Meade handles Sublette

    Meade High School features a running-backs-by-committee in its vaunted rushing attack.
    One back in particular stood out among the rest Tuesday night during unbeaten Meade's 40-16 win over Sublette in Class 2A Bi-District state playoff action Tuesday night.
    Junior back Albert Davis rushed for 109 yards in 16 carries and totaled four touchdowns, including a trio of scores in the first half. The Buffaloes mounted a 28-8 halftime lead and put it on cruise control after the break.
    "Albert did a great job of getting after it," Meade coach Scott Moshier said. "It kind of gives us a two-headed fullback type of attack with Jaden (Friesen) and Albert.
    "Albert is a little bit quicker, and Jade is a little bit more powerful. We’ve been doing it by committee all year."
    Meade (10-0) advances to a home quarterfinal state playoff game on Saturday at 2 p.m. against St. Francis (7-3.
    Friesen rushed 13 times for 80 yards and had one touchdown. Both Davis and Friesen complemented quarterback Dakota Benear, who had 146 rushing yards in 16 carries and also ran for a score. As a whole, the Buffaloes accumulated 351 yards on the ground.
    “He did a nice job,” Moshier said of Benear. “As a coach, we want it to be perfect all of the time and it’s not going to be that way.
    “During the playoffs, it doesn’t matter who you play, you’ve got to play. It’s just how you respond.”
    Benear completed 6-of-9 passes for 71 yards, bringing the Buffs’ total offense to 422 yards.
    “There’s some things that we’ve got to get straightened out,” Moshier said. “We throw the ball a lot better than what we did tonight. We’re disappointed in that a little bit.”
    Sublette opened the game with an impressive 74-yard scoring drive. It was prolonged on third-and-7 on a 22-yard pass completion from quarterback Brandon Stokes to tight end Preston Sabata to the Meade 39.
    Sublette running back Danny Gonzalez carried      
the ball on four of the Larks' next six plays, including 8- and 9-yard gains, advancing the ball to the 16.
    The Larks, helped by an offsides penalty by Meade on fourth-and-9, later scored on a 1-yard sneak by Stokes with 6:23 left in the first quarter for an 8-0 lead. They completed the conversion pass.
    Davis made his presence felt at that juncture, running back a Larks punt 26 yards to the Sublette 20. Five plays later, he scored on a 10-yard run to cut the gap to 8-6 on the final play of the first quarter.
    After linebacker Adrian Pfanenstiel recovered a Stokes fumble at the Sublette 33 early in the second quarter, the Buffaloes were in the end zone six plays later. Davis came through with a 20-yard touchdown run for a 14-8 lead with 8:18 left in the second quarter.
    Kellan Hernandez of the Buffaloes later returned a Larks punt to the Sublette 43. After a pass interference call on Sublette gave Meade the ball at the 19, Benear scored from 11 yards out to make it 20-8 at the 4:51 mark.
    In their hurry-up offense, Meade got another shot at the goal line after getting the ball back with 1:03 left before halftime.
    Benear was able to find Davis for a dagger 32-yard touchdown pass with 13.9 seconds left in the half, increasing the margin to 28-8.
    “We executed well and we thought we saw something we liked,” Moshier said. “We took a shot and was able to hit Albert deep.”
    Davis added his fourth touchdown with a 6-yard run, and Freisen had a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter.
    The Larks’ touchdown came on a 2-yard scoring run by Stokes.
    Sublette closes its season at 6-4, having lost to Meade in a bi-district game for the third straight year.
    “We’re a little bit disappointed about the way we played,” Moshier said. “The last three years, we’ve been a little flat in this game playing Sublette.
    “It’s hat’s off to (Sublette). They did some good things and we gave up some big passes that led to their scores.”