The Morrison Ponies started the season with promise. High points throughout the season overshadowed the challenges caused by injuries. On Friday, October 21, 2016, Sophomore Jarrett Wiebenga, who played himself into the role of the big play receiver, found himself under center for the final game of the season. Wiebenga is the fourth quarterback to start for the Ponies. Broken collarbones ended the season for two. The third, Jacob Schlegel, became sidelined with a foot injury. This forced Coach Duane Schaffer to convert Wiebenga.
The young Bureau Valley Storms opened the scoring with a 65-yard drive on their initial possession. They then took advantage of good field position after recovering a Pony fumble and quickly took a 16-0 lead. They struck again on their third possession as Eric Schoff crossed the goal line, after scampering 22 yards to take a 24-0 lead. Morrison immediately retaliated with a scoring drive that ended with a Wiebenga 24-yard touchdown pass to Keegan Anderson. The first quarter ended with the Storm on top 24-8.
Bureau Valley opened the second quarter with a six-play drive. It tallied three gains over 19 yards, including the 24-yard score by Tucker Hartz. Morrison engineered a ten-play drive but was forced to punt, after Wiebenga was thrown for a 10-yard loss on third. The half ended with the Storm in control 30-8.
The Ponies were held to only 30 yards in the third quarter. The Storm tacked on another score with an 11-yard jaunt by Eric Schoff, to up the Storm’s advantage to 38-8.
The final quarter continued to be a challenge for the Pony offense. With 1:20 remaining Wiebanga found Anderson open on the left sideline. They connected on a 60-yard touchdown to end the evening with a Storm victory of 38-14.
The Storm collected 296 yards on the ground, with Schoff totaling 110 and Tucker Hartz adding 79. The Ponies only gathered 129 rushing yards, with Anderson gaining 60, and Riley Wilkens gaining another 47.