Spark Kestrels 27, Meridian Owls 20
Week 4 · Regular season · round 20 · Thursday 22 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK Spark Kestrels | 7 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 27 |
| MRD Meridian Owls | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
Game recap
The Spark Kestrels held off the Meridian Owls 27-20 in round 20 of Week 4. The lead changed hands 2 times.
The Kestrels opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run by Malachi Reed with 2:46 left in the first quarter. The Kestrels led 14-10 at halftime. Then came the fourth quarter: a 37-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic for the Kestrels (2:49 left, 27-13); a 4-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Emeric Brennan for the Owls (1:31 left, 27-20).
The key moment arrived with 1:24 left in the third quarter: a 6-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe. It moved the Kestrels' chance of winning from 64% to 82%.
The standout was Malachi Reed (RB, Kestrels), with 18 carries for 93 yards and 1 TD; 3 catches for 22 yards. Elsewhere, Graham Ashby (Owls) had 29 of 40 passing for 240 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 1 catch for -7 yards; Tobin Marsh (Owls) had 10 carries for 56 yards; 6 catches for 57 yards; Emeric Brennan (Owls) had 8 catches for 75 yards and 1 TD; Eli Varga-Stone (Kestrels) had 19 of 32 passing for 236 yards, 2 TD; 3 carries for -3 yards.
Before kickoff, the Owls' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Soren Oyelaran; on defense: bracket Jaylen Osei (Soren Oyelaran finished with 3 catches for 24 yards). Meanwhile, the Kestrels' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Bastien Radcliffe; on defense: bracket Soren Oyelaran (Bastien Radcliffe finished with 5 catches for 47 yards and 1 TD).
The Owls move to 6-12-2 and the Kestrels to 7-12-1 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down once, and it worked.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | SPK-MRD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:46 | Kestrels | A 10-yard touchdown run by Malachi Reed (extra point) | 7-0 |
| Q1 0:27 | Owls | A 45-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 7-3 |
| Q2 2:45 | Owls | A 9-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury (extra point) | 7-10 |
| Q2 1:32 | Kestrels | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei (extra point) | 14-10 |
| Q3 2:32 | Owls | A 49-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 14-13 |
| Q3 1:24 | Kestrels | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe (extra point) | 21-13 |
| Q3 0:41 | Kestrels | A 23-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic | 24-13 |
| Q4 2:49 | Kestrels | A 37-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic | 27-13 |
| Q4 1:31 | Owls | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Emeric Brennan (extra point) | 27-20 |
Team stats
| SPK | MRD | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 359 | 302 |
| Passing yards | 236 | 240 |
| Rushing yards | 123 | 62 |
| Completions | 19 of 32 | 29 of 40 |
| Offensive plays | 60 | 57 |
| Third downs | 7 of 13 | 5 of 12 |
| Fourth downs | — | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 8:03 | 7:57 |
Spark Kestrels box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Varga-Stone | 19/32 | 236 | 2 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 18 | 93 | 1 | 14 |
| Yannick Delacroix | 3 | 19 | 0 | 12 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 2 | 14 | 0 | 33 |
| Eli Varga-Stone | 3 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lazlo Zamora | 6 | 93 | 0 | 7 |
| Jaylen Osei | 4 | 57 | 1 | 7 |
| Bastien Radcliffe | 5 | 47 | 1 | 9 |
| Malachi Reed | 3 | 22 | 0 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasimir Castellan | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Soren Eriksen | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bastien Oyelaran | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Brennan | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Darius Coventry | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hector Jovanovic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Jovanovic | 2/2 | 37 | 3/3 |
Meridian Owls box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Ashby | 29/40 | 240 | 2 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobin Marsh | 10 | 56 | 0 | 22 |
| Adrien Oyelaran | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Pavel Oyelaran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emeric Brennan | 8 | 75 | 1 | 9 |
| Abel Thornbury | 7 | 59 | 1 | 11 |
| Tobin Marsh | 6 | 57 | 0 | 7 |
| Pavel Oyelaran | 4 | 32 | 0 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Jovanovic | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Lachance | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorian Radcliffe | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wendell Achebe | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Delacroix | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wendell Bellamy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Radcliffe | 2/2 | 49 | 2/2 |
Watch the replay
Every play of this game can be replayed on the big screen, with the play calls, the win probability and the commentary: replay Spark Kestrels 27, Meridian Owls 20 on Snapline. More about the teams: Meridian Owls · Spark Kestrels.