When trying to determine how much Cody Meeske weighs, there's some debate if you're relying on football rosters. One printed source says 165 pounds, but the Gridiron Classic state program indicates 150. Meeske's not even sure.

"Probably somewhere between 155 and 160," said the Prosser senior. "But it depends on which convenience store I'm at." If he's munched down corn dogs and jojos and is tipping toward 160, where would you expect the Mustangs to make use of his 5-foot-9 frame? Wide receiver? Defensive back? Kicker?

Nope on all counts. Try defensive tackle for two full seasons, dating back to when he actually was 150 pounds at the start of last season. "Cody's not exactly afraid of contact," explained defensive coordinator Doug Fassler. "In fact, he enjoys that kind of challenge."

That challenge was best exemplified last Friday in the Class 2A state semifinals against Lynden. Playing mostly the left side, Meeske started across from 295-pound Gunner Groothuis, whose platoon partner wasn't much of a break at 6-foot-3, 270 pounds. "I see guys that big and I get even more fired up. That's what I play for," Meeske said. "If it seems like something I shouldn't be able to handle, I'm even more excited to do it.

"It's just the challenge of it. If I played against guys my own size I probably wouldn't do anything." This is nothing new at Prosser, which has the aptly named Derek Small, a 5-7, 150-pound junior, starting at offensive tackle.

"In the past we've had success at putting smaller, quicker kids down low," Fassler explained. "Cody had always been an outside linebacker, but at the start of last year we were short on DTs. His size wasn't a big deal — Cody has the perfect mentality for it." If diminutive linemen need any convincing, head coach Tom Moore likes to use former all-stater Jeb Knox as a prime example of size not mattering. Knox was a 167-pound lineman — a two-way starter, no less — on the 1992 Prosser team that blanked hulking O'Dea 26-0 for the Class AA state title.

Meeske, however, didn't need the history lesson. "Jeb is actually an extremely good friend of the family," he said. "He worked for my grandfather, and I've heard those stories. It's cool that we have that connection." That connection runs deeper. Knox was then — and still is — an exceptional rodeo performer and Meeske competes as well whether on his own in bull riding and calf roping or with his younger brother, Nate, in team roping.

Nate competed in team roping at the National High School Rodeo Finals last July in Illinois. A sophomore who starts on the offensive line, Nate doesn't look like his older brother at 6-foot, 220 pounds. "My folks always said he got whole milk and I got the 2-percent," Cody quipped. The Meeske family — Cody's father Mitch was a middle linebacker at Eastern Washington University — operates a cattle business on 200 acres north of Whitstran. Since his freshman year, Cody has tended his own herd of 20 cattle.

So, clearly, Meeske is not your typical 160-pound kid. But even a tough teenage rancher requires exceptional technique and footwork to hold ground and disrupt flow while giving away 100 to 150 pounds. One of the precepts of Moore's long-held fundamentals is 'pad under pad.' That's the one benefit of being 5-9 — you're always under somebody's pads and in a crucial position for leverage. Then it's time to go to work. "I have to use a lot of speed, and the first step is extremely important," he said. "I usually get off the snap before a lot of the bigger guys do, and if I get the momentum and get underneath them they have trouble with it.

"What I can't do is stand straight up," he added. "If I do that and the offensive lineman gets his hands on me, I'm pretty much done. So for me it's be quick and stay low." As if jousting with one hefty lineman in the trenches wasn't enough, teams will often target Meeske for double teams, figuring that's the best gap to bust a hole open for running backs. "Teams look at film and see I'm just a little bitty guy so they figure they'll just run over me," he said. "To tell the truth, I enjoy that more. I mean, having 500, 600 pounds pushing on you is a tough deal, but that's the ultimate challenge."

And that's why Meeske enjoys the game so much — a visceral battle for a patch of ground. Not so much tackles, sacks or interceptions — just overcoming less-obvious challenges. And playing next to trenchmate Alan Molina and inside defensive ends Kellen Crawford and Steve Natho — an all-senior foursome.

"We always have our team goals, starting with no points," said Meeske. "But for me personally, my main goal is to not get moved, not get blocked. Especially against a double (team). After that it's whatever trouble I can make." And big trouble comes every game and every snap.