Published: September 06, 2008 01:31 am      

First half fireworks propel Cats past Yellowjackets

What a difference a week makes.

In last Friday night's season opener, Meridian High struggled early against visiting Northeast Lauderdale, ending the first half on the wrong end of a 20-7 deficit.

One week later, The Wildcats had no such problems this Friday.

Against the visiting Starkville Yellowjackets, Meridian's offense cashed in with touchdowns on all five first half possessions while the Wildcat defense limited Starkville to just 65 first half yards as MHS took a 34-0 lead into the break en route to a 34-7 victory.

"We played better in the first half this week," remarked Meridian head coach Larry Weems, who watched his Wildcats improve to 2-0 on the season. "We scored on every drive in the first half and played better defensively."

Meridian quarterback Tyler Russell was perfect on the night, completing eight passes in eight attempts for 175 yards and a pair of scores before exiting the game with his team nursing a 34-0 lead.

The Wildcat offense wasted little time Friday night, as Russell engineered a 9-play, 78-yard drive early in the first quarter to put the Wildcats on the board. Russell passed for 33 yards on the drive and ran for 13 more, setting up senior James Barnett's 1-yard scoring plunge with 4:54 remaining in the opening quarter. Jett Miller's extra point pushed the score to 7-0.

Meridian took firm control just over two minutes later, scoring a pair of touchdowns in a span of 20 seconds to take a commanding 20-0 lead.

Russell connected with senior Marcus McQuarley on a beautiful 43-yard scoring strike with 2:35 to go in the quarter, giving Meridian a 14-0 lead. On the first play of Starkville's ensuing drive, linebacker Keith Austin recovered a fumble by Jackets' QB Jaquez Johnson, putting the Wildcats back in business at the SHS 12-yard line. One play later, Russell found paydirt again, this time calling his own number on a 12-yard scoring run. When Meridian's 2-point conversion attempt failed, the Wildcats led 20-0 after one quarter of play.

"We improved on both sides of the ball this week," Weems said. "We got off to a much better start, so that helped."

While the Wildcat offense was running on all cylinders, the Meridian defense dominated Starkville in the first half, holding the Jackets to three plays or less in each of their first six possessions. The Wildcats forced a pair of first half turnovers, as Austin added an interception midway through the second quarter.

Picking up where they left off at the end of the first, Meridian needed just two plays before finding the endzone again in the second. This time Russell fired a quick pass to McQuarley, who turned upfield and sprinted past the SHS defense, turning a 5-yard pass into a 74-yard scoring strike. Once again, Miller added the PAT as Meridian grabbed a 27-0 lead.

After Austin intercepted Johnson and put the Wildcats in scoring position at Starkville's 24, senior running back Quardarrel Martin capped a six-play scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown to push the lead to 34-0.

In the first half, Meridian amassed 226 total yards while Starkville managed just 65.

Meridian's defense remained impressive in the second half, forcing two more turnovers as Starkville was unable to get on the board until the game's final four minutes. Johnson found wideout Kasey Akins for a 9-yard scoring strike to break up the shutout.

In the second half, Meridian's Casey Crowell recorded an interception while senior DB Khairi Usher added a fumble recovery.

On the night, Meridian finished with 324 total yards, with 196 through the air and 128 coming on the ground. The Wildcat defense held the Jackets to just 97 passing yards and 79 rushing yards for a total of 176.

For Meridian, McQuarley had three catches for 128 yards.

With the win, the Wildcats improved to 2-0 and will travel to face Class 4A power Wayne County, which also improved to 2-0 with an impressive 28-3 throttling of defending Class 3A champ Louisville.

"We're 2-0, and that's all you could ask right now," Weems said. "Next week, we just have to come back and be ready to play a very good football team."

Now 0-2, Starkville will look to rebound at West Point.