Meridian's Tray Warren looks for a receiver as Forest Hill's Kameria McClendon closes in for a sack that caused a fumble.

The Meridian Wildcats ended their regular season on a high note Thursday night with a 50-20 whipping of the Forest Hill Patriots at Ray Stadium on senior night.

Meridian coach Larry Weems was pleased with how his team performed, “We didn’t play that great, but it was a good team win and a nice way to send these seniors off,” Weems said. “We just want to focus on the playoffs now.”

The Wildcats defense controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the game, with Julius Turner leading the way. Turner, a Louisiana Tech commit, had two sacks and five tackles for losses and was in the Patriots quarterback’s face all night forcing errant throws that resulted in three interceptions. One interception was a seven yard pick-six by linebacker D’Angelo Anderson.

Meridian’s offense came out slow but quarterback Tray Warren and running back Antjuan Rogers picked up the pace in the second quarter with Warren finding paydirt from one yard out. Kelly Bator split the uprights giving her team a 7-0 lead with 11:24 left in the second quarter.

The Patriots answered on their next possession with a 35-yard scoring pass, narrowing Meridian’s lead to 7-6, but the Wildcats had their own answer. Warren hit Daniel Crowell with a 51-yard pass to the Patriots 8, and Warren crossed the goal line on the next play. Bator’s point-after attempt was good, extending Meridian’s lead to 14-6 at the 6:36 mark in the second frame.

Meridian dented the scoreboard again three plays later when Turner forced the Forest Hill quarterback to rush his throw and Anderson stepped in front of the pass for his returned touchdown. Bator nailed the point after to put the Wildcats ahead 21-6 at the half.

Meridian fumbled the ball away on the second half kickoff, but Turner again applied the pressure forcing a bad pass that was picked off by Santrell Latham. Rogers carried the ball inside the 10 on three runs, and Warren found Eli Stringfellow in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Warren hit Zaire Jones for the two-point conversion running the score to 29-6 with 7:54 left in the third quarter.  

Meridian’s defense forced another turnover on the Patriots next possession after Quez Ball stepped in front of a Forest Hill pass setting Warren up at his own 45-yard line. After completing two passes to Travis Reed, Warren bulled his way into the end zone from 1 yard out. Bator tacked on the extra point for a 36-6 lead with 3:53 left in the third period.

Fittingly, the Meridian defense ended the scoring when Jahlil Thomas fell on a Patriots fumble in the end zone. Javon Hundley converted the point after to round out the scoring 50-20.

Warren finished the night with 47 yards and three rushing touchdowns. He completed five passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Rogers added 72 yards rushing. Eddie Brown had a 42-yard scoring run for Meridian. The Wildcats open postseason play next week when they travel to Gulfport High School.