Meridian Owls 28, Gambit Stallions 21
Week 5 · Regular season · round 21 · Friday 30 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRD Meridian Owls | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| GMB Gambit Stallions | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Meridian Owls rallied past the Gambit Stallions for a 28-21 win in round 21 of Week 5. They trailed by as many as 7 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 15%. Few expected it: the pregame odds gave the Owls a 35% chance.
The Stallions opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Cruz Delaney to Cyrus Esposito with 1:57 left in the first quarter. At the break the Owls were up 21-7. Then came the fourth quarter: a 5-yard touchdown run by Cyrus Esposito for the Stallions (2:33 left, 28-21).
The biggest swing of the game came with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter: Extra point good. It moved the Owls' chance of winning from 72% to 90%.
Player of the game: Adrien Oyelaran (RB, Owls), with 7 carries for 51 yards and 3 TD. Elsewhere, Cruz Delaney (Stallions) had 30 of 43 passing for 247 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT; 2 carries for 3 yards; Amos Ridley (Stallions) had 10 carries for 79 yards; 3 catches for 17 yards; Tristan Faye (Stallions) had 7 catches for 85 yards; Graham Ashby (Owls) had 12 of 18 passing for 95 yards, 1 TD; 4 carries for -4 yards.
Before kickoff, the Stallions' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Nils Draven; on defense: bracket Abel Thornbury (Nils Draven finished with 5 catches for 38 yards and 1 TD). Meanwhile, the Owls' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, stay underneath, target Abel Thornbury; on defense: bracket Nils Draven (Abel Thornbury finished with 3 catches for 22 yards and 1 TD).
The Stallions move to 10-9-2 and the Owls to 11-9-1 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down 5 times, converting 3.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | MRD-GMB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 1:57 | Stallions | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Cruz Delaney to Cyrus Esposito (extra point) | 0-7 |
| Q1 0:56 | Owls | A 1-yard touchdown run by Adrien Oyelaran (extra point) | 7-7 |
| Q2 1:46 | Owls | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury (extra point) | 14-7 |
| Q2 1:05 | Owls | A 26-yard touchdown run by Adrien Oyelaran (extra point) | 21-7 |
| Q3 2:08 | Stallions | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Cruz Delaney to Nils Draven (extra point) | 21-14 |
| Q3 0:23 | Owls | A 3-yard touchdown run by Adrien Oyelaran (extra point) | 28-14 |
| Q4 2:33 | Stallions | A 5-yard touchdown run by Cyrus Esposito (extra point) | 28-21 |
Team stats
| MRD | GMB | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 256 | 392 |
| Passing yards | 95 | 247 |
| Rushing yards | 161 | 145 |
| Completions | 12 of 18 | 30 of 43 |
| Offensive plays | 48 | 69 |
| Third downs | 4 of 9 | 0 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | — | 3 of 5 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Sacks allowed | 0 | 6 |
| Time of possession | 8:23 | 7:37 |
Meridian Owls box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Ashby | 12/18 | 95 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobin Marsh | 17 | 117 | 0 | 20 |
| Adrien Oyelaran | 7 | 51 | 3 | 26 |
| Nils Garrow | 2 | -3 | 0 | 2 |
| Graham Ashby | 4 | -4 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emeric Brennan | 4 | 32 | 0 | 4 |
| Pavel Oyelaran | 2 | 23 | 0 | 5 |
| Abel Thornbury | 3 | 22 | 1 | 4 |
| Tobin Marsh | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Jovanovic | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Soren Ashford | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Lachance | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Adrien Montague | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Elio Sandoval | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bastien Delacroix | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Radcliffe | 0/0 | 0 | 4/4 |
Gambit Stallions box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruz Delaney | 30/43 | 247 | 2 | 3 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amos Ridley | 10 | 79 | 0 | 15 |
| Cyrus Esposito | 7 | 57 | 1 | 15 |
| Valen Delacroix | 1 | 6 | 0 | 11 |
| Cruz Delaney | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tristan Faye | 7 | 85 | 0 | 9 |
| Bastien Thorne | 8 | 68 | 0 | 14 |
| Nils Draven | 5 | 38 | 1 | 6 |
| Valen Delacroix | 4 | 30 | 0 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pavel Falkner | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Draven | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bram Eriksen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Roman Ingram | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Brennan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Kincaid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soren Yardley | 0/0 | 0 | 3/3 |
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 Meridian Owls 28, Gambit Stallions 21 on Snapline. More about the teams: Gambit Stallions · Meridian Owls.