The best season in the history of the Meridian football program was clinched by a comeback for the ages.
The Mustangs won the Jack Pine Conference championship and matched the accomplishments of the 1981 squad by rolling through the regular season with a record of 9-0.
That sent them into the Division 6 playoffs with a chance to win 10 games for the first time, but the goal seemed to be slipping away as Millington held a 38-16 lead with time running out in the third quarter.
Two plays turned the tide.
The Cardinals seemed to have slipped in the dagger by scoring on a 40-yard touchdown run, but the play was called back due to a personal foul penalty.
An interception on the next play turned the ball over to Meridian. The home team scored after that and the times they were a changin’.
Millington never scored another point and Mustangs quarterback Christian Petre eventually sneaked in from inside the 1-yard line with seven seconds left to cap a wild 44-38 victory.
“Many people told me that was the greatest game Meridian ever played,” said Mustangs coach Mike Bilina. “They dominated us for almost three quarters, but then we woke up and decided to play for a quarter-and-a-half.
“Millington made a few mistakes and we were able to capitalize on them.
“You could really feel the momentum swing when that touchdown was called back. We had a packed house and the place was going crazy. You could feel something special starting to happen.”
Bilina didn’t take credit for a Knute Rockne-style speech that helped wake his team up.
“We’ve got 22 seniors on this team and they have been through a lot together,” he said. “We just asked them if they wanted this to be their last game and I guess they gave us an answer.”
Petre led the surge, passing for over 250 yards on the night and accounting for four touchdowns.
The win lifted Meridian into a second-round battle at Ithaca and that’s where the music died.
The rampaging Yellowjackets piled up a 21-6 halftime lead and rolled to a 42-6 victory.
“It was disappointing, but it’s not like we lost to an inferior team,” said Bilina. “We ran into a buzz saw. We were never really in the game. They were just way, way better than us.”
The loss both closed the door and opened some eyes.
“We had a great year,” said Bilina, “and this group of kids has raised the bar around here and left a stamp on our program. We’re going in the right direction, but we found out for sure we’re not there yet.
“We have to continue to get better because it’s not like Ithaca is going to get worse.”
Petre finished the season with 935 rushing yards on 119 attempts with 11 touchdowns and he completed 105-of-188 passes for 1,532 yards and 17 scores. Miles Leviere led the receiving corps with 47 catches for 708 yards and eight touchdowns. Matt Hoffman carried the ball 172 times for 1,096 yards and 16 scores. Stryker O’Boyle piled up over 600 total yards and scored twice.