple of first downs, including a huge one on fourth down. A pass interference penalty on Berry put the ball at the five-yard line, but the Tigers went backwards after that as Tidwell got sacked on back-to-back plays, forcing them to turn the ball over on downs.
Berry quickly marched the ball down the field as a 48-yard run and an 18-yard run quickly got them to the six-yard line and two plays later, they scored on a seven-yard run to cut the Meek lead to 12-7 with 3:43 remaining in the first half. The Tigers coughed the ball up on its next possession, and despite letting the Wildcats convert on fourth down, the Meek defense forced four straight incompletions to end the first half as the Tigers went into the locker room up, 12-7.
Meek forced a quick three-and-out to start off the second half, and they stuck to their game plan as they continued to wear down the Wildcat defense, as an offsides penalty gave the Tigers a first down, then a huge run by Miller gave them another first down. An unsportsmanlike penalty, though, saw Meek get pushed back to the 40, and were later forced to punt. The Berry punt returner couldn’t handle the ball and Carson Davenport recovered the fumble for the Tigers.
Meek started at the 24-yard line. On third down, Tidwell found Jarrett Benson for a 21-yard gain, and four plays later, Deaver scored on a hard-nosed one-yard run to push the Tiger lead to 20-7 with 56 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Wildcats started at the 31-yard line and a 12-yard pass, followed by a 53-yard run, quickly put them at the nine-yard line, but the Tiger defense stood tall and forced a turnover as Justin Freeman picked off a Berry pass in the end zone. Meek stuck to the running game as they milked a lot of time off the clock on its next series and Tidwell scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper to make it a 28-7 game. Neither team scored again after that as the Tigers picked up a 28-7 region win over the Wildcats.
Miller finished the game with 86 yards on 12 carries for Meek (6-3, 5-2). Clark added 85 yards on 17 carries. Deaver ended up with 73 yards on 16 carries and a pair of touchdowns, while Roberts and Tidwell added a score each on the ground for the Tigers. Benson and Pounds each finished with a sack. Webster and Davenport recovered a fumble while Freeman finished with an interception.
Meek will finish out the regular season at home next week as they will take on Sumiton Christian.
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