No matter who else takes the field for Meridian this fall, they’ll have one of the best players in the state at the most important position.
Entering his fourth and final season with the Warriors, quarterback Zeke Martinez has led the team to deep playoff runs and numerous big wins over the last few years. He started four games as a freshman before earning the job as a sophomore. That was the year Meridian nearly won a state championship. Instead, they surrendered a 21-7 lead in the fourth quarter to Rigby in the state championship game.
They followed it up last season with another run to the state semifinals, losing to eventual state champions Highland. The Warriors dropped their first two games of the season before winning six in a row. Meridian lost at Eagle twice last season, once in the season opener and the other in the Southern Idaho Conference championship game.
What does Martinez have in store for his final season in Idaho? He’ll have to do a lot of heavy lifting for a squad that lost numerous players to graduation.
Fifteen All-Conference players have graduated, including most of the production on offense. Both running backs, Rylie Byington and Marco Del Rio, are gone. Byington was the Player of the Year in the SIC Foothills Division. Martinez’s top three receivers — Cole Jones, Griffin Deere and Parker Bunderson — are also gone.
It’s a tall task for the senior quarterback, who holds a Division I offer from Memphis, but he has all the tools to put the team on his back if needed.
“He’s very poised,” Meridian head coach John Zamberlin said. “Great competitor, great leader. He’s been a two-year captain and will probably finish that off as a three-year captain…A guy that can beat you throwing the ball and can beat you running the ball, very versatile. We’re excited to see him compete in his senior season.”
Quarterback and offensive line appear to be the strong points of the team heading into the season. Three starters return in that group, including All-Conference selections Nick Maloff and Blaine Crook. Konner Rice also returns at Center. Maloff has offers from Idaho State and Montana State, while Crook and Rice have interest from the College of Idaho.
Defensively, junior linebacker Lagary Mitchell is a player to watch. He picked up an offer from Boise State this summer. Senior defensive lineman Jeremiah Dominiak leads the front of the defense and was first team all-conference selection last season.
One thing the Warriors have going for them this season is a more favorable schedule. Last season, most of Meridian’s toughest games were on the road, playing at Eagle twice, playing at Mountain View and Rocky Mountain. They even had a non-conference road game at Highland. This season, they’ll host all three.
Taking that into account, along with Martinez and pieces on the offensive line returning, expectations remain the same as last year.
“We hope to be playing in the state championship game,” Zamberlin said. “It’s a long season and a very tough conference. Our schedule is like it was two years ago. We have some of the tougher teams at home…This team wants to compete. Our expectations are that we are playing late in the season.”
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