By Sean Ammerman

Wed, Nov 19, 2008 (midnight)

The Meadows football coach Frank DeSantis feels comfortable in the 2A state championship game.

When the Meadows (10-2) takes on Pershing County (11-0) on Saturday for the 2008 crown at Arbor View, DeSantis will be going for his sixth state title with the Summerlin private school.

The question is whether this Mustangs team is at the same level as DeSantis' dynasty between 1997 and 2001, when they won a 2A-record five consecutive state titles along with a state record 41 straight victories.

DeSantis left the Meadows after 2001 for coaching stints at Cimarron-Memorial, Eldorado and a Texas high school before returning in 2007.

"Every team was different in their own way," DeSantis said. "It comes down to the players. Every team has its own identity and its up to them to finish it up."

DeSantis is confident this team can contend, especially after its 23-14 win against visiting Battle Mountain in the state semifinals on Nov. 15.

The Meadows held the usually potent Battle Mountain offense to 128 yards. However, it expects a greater challenge with undefeated Pershing County.

"They are well-coached, disciplined and play hard," DeSantis said. "I think this is going to be a pretty good matchup for us."

The Meadows will look to continue a balanced attack on offense led by senior running back Pat Kenny, who led the team in rushing against Battle Mountain with 72 yards and a touchdown, and freshman quarterback Gerard Martinez, who threw for 205 yards and a touchdown.

At 14-years-old, Martinez has been embraced by his teammates. He has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards on the year with 22 touchdowns.

"We came into this year thinking we were going to run the ball a lot, but with Martinez's talent we have been able to diversify our offense," Kenny said. "I don't think there's a team that can keep up with us on offense or defense."

Kenny said the team has slowly progressed throughout the season and is peaking at the right time.

The Meadows' linemen have adjusted to its zone blocking patterns, which were new to the team beginning of the year, and have anchored the team to five straight wins.

Senior center Dylan Parr said the his team has improved each week since its 38-21 loss to Lincoln County on Oct. 10.

"Last week was definitely one of our best games of the season, but Pershing County will be a difficult challenge," Parr said. "I hope this will be one of those games where each of us plays the game of our life."

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or sean.ammerman@hbcpub.com.