5/4/08:

Myers Park played their first playoff game this past Saturday against a very physical North Meck team. After a rash of injuries from the previous game, the Myers Park squad played without many of starters and had to look to some first year players to fill the gaps. Special recognition goes out to Andrew Synder, Chandler Headen, and Jacob Ford for making their first starts, and more impressively, they are all first year players that earned this opportunity through hard work.

Both Myers Park and North Meck started the game off strongly, looking to advance in the hunt for a state championship. North Meck used strong rucking and strong wing play to break out to a 5-0 lead early into the game. Myers Park kept within calm and used strong forward play to come back to take a 14-5 lead going into halftime. Despite some imposing forwards on the North Meck squad, Myers Park dominated the lineouts and scrums, and would continue this throughout the remainder of the game. The second half began as the first half had ended, with Myers Park dictating pace of play. Each team played hard, knowing that the loser's season was over, and each team's determined play resulted in points. In the end, Myers Park defeated North Meck by a score of 26-10, and will move on to play Union County Lions in the semi-finals of the state playoffs next weekend. The Myers Park backs started to show signs of better play in this game by displaying good ball support, better rucking, and some excellent offload passing. This improved play in the backs will be needed to advance in the playoffs.

The Myers Park team would like to send our best wishes to the North Meck player injured at the end of the game. Here's hoping that he makes a quick recovery.