Tensions were high in last night’s football game as the Mavs faced the no. 2 ranked team in Colorado’s class 3A: the Rams of Green Mountain.

With a tough opponent, would Mead come out on top? 

In this game, key players to look out for were Christian Hiner (‘25) , the Quarterback for the Mavs, Edison Burke (‘25) , running back, Angel Johnson (‘24), also running back, and receiver Ethan Scallon (‘24) to round out the skill positions. On defense, the Mavs looked to Dresden Spendlove (‘25), Spencer Muncy, (‘25) Edward Stephenson (‘24) and Joshua Gonzaves (‘26) to make plays. 

In this matchup, Mead struggled against their high-ranked opponents, with Hiner (‘25) throwing two interceptions, the defense allowing 44 points, and only scoring 7 points of their own.

Some bright spots for tonight’s game were Angel Johnson (‘24) and Edward Stephenson (‘24) , the latter of the two forcing a punt on a nice tackle. He sniffed out the run and made a huge play to force the turnover. Angel made an incredible read on a swing pass to the outside to pick it off and ran it all the way back for 60 yards, getting the pick 6. J.D. Hamilton (‘25) added a pick on a nice read as well. 

Starting off the game, the Mavs received the first kick off and couldn’t get much going on their ensuing possession. They were forced to punt it to the scary Rams’ offense who have terrorized opponents so far this year. 

With the defense on the field, the Mavs looked for a stop, but couldn’t secure what they were looking for, as the Rams dominated the first possession. Their run scheme had Mead wondering where the ball was going, and they punched it in to make the score 6-0. Their kicker added an extra point on the ensuing play to bring the score up to 7-0. 

Mead received the kickoff and was re-energized, hoping for a long possession to get something going on offense. Unfortunately, they struggled on their second possession and were forced to punt for the second time of the ball game.

Once again, the defense had the pressure on them hoping to stop the potent Rams offense. And that they did, with a huge play on 3rd down to force a Rams punt. They were proving their ability to stop the Rams consistently, but would it all be in vain with a struggling offense getting back on the field. 

With 6:59 in the quarter, the offense had the ball back, needing at least a field goal or some sort of momentum to go in their favor. The drive had something going, with multiple outside passes and slants over the middle to pick up a few first downs. 

Forcing an already exhausted defense back on the field proved to be a bad omen for the Mavs, as they allowed another touchdown on a run, bringing the score to 14-0. The Rams simply looked unstoppable. Their power running mixed with speed on the perimeter was too much for the smaller Mavs defense.

Eyes then turned back to the Mead offense, hoping for at least a spark from the beat-up unit. Their running attack proved to be futile on this possession, as the huge Rams’ linemen dominated down low. 

Once again, Lohr (‘24) punted the ball back to the Rams’ special team unit, and the Mavs allowed a nice run back, leaving the ball around the 50 yard line. The defense looked poise to do something big, and that spark that they had searched for happened. On a swing pass to the outside, Angel Johnson (‘24) sniffed it out, jumping the pass and never looking back. He ran it all the way in for the pick six, with Jordan Lohr (’24) bringing the score to 14-7 on an extra point. 

The Rams had the ball next, ready to increase their lead, and that they did. They simply marched down the field, with their running back punching it in to bring the score to 21-7. 

On the next possession, the Mavs looked like a different team. Everyone was energized after their teammates’ big play, and it showed on the field. Big play after big play happened, and the Rams ended up in a 4th and 5 situation, forcing a decision. They elected to go for it, but Mead made a huge play, tackling the Rams short of the line to gain the offense the ball back. 

The offense had its chance to redeem itself after previous shortcomings, but fell short again. They just couldn’t gain any traction on their run designs, and were once again forced to give the ball back to the strong offense of Green Mountain. 

With about two minutes to go in the first half, Green Mountain was poised to march down the field, but the Mavs didn’t allow that to happen. Pouncing on a bad throw, Hamilton (‘25) intercepted the pass and ran it back before being pushed out around the 50 yard line. 

With a chance to bring the game back to a one score affair, the offense ran back onto the field, ready to shine. They secured a few first downs, but costly penalties stalled the drive, forcing them to kick a field goal. From a long way out, the Mavs attempted the kick, but missed. 

Coming out of the half, the Mavs weren’t far out of the game, and with another key stop, they could get the ball with a chance to make it a one score game. After the kickoff, the Rams returned to their unstoppable running attack, marching down the field.

Mead’s defense delayed the inevitable, as they brought up 3rd down inside the 10 yard line. Scoring up the middle, the score was now well out of reach at 28-7. 

Eyes were once again back on the offense, with fans at least hoping to lessen the lead a bit. The Mavs just couldn’t get anything going once again, even losing yardage on a QB draw, forcing a punt- or not. The Mavs went for a fake punt, with Lohr (‘24) throwing a pass that was picked off by the Rams. 

While the Mav defense expected the thing that had killed them the whole night, the Rams did just the opposite, throwing the ball for a score to increase the lead to 36-7 with a two point conversion. 

With the game all but over, Mead’s offense went back on the field, wanting at least a score to make the scoreboard look a bit better. However, that just wasn’t what happened, as they stalled once again to give the ball back to the Rams. 

The defense, exhausted and beat up, played with a ton of heart to secure a stop for Mead. They forced a field goal try, which the Rams missed, giving the ball back to the offense for seemingly the 100th time. 

 The Mavs looked for success through the air, gaining some yards and getting a couple of first downs on the next possession. Those were the only first downs they would get though, as Hiner (‘24) threw a pick to the Rams, signaling the time for JV to get a chance to play. Rather than risking more injuries for their varsity players, both teams decided to give the second and third strings their shot at some game time experience. 

The game wasn’t done with scoring though, as the Rams mounted a seemingly never ending, slow grinding drive on the Mavs defense. Eventually, they punched it in, finalizing the tally at 44-7, an extremely tough home loss for Mead.