1A Boys State: Annie Wright 53, Meridian 22

The Annie Wright Gators showed why they are the favorite to win this year’s 1A boys championship.  They rolled over the Meridian Trojans, 53-22, in a state quarterfinal game Thursday, in the Yakima SunDome.

The Trojans were held to five points in each of the first two quarters and trailed 33-10 at halftime.  A bad combination of 11 turnovers and 2-21 shooting, mostly forced by the lengthy and athletic Gators defense being the reason. 

A slow paced second half had the Gators outscoring the Trojans 20-12, but their lead went to as much as 31 points. 

Senior post James Hedahl led the Trojans with six points and pulled down 11 rebounds.  Talon Jenkins, Jaeger Fyfe, Trey Alexander, and Piercr Brzozowski each scored four points for the Trojans.  The Trojans made only 7-48 field goal attempts, including 0-13 from 3-point range.

Martin Kaupanger led the Gators with 12 points, with Will Reger netting 11 and seven rebounds off the bench.

The Gators move on to the semifinals against Zillah, which is a rematch of last year’s championship game.  The Trojans will take on Seton Catholic in an elimination game at 12:15pm.

~ Ted House