Meridian Owls 17, Cipher Lynx 16
Week 6 · Regular season · round 4 · Monday 2 November 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRD Meridian Owls | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| CPH Cipher Lynx | 6 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
Game recap
The Meridian Owls turned the game around and beat the Cipher Lynx 17-16 in round 4 of Week 6. They trailed by as many as 9 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 15%. The Owls were clear favourites before kickoff (68%), and they delivered.
The Lynx opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal by Orson Thorne with 2:25 left in the first quarter. The Lynx led 9-7 at halftime. The fourth quarter brought a 7-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury for the Owls (1:37 left, 17-16).
The biggest swing of the game came with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter: a 7-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury. It moved the Owls' chance of winning from 34% to 78%.
Player of the game: Abel Thornbury (WR, Owls), with 8 catches for 72 yards and 2 TD. Elsewhere, Kai Navarro (Lynx) had 16 of 27 passing for 299 yards, 1 TD; 6 carries for 43 yards; Ezekiel Hart (Lynx) had 15 carries for 63 yards; Luca Benedetti (Lynx) had 6 catches for 114 yards and 1 TD; Graham Ashby (Owls) had 23 of 29 passing for 210 yards, 2 TD; 2 carries for 1 yard.
Before kickoff, the Lynx' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Bram Pellegrini; on defense: bracket Soren Oyelaran. Meanwhile, the Owls' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, stay underneath, target Emeric Brennan; on defense: bracket Bram Pellegrini (Emeric Brennan finished with 4 catches for 54 yards).
The Lynx move to 1-3 and the Owls to 4-0 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down twice, without success. Injuries: Elio Varga (EDGE, Lynx) hamstring injury, out 1 week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | MRD-CPH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:25 | Lynx | A 35-yard field goal by Orson Thorne | 0-3 |
| Q1 0:00 | Lynx | A 47-yard field goal by Orson Thorne | 0-6 |
| Q2 2:38 | Owls | A 5-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury (extra point) | 7-6 |
| Q2 0:14 | Lynx | A 52-yard field goal by Orson Thorne | 7-9 |
| Q3 2:27 | Lynx | A 59-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Luca Benedetti (extra point) | 7-16 |
| Q3 0:02 | Owls | A 41-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 10-16 |
| Q4 1:37 | Owls | A 7-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury (extra point) | 17-16 |
Team stats
| MRD | CPH | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 335 | 425 |
| Passing yards | 210 | 299 |
| Rushing yards | 125 | 126 |
| Completions | 23 of 29 | 16 of 27 |
| Offensive plays | 58 | 56 |
| Third downs | 4 of 11 | 3 of 11 |
| Fourth downs | — | 0 of 3 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 9:08 | 6:52 |
Meridian Owls box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Ashby | 23/29 | 210 | 2 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobin Marsh | 19 | 86 | 0 | 24 |
| Adrien Oyelaran | 5 | 38 | 0 | 17 |
| Graham Ashby | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abel Thornbury | 8 | 72 | 2 | 10 |
| Emeric Brennan | 4 | 54 | 0 | 4 |
| Pavel Oyelaran | 4 | 34 | 0 | 5 |
| Tobin Marsh | 2 | 30 | 0 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Jovanovic | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Lachance | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Montague | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gideon Quarles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pavel Jovanovic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Sandoval | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Radcliffe | 1/1 | 41 | 2/2 |
Cipher Lynx box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Navarro | 16/27 | 299 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel Hart | 15 | 63 | 0 | 11 |
| Kai Navarro | 6 | 43 | 0 | 21 |
| Orson Achebe | 5 | 14 | 0 | 11 |
| Ulric Norcross | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luca Benedetti | 6 | 114 | 1 | 9 |
| Hector Yardley | 5 | 106 | 0 | 7 |
| Pavel Thorne | 4 | 68 | 0 | 4 |
| Orson Achebe | 1 | 11 | 0 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonas Sandoval | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matteo Norcross | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Garrow | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Jovanovic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gideon Jovanovic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jonas Ingram | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Thorne | 3/3 | 52 | 1/1 |
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 17, Cipher Lynx 16 on Snapline. More about the teams: Cipher Lynx · Meridian Owls.