Meridian Owls 35, Forge Bison 31
Week 6 · Regular season · round 2 · Monday 2 November 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRD Meridian Owls | 14 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 35 |
| FRG Forge Bison | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Meridian Owls rallied past the Forge Bison for a 35-31 win in round 2 of Week 6. They trailed by as many as 11 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 2%.
The Owls opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury with 2:33 left in the first quarter. At the break the Owls were up 20-10. The fourth quarter brought a 9-yard touchdown pass from Cole Ramsey to Ivo Achebe for the Bison (3:28 left, 31-20); a 6-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury for the Owls (2:32 left, 31-26); a 12-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Adrien Oyelaran for the Owls (1:10 left, 32-31); a 38-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe for the Owls (0:10 left, 35-31).
The play that tilted the game came with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter: a 12-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Adrien Oyelaran. It moved the Owls' chance of winning from 34% to 88%.
The standout was Abel Thornbury (WR, Owls), with 6 catches for 66 yards and 3 TD. Elsewhere, Cole Ramsey (Bison) had 21 of 36 passing for 247 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT; 1 carry for 17 yards; Tariq Esposito (Bison) had 5 carries for 37 yards; 2 catches for 26 yards; Hollis Grant (Bison) had 9 catches for 132 yards; Graham Ashby (Owls) had 24 of 30 passing for 239 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT; 4 carries for 13 yards.
Before kickoff, the Bison' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Ivo Achebe; on defense: bracket Soren Oyelaran (Ivo Achebe finished with 6 catches for 69 yards and 3 TD). Meanwhile, the Owls' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, target Pavel Oyelaran; on defense: bracket Ivo Achebe (Pavel Oyelaran finished with 2 catches for 29 yards).
The Bison move to 1-1 and the Owls to 2-0 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down 3 times, converting 3.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | MRD-FRG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:33 | Owls | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury (extra point) | 7-0 |
| Q1 1:14 | Owls | A 23-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury (extra point) | 14-0 |
| Q2 3:39 | Bison | A 26-yard touchdown pass from Cole Ramsey to Ivo Achebe (extra point) | 14-7 |
| Q2 2:09 | Owls | A 41-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 17-7 |
| Q2 0:11 | Owls | A 50-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 20-7 |
| Q2 0:02 | Bison | A 48-yard field goal by Gideon Underwood | 20-10 |
| Q3 1:59 | Bison | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Cole Ramsey to Adrien Montague (extra point) | 20-17 |
| Q3 0:06 | Bison | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Cole Ramsey to Ivo Achebe (extra point) | 20-24 |
| Q4 3:28 | Bison | A 9-yard touchdown pass from Cole Ramsey to Ivo Achebe (extra point) | 20-31 |
| Q4 2:32 | Owls | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury (2-pt try failed) | 26-31 |
| Q4 1:10 | Owls | A 12-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Adrien Oyelaran (2-pt try failed) | 32-31 |
| Q4 0:10 | Owls | A 38-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 35-31 |
Team stats
| MRD | FRG | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 376 | 326 |
| Passing yards | 239 | 247 |
| Rushing yards | 137 | 79 |
| Completions | 24 of 30 | 21 of 36 |
| Offensive plays | 53 | 55 |
| Third downs | 3 of 7 | 5 of 10 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 1 | 2 of 3 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 7:25 | 8:35 |
Meridian Owls box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Ashby | 24/30 | 239 | 4 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobin Marsh | 12 | 89 | 0 | 40 |
| Adrien Oyelaran | 4 | 31 | 0 | 13 |
| Graham Ashby | 4 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
| Nils Garrow | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abel Thornbury | 6 | 66 | 3 | 8 |
| Tobin Marsh | 5 | 63 | 0 | 5 |
| Soren Oyelaran | 6 | 49 | 0 | 8 |
| Pavel Oyelaran | 2 | 29 | 0 | 2 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Jovanovic | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dorian Radcliffe | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bastien Delacroix | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Montague | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Orson Lachance | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wendell Achebe | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Radcliffe | 3/3 | 50 | 2/2 |
Forge Bison box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Ramsey | 21/36 | 247 | 4 | 3 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Esposito | 5 | 37 | 0 | 17 |
| Dorian Thorne | 10 | 25 | 0 | 7 |
| Cole Ramsey | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollis Grant | 9 | 132 | 0 | 13 |
| Ivo Achebe | 6 | 69 | 3 | 11 |
| Tariq Esposito | 2 | 26 | 0 | 2 |
| Adrien Montague | 3 | 22 | 1 | 7 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorian Oyelaran | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Pavel Coventry | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yannick Thorne | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cassius Esposito | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lazlo Varga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bram Norcross | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gideon Underwood | 1/1 | 48 | 4/4 |
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 35, Forge Bison 31 on Snapline. More about the teams: Forge Bison · Meridian Owls.