What can you say when a game turns ugly because of bad officiating? Yes, you have to respect the ref's call. But in the heat of the moment when kids are playing their hardest, to have that effort taken away by a questionable clipping call is hard for everyone to take. Especially Coach, who in standing up for these kids was awarded 45 extra yards in penalties and an ejection. Instead of 6 - 6 at the start of 3rd quarter, it's first and 55 from the Kent 20. OUCH.
Before that we watched a good tough game. Meeker and Kent felt each other out, trading possesions, seeing what worked and what didn't. Meeker leaned toward a passing game with some short completions leading to longer attempts. Kent held the ball most time in the half, with a running game. #24 from last year is short, quick and impossible to tackle high. He ran for a TD. They missed the extra point, fumbling the snap on the mucky field.
Meeker drove down field with some nifty catches and throws but the half ended 0-6, Kent. Then came the sad events of the second half.
I was on the Kent side of the field. Meeker had kicked off and the defense had them stopped back around the Kent 20, forcing them to punt. The punt catch was fumbled, and Kent recovered for a first down. Somehow Meeker got the ball back, I think the defense held a second time, this time letting a short Kent punt bounce safely untouched into Meeker's offensive possesion.
A 60 yard pass completion from the QB to the end gives Meeker the tying TD, but on the opposite side of the field a flag is thrown. This happens 20 yards behind the Meeker receiver as he is well on his way into the end zone. Witnesses on the Meeker side of the field say the clipping call was questionable at best, and that prompted Coach to yell "BAD CALL" a couple times, loud. The ref took instant offense and when the flags stopped flying Meeker was minus a TD and a defensive coach (see above). OUCH.
The mood soured and Kent snagged a couple interceptions, one for a TD. Meeker stuffed them int the 4th quarter, stopping their passing attempts to run up the score, forcing them backwards untiI they threw a long pass/punt on 4th down. Meeker intercepted and drove to the 6 yard line, where the game ended. Final score 0-20, Kent.
Nobody stuck around for the 5th quarter.
Strengths: Passing game, good protection, nice passing and catching on several plays. Tough defense against a big, fast team. Weakness: The focus shifted from the players and the game to the officials and the sidelines who let things spiral out of control. The kids played hard in emotional circumstances and did the best they could. I'll bet nobody played Kent tougher this year.

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Revised 10/23/03