DILLER, Neb. - Diller-Odell won a total of five games over its final three seasons as an 8-man football squad. But now, after taking down former 8-man foe Meridian 47-26 on Friday night in Diller, the Griffins are 2-0 in their first season as a 6-man football squad. The loss drops the Mustangs to 0-2 to start 2024. 

These two teams are separated by less than an hour's drive and used to face off every year when both were in the 8-man classification. But Meridian made the move to 6-man ahead of the 2020 season, and now Diller-Odell has made the same move to start 2024, making this the first matchup between the two since 2019. 

Coming in off a 38-0 win in their first game as a 6-man squad, the Griffins got off to a flying start in their home opener, scoring on four of their six first-half possessions. Xavier Zabokrtsky ran for two scores and Braydin Wendland threw for two more, and Meridian managed only one of its own, leading D-O to a 29-6 lead at the halftime break. 

Meridian more than made it a game in the second half - the Mustangs actually outscored the Griffins 20-18 after the intermission - but unfortunately for the Mustangs, every time they scored, the Griffins answered right back, and Meridian simply could not dig out of their first half hole. 

Senior JD Adam rushed for a score in each half and freshman Jayton Jones ran for two more in the third quarter to lead a resurgent Mustangs offensive charge, but Teghan Rosebaugh ran for two of his own for Diller-Odell, including a gamebreaking 63-yard dash that gave the Griffins an emphatic 41-14 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

Jones' first two career scores lifted the Mustangs a little closer, but they bookended a 13-yard run from Rosebaugh that kept the Griffins in front for good with only eight minutes left to play. 

Up next, Diller-Odell will take their early undefeated record into a home match against Red Cloud, while Meridian will take on Lewiston before both teams begin district play the following Friday. Our next high school football broadcast will feature our first 11-man contest of the season when Fairbury takes on Wood River on Friday, September 13. You can listen to all the action live on Ol' Red 99.5 - the pregame show begins at 6:40, with kickoff to follow at 7 PM CT.