The terrific service Conduit.com has improved their mobile app platform, and I’ve finally gotten around to updating the MeridianFootball.com app.

Most notably, the Photos module is now actually usable, and every other part of the app looks and works much better.

Access it directly at http://meridianfootball.mobapp.at or this QR code thingie that I don’t really understand. Android and Windows Phone users can download a native app below. Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

1995 Game 7: Meridian 15, Mt. Baker 0

The Trojans faced a must-win scenario heading into their Week 7 match-up with the Mountaineers. A Meridian victory would force a potential 3-way tie for the last postseason berth in the WCL, provided Meridian defeating winless Friday Harbor in Week 9. A Baker win would send the Mountaineers into the postseason. The matchup in Deming proved to be a defensive slugfest all night.

The Trojans drove to the first score of the game, a Shane Stacy field goal on a possession aided by a Stacy run for a first down on a 4th-down option play from punt formation.

The defenses then stymied each other the remainder of the half, with the Trojans “D” particularly rugged, holding the Mounties to just 23 yards through two quarters to preserve a slim 3-0 lead. The Trojans struck for some breathing room on their second possession of the 3rd quarter, with QB Jeb Kratzig finding tight end Brian Paxton from 6 yards out, a score set up with a 24-yard Stacy catch in traffic on the Baker sideline. A failed 2-point conversion attempt left the Trojan lead at 9-0 headed into the fourth quarter. After holding Baker on downs to start the fourth quarter, Kratzig found senior Art Downs in the middle of the field for 28 yards inside the 10, where Gabe Matheson found the end zone on a 6-yard run.

Saturday, Meridian Head Coach Bob Ames will be inducted into the Washington State Football Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame during a banquet in Bellevue.  The banquet is part of the WSFCA’s Midwinter Clinic.  You can see some of the previous inductees here (PDF).

We’ll have some pictures and notes Monday morning.

Bob Ames with Tumwater's Sid Otton (left, 1996 HoF Inductee) and Pat Alexander (right) at the 2011 Earl Barden Game

2001 Game 8: Meridian 67, Lakewood 13

The 2001 NCC match-up between the Cougars of Lakewood (now 2A) and the Trojans of Laurel turned into a lopsided contest early. The Cougars “new” offense for 2001 was the triple-option wishbone, while the Trojans relied on the all-state backfield tandem of QB Mark Simmons and junior running back Jesse Alderson. Alderson put the Trojans on the board first, with a school-record-long punt return of 89 yards for a 7-0 lead. The Cougars popped a big-play, 46-yard run on their next possession to put them in the Trojans red zone, and then scored on a 15-yard pass to tie the score at 7-7. It was as close as the Cougars would get: Alderson returned the ensuing kick-off 90 yards for his second touchdown then added a 2-point conversion run to give the Trojans a 15-7 first quarter lead. The Trojan defense put the clamps on the Lakewood running attack in the 2nd quarter, holding them to a total of -13 yards and forcing 3 Lakewood turnovers, including an interception by Sean McKinnon. The Trojan offense, then scored 4 touchdowns in a span of less than 6 minutes–a 24-yard Simmons-to-McKinnon pass, a 2-yard Simmons run, a 33-yard Alderson run, and a 24-yard Simmons-to-William Wantz pass–all for a 40-7 halftime lead.

More across the chasm known as the jump.

2005 Game 5:  Meridian 38, Nooksack 0

2005 Trojans Sidelines

Facing Nooksack for the first of two meetings in 2005, the Trojans traveled to the Valley and proceeded to wax the Pioneers in short order.  The Trojans scored just a minute into the game, with Tyler Slesk lobbing a 34-yard bomb to All-Stater Josh Keough for a 7-0 lead after Connor Herman snagged NV QB Chris Mitchell‘s first pass of the game for an interception.

On the ensuing Nooksack possession, linebacker Luke Scott intercepted Mitchell’s second pass of the game, and “housed” the pick untouched on a 40-yard sprint.  After forcing a Nooksack punt, Slesk drove the Trojans quickly down the field and capped the 2nd Meridian possession with a 4-yard scoring flip to Taylor Garcia, followed by a 2-point conversion run by Tyler Culp for 22-0 1st Quarter Meridian lead.  The Trojans added a 4th score in the 2nd Quarter, as Slesk threw his 3rd touchdown pass of the half and his 2nd to Keough from 22 yards out.  The Andrei Lintz conversion gave the Trojans a 29-0 halftime lead.

More after the jump.

2009 Game 9:  Meridian 26, Nooksack 22

In a rematch of the top two teams from the NWC 1A ranks, the Trojans found themselves taking on the Pioneers on a muddy, sloppy, late-October Sid Lambert Field.  The ’09 Pioneers boasted arguably their finest offensive line in school history as well as having the distinction of being the only semi-final team in school history by season’s end, getting the most out of Tony Franklin’s (now head coach at Louisiana Tech’s) “System” of no-huddle, shotgun playbook.

1997 Game 7:  Meridian 41, Mt. Baker 28

Thank you to Coach Patrick for bringing another installment in the Random Recap series, our way of having some quality Trojan content during the long, cruel off-season. This 1997 game current ranks 7th on the Best Games fan poll. —CA

One of the biggest games in the history of this rivalry found 6-0 Meridian in Deming to face the unchallenged 6-0 Mt. Baker squad, which featured runs on nearly every down in their “new” Wing-T offense (they had been an I-formation team in 1996, Ron Lepper’s first season as head coach).  Baker backs Jacob Prince and Joe Schleimer would both finish the season as 1,000-yard rushers, and had, to this point, run roughshod over the newly-formed NCC.  This game would decide the NCC champion and was accompanied by all the hype that late-90′s Baker-Meridian games generated.  Fortunately for the standing-room only crowd at Bob Tisdale field, the game lived up to the preceding excitement.

The Mountaineers, however, looked like they would make the game a laugher, returning the opening kick-off to the Meridian 2-yard line to set up a short Schleimer touchdown run.  Quarterback Chad Hoidal scored on Baker’s second possession for a 13-0 lead.  The Trojans finally answered on their 2nd possession, mixing passes with runs and motion by running backs to ultimately spring senior Craig Jensen for a 24-yard touchdown run, untouched on a trap play to cut the Mountie 1st-quarter lead to 13-7. More after the jump

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Troy.  It’s been a while since there’s been anything to post about, but here’s some now slightly less new news, with the Herald’s All-Whatcom County Team released on Christmas Eve.  Five Trojans were named to the team: Spencer Blackburn, Denver Vander Yacht, Johnny Murphy, Casey Smith, and Brett Gunderson.

SPENCER BLACKBURN
School: Meridian
Position: Defensive line
Year: Sophomore

What he did: Quickly developed into an effective run stopper for the Trojans, who held opponents to 3.0 yards per carry this year. … A quick, strong player with an extremely high motor. … Also a two-year starter on the offensive line, as he was the first freshman to start up front for the Trojans since 1979. … Helped Meridian pile up 4,587 yards of total offense and score 54 touchdowns. … Selected to the All-Northwest Conference 1A first team on both lines.
Coach’s quote: “He had a great year on both sides of the ball. Nobody was going to run at Denver (VanderYacht), and he got a lot of action. … He’s very smart, and he’s got a great frame. He’s only going to get better. He’s 6-2, 220 and runs really well. He’s got great body awareness and athleticism, and he knows how to play this game.” – Bob Ames

BRETT GUNDERSON
School: Meridian
Position: Offensive line
Year: Senior

What he did: A big, physical anchor for the Trojans offensive front. … Helped pave the way for the Trojans to roll up 2,518 yards and 37 touchdowns on the ground this season wile averaging 6.2 yards per carry. … Helped Meridian reach the Class 1A State Playoffs. … Selected to the All-Northwest Conference 1A first team.

Coach’s quote: “He’s a hard-working kid. He’s smart, and he’s one of the funnier kids on the team. He will definitely go on and play somewhere. He’s already been offered some money, and money always talks when it’s time to start picking a college. … He’s a big body. He’s athletic, and he’s not afraid to hit people. He and Ivan (Yelfimov) were a great pair for us.” – Bob Ames

JOHN MURPHY
School: Meridian
Position: Running back
Year: Senior

What he did: Finished second in the Northwest Conference with 1,644 yards and scored 20 TDs this year. … Was the Trojans’ workhorse in spite of his 5-foot-6, 140-pound frame. … Also caught 17 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns and helped Meridian reach the Class 1A State Playoffs after rushing for a season-high 277 yards and four TDs against Charles Wright in the tri-district playoffs. … Shared Player of the Year honors with Trevon Myhre on the All-Northwest Conference 1A team and was a first-team running back and linebacker. … Selected honorable mention all-state by the Associated Press.

Coach’s quote: “Johnny goes 110 percent on every play. He never sits out anything in practice, unless he’s hurt. But you know, he’s the quickest healer I’ve ever seen. … He’s 145 pounds soaking wet, regardless of what he says. He does everything so hard and so fast. He wasn’t the guy we had to go to all the time – he was the guy that was most successful.” – Bob Ames

CASEY SMITH
School: Meridian
Position: Defensive back
Year: Senior

What he did: Played a big role in Meridian holding opposing offenses to 10 touchdown passes and intercepting 17 passes this year. … Trojans allowed only 13.0 points per game this season. … Also led the team offensively with 38 catches for 614 yards and added two touchdowns, while rushing for 269 yards and four more scores. … Selected to the All-Northwest Conference 1A first team at defensive back and receiver.

Coach’s quote: “Casey has been a captain and a four-year guy for us. He actually worked in last year with that group we had, and they were great for his learning curve. When it came time to put a secondary together, it was all designed around Casey. We tried to play him where we thought we needed him most.” – Bob Ames

DENVER VANDERYACT
School: Meridian
Position: Defensive line
Year: Senior

What he did: Played a big role in Meridian holding opponents to 3.0 yards per rush this year despite battling the effects of a knee injury he suffered late last year. … Developed such a strong reputation for stopping the run that opponents game-planned to the other side of the field. … Also caught 12 passes for 184 yards and helped Meridian pile up 4,587 yards of total offense and score 54 touchdowns as a tight end. … Helped Meridian reach the first round of the Class 1A State Playoffs. … Selected first-team All-Northwest Conference at tight end and on the defensive line.

Coach’s quote: “Denver was the best football player in the league. We put him on left side and nobody would run that way. He got a little frustrated because of that, but Spencer (Blackburn) and Johnny (Murphy) made a lot of plays for us on the other side, and it was all because of Denver.” – Bob Ames

Johnny Murphy

The 2011 Associated Press All-State team was released today, and Trojan running back Johnny Murphy was named as Honorable Mention back to the team.

I’m a little surprised that Denver, Ivan, and Spencer didn’t make an appearance anywhere.  But whatcha gonna do.  Strangely, the AP chose not to have me vet the list this year.

Here’s the full team:

CLASS 1A

Player of the year: Matt Hadley, sr., Connell.

First-team:

Quarterback: Billy Green, jr., King’s.

Running backs: Matt Hadley, sr., Connell, Evan Truax, sr., Montesano, Jake Clizbe, sr., Kalama.

Wide receivers: Trey Handy, sr., Nooksack Valley, Kade Eppich, sr., Connell.

Tight end: Joshua Schreffler, sr., Cascade Christian.

Offensive line: B.J. Salmonson, sr., Nooksack Valley, Bo Russell, sr., Montesano, Devon Winters, sr., Cle Elum, Kennan VanHollebeke, sr., Connell, Caleb Barnes, sr., Cashmere.

Defensive line: Jesse Wallace, sr., Toledo, Tyson Brook, sr., Connell, Josh Aho, sr., Zillah, Alex Pond, sr., Colville.

Linebackers: Jake Gall, jr., Cle Elum, Cole Schwartz, sr., Chelan, Joshua Schreffler, sr., Cascade Christian, Chandler Salsbury, sr., Connell.

Defensive backs: Austin Baker, sr., Montesano, Brady Widner, so. Zillah, Travis Kretschman, sr., Cle Elum, Jake Archer, sr., Cascade Christian.

All-purpose: Devante Harris, jr., Tenino.

Kicker: Braydon Ross, sr., Goldendale.

Punter: Antonio Gonzalez, sr., Highland.

Honorable mention:

Quarterback: Michael Amsel, Jr., Chelan.

Running backs: Austin Johnson, jr., Kalama, John Murphy, sr., Meridian, Jake Gall, jr., Cle Elum.

Wide receivers: Jake Archer, sr., Cascade Christian, Derick Ross, sr., Zillah.

Tight end: Joe Benedict, sr., Montesano.

Offensive line: Mason Friedline, jr., King’s, Kurt Wilkins, sr., Goldendale.

Defensive line: Mason Friedline, jr., King’s, Braden Decker, jr, Forks, Bo Russell, sr., Montesano.

Linebackers: Nolin Bare, sr. Goldendale, Austin Johnson, jr., Kalama, Justin Hause, sr., Lakeside (Nine Mile), Kyle Weiler, sr., Cashmere.

Defensive backs: Wade Gaston, jr., Goldendale, Karson Kuehner, jr., Life Christian.

All-purpose: Michael Newman, sr., Cle Elum.

WSUCougars.com Photo

Though the news is now nearly a month old, Andrei was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Team last month.

Redshirt junior Andrei Lintz, a tight end from Meridian, Wash., was named to the second team for the second straight season. Lintz has a 3.73 GPA in sport management and has caught five passes for 69 yards, along with a touchdown, this season.

Congratulations ‘Drei.