MIDDLETOWN — Middletown South junior quarterback Scott Meeker quickly established a favorite target. Meeker found junior wide receiver Taylor Rogers for seven completions, including a touchdown, as the No. 2 Eagles blanked Lacey, 14-0, in a nondivisional game Friday at Middletown South. It was the season opener for both teams.
Making his first varsity start, Meeker completed 11 of 20 passes for 129 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions through intermittent rain. Rogers caught seven of Meeker's passes for 107 yards.
The pair hooked up for three big plays on the Eagles' first touchdown drive that began with 2:47 left in the first quarter. Facing third-and-4 early in the drive, Meeker eluded pressure and found Rogers along the right sideline for 23 yards to the Lacey 26. Meeker then faced fourth-and-8 to start the second quarter, but hit Rogers for 11 yards and a first down to the Lions' 13.
After a 2-yard loss, Meeker threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Rogers, who caught the ball at the 7 and cut to his left to elude a Lacey tackler and reach the end zone. Dan Kahn made the first of his two extra points to give Middletown South a 7-0 lead 1:04 into the second quarter.
"Before the game, I wondered, 'Who's going to score the first touchdown this year?' " said Rogers of his first varsity touchdown. "And when I got the ball, I saw that end zone and knew that I was going right in. No one was going to stop me."
In the third quarter, Rogers delivered yet another clutch catch on Middletown South's second touchdown drive. He caught a 21-yarder over the middle from Meeker to put the Eagles at the Lacey 30. One play later, junior running back Kyle Bunge bulled his way through the Lions' defense for a 26-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead with 1:43 left in the third.
Middletown South's defense, meanwhile, spent much of its time harassing Lacey junior quarterback Craig Cicardo. The Eagles sacked Cicardo six times, including individual sacks by defensive linemen Mitchell Yuro and Tom Masi and linebacker Connor Gilbert. Appropriately, Yuro and Masi teamed up for a 6-yard sack late in the fourth quarter on Lacey's final possession.
The Eagles' biggest defensive stand came early in the third quarter, when Lacey started at the Middletown South 40 following a 46-yard kickoff return by junior Zach Torrell. After yielding just 4 yards on three plays, the Eagles teamed up to sack Cicardo and force a fumble on fourth down, with the Eagles recovering at their 39.
Overall, the Eagles held Lacey to four first downs and 49 total yards.
"They're our strength right now," Middletown South coach Steve Antonucci said of the defense. "They're going to have to hold the fort for a little while until we get better on offense."