BUTLER TWP — Meridian packed quite a one-two punch Saturday night.

Kelley Kuharic led the way offensively and Hank Finan did so on the defensive side of the ball as the Raiders defeated East Butler, 28-6, in the Butler Area Midget Football League title game at Art Bernardi Stadium.

The win marked Meridian's first BAMFL championship since 1992.

Kuharic carried 18 times for 115 yards, including a back-breaking 37-yard touchdown strike to Zach Henderson with five seconds left in the first half.

Kuharic's subsequent conversion run gave Meridian (7-1) a 16-0 lead. Tony Marzullo's 2-yard scoring run had capped a 12-play, 66-yard touchdown drive by Meridian only 27 seconds earlier.

“That (TD pass) gave us a pretty big hole to dig out of,” East Butler coach George White said. “Their receivers simply out-sized our defensive backs.”

After Meridian's first score, Finan recovered an East Butler fumble at the Bulldogs' 37-yard line. Kuharic then took a pitch from quarterback Alec Bayer and let loose with a deep pass down the middle.

Henderson got position on the defensive back, pulled the ball in and lunged across the goal line.

“Kelley is a playmaker,” Meridian coach Bob Greave said. “We line him up all over the place and put him in position to make plays for us.”

A 1-yard plunge by Nathan Kibbie capped an 8-play, 62-yard East Butler drive that pulled the Bulldogs within 16-6 with 6:40 left in the game. Kuharic ended any hope of an East Butler comeback when he broke loose for a 44-yard touchdown run on Meridian's next possession.

Jacob Surkosky returned an interception 12 yards for a touchdown to conclude the scoring. The pick marked the fourth turnover of the night for East Butler (6-2).

Finan recovered two fumbles and Dillon Uranker recovered one. East Butler lost fumbles at the Meridian 32- and 7-yard lines in the first half.

“Hank Finan was their MVP tonight as far as I'm concerned,” White said. “I've never seen a defensive lineman dominate like that right up the middle.

“He disrupted our snaps, handoffs ... he took our quarterback right out of the game.”

Kibbie paced East Butler with 86 yards on seven carries. The Bulldogs played without Dallas Hays, one of the league's top players who tore his ACL during the regular season.

Meridian and East Butler split their regular season games, East Butler winning 28-26 and Meridian claiming a 22-20 decision.

“I'm thrilled for our kids,” Greave said. “They worked so hard for this all season.”

Center Township (7-1) won the junior varsity title, 14-0, over Meridian (6-2) as Landon Pringle scored on a pair of 3-yard runs.

Meridian 28, East Butler 6East Butler 0 0 0 6 — 6Meridian 0 16 0 12— 28EB M7 First Downs 1131-162 Rushes-Yards 38-1861 Passing Yards 631-3-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 3-8-0163 Total Yards 2493-3 Fumbles-Lost 2-12-10 Penalties-Yards 5-45

Second QuarterM —Tony Marzullo 2 run (Kelley Kuharic run), :32M — Zach Henderson 37 pass from Kuharic (Kuharic run), :05

Fourth QuarterEB — Nathan Kibbie 1 run (pass failed), 6:40M — Kuharic 44 run (run failed), 4:33M— Jacob Surkosky 12 interception return (kick failed), 2:38

Individual StatisticsPassing: East Butler, Nathan Kibbie 1-3-1-1. Meridian, Alec Bayer 2-6-26-0, Kelley Kuharic 1-2-37-0.

Rushing: East Butler, Nathan Kibbie 7-86, Brandon Hilderbrand 8-37, Jake Trinkley 10-42, Rhett Wahler 3-1, TEAM 3-(-4). Meridian, Tony Marzullo 9-49, Alec Bayer 6-21, Kelley Kuharic 18-115, Cameron Kovach 3-3, TEAM 1-(-9), Jacob Surkosky 1-7.

Receiving: East Butler, Brandon Hilderbrand 1-1. Meridian, Jacob Surkosky 1-9, Kelley Kuharic 1-17, Zach Henderson 1-37.