CLINTON, Mississippi – Those who thought the Glenbrook Apaches might struggle following an offseason full of departures – everything from their two-year starter at quarterback to head coach and athletic director – might want to double back on their opinion following the team’s hard-fought 13-6 win over Clinton Christian Academy in week one.
The Apaches scored 13-unanswered points in the second half, capped off by Trent Meek’s interception return for a touchdown with 5:10 to play in the fourth quarter, to down the Warriors on their homefield and pick up Webster Parish’s first win of the 2017 season.
New Glenbrook head coach Ronnie Powell, an MPSA/MAIS veteran and two-time state champion, was coaching for the first time as an Apache and for the first time in two years following a hiatus from the game. It wasn’t a beautiful return in terms of execution, but Powell knows that will come with time.
“I was really, really pleased with our effort,” Powell said. “The heat this time of year is unbearable and most of our guys had to go 48 minutes, but they stayed in there and fought through it.”
The Glenbrook defense put on a masterful performance against a speedy Clinton Christian team. Operating out of the spread, the Warriors were able to move the ball in spurts, pushing Glenbrook into their own red zone on three seperate occasions throughout the night, but the Apaches refused to break.
“Our defense played extremely well most of the night,” Powell said. “They did everything they could do. Offensively, we struggled.”
The Apaches found it hard to move the Warrior defensive front and quarterback Brandon Merritt tossed a pair of first-half interceptions, but the one bright spot for the Apache offense was running back Marshall Meek, who managed to find some running room throughout the night, finishing with 60 yards on the ground.
Clinton Christian opened the scoring with only a minute to play in the first half. Following a turnover that set the Warriors up at the Apache 9-yard line, CCA found paydirt with a 5-yard run to make the score 6-0 after an unsuccessful PAT.
Glenbrook responded on their second drive of the second half, evening the score with a Brandon Merritt QB-keeper from 1-yard out.
The Apaches botched the PAT and the score was even at 6-6 with 7:20 to play in the third quarter.
The two teams traded jabs with neither able to land any significant blows, that is until about the 5:20 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Warriors were facing 2nd-and-10 when they tried a quick crossing route over the middle, but Trent Meek stepped in front of the CCA receiver for the interception and raced 29-yards down the Glenbrook sideline, picking up a nice block from Joseph Kidd, for the game-winning touchdown.
The Apaches came up with two smothering defensive stands to close out the contest. It’s the type of win that makes a four-hour trip home not-so-bad.
After the game, Powell reflected on his victorious return to the sideline.
“Once it gets in your blood, you just can’t take a shot to get rid of it,” Powell said. “I love coaching football, and I really like this group to be honest, because they go out there and play as hard as they can. That’s pretty much all you can ask for. It’s my job to get some of the confusion ironed out so that we can beat a really big WCCA team next week.”
Parker Christy led the defense with 8.5 tackles, followed by Brandon Merritt with 7.5 tackles and a fumble recovery. Nick Moses had 6.5 tackles (2 TFL, 1.5 sacks) and Marshall Meek and Trent Meek had 5 tackles each and Da’maza Robinson had 4 tackles.