Junior linebacker Ryan Mecham shines in Hillcrest’s state championship win
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POCATELLO — When the season began, junior Ryan Mecham was Hillcrest’s second-string inside linebacker. After working tirelessly, not only did he become a starter, he made himself the hero of the 5A State Football Championship game.
The Knights knocked off rival Skyline, 31-8, in the championship game Friday night to earn the program’s first banner since 2018. The game saw an incredible effort from underdog Hillcrest’s defense, which was anchored by Mecham.
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The game’s MVP ended each of Skyline’s first two drives, first by intercepting Grizz quarterback CarMyne Garcia on the fifth play of the game, then sacking Garcia on a fourth and short minutes later.
Mecham’s game-changing plays set up 10 Hillcrest points. And he nearly scored six of his own to ice the victory for the Knights.
The linebacker, who entered the game with zero interceptions on the season, jumped a Skyline crossing pattern in the endzone for his second pick of the game. His attempt at a pick-six was halted 94 yards later by a hustling Daxton Perkins, who tackled Mecham all the way on the opposite 6-yard line.
Asked if he could have imagined a better end to his junior season, the kid who will be a hero on campus when class returns to session offered a simple, succinct response.
“Oh, nah. No way,” he said said as teammates tapped him on the back calling Mecham “HIM” and “the Most Valuable Player.”
“Ryan is a kid that has developed over the last three years,” head coach Brennon Mossholder said of the junior. “He didn’t even start for us at the beginning of this year. We challenged him to work his butt off and he did, and it paid off big tonight.”
As of 30 minutes after the championship game went final, Mecham had not yet received a game ball — and he’s not sure his team will ever have one to give out, or if he will receive it. If he does though, he has plans for it.
“I don’t know if we have one, but I would hang it up in my room,” he said.
The Knights will lose a number of starters to graduation, but others, including Mecham, quarterback Tyson Sweetwood and wide receiver-cornerback Mason Davis — who had an interception and touchdown catch in the game — will be back to make another run at the title in 2025.
Asked if he believes Hillcrest can run it back and claim another banner next season, Mecham said he thinks it can.
“Oh yeah, we’ve got the tools,” he said. “We’re graduating a lot of seniors again this year, but that’s what they said last year. We’ve got the boys, and we’re going to hit the gym hard and we’re going to come back and get it.”