Mustangs Lose on Last Seconds Drama

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By Bill Popkin

Going into this football contest between the Mustangs and the Riverdale Rams

on Sept. 29, it seemed that Morrison would be a solid favorite. The Mustangs had

averaged 27 points per outing compared to Riverdale’s 16. The Rams were on a

four-game losing streak, while Morrison had won three of its first five ballgames. The

teams were knotted up in a 7-7 defensive struggle at halftime, but the Mustangs

galloped ahead 14-7 on an Aaron Deter TD to open the final period. All they had to do

to escape with a hard fought win was play solid defense and stop the Riverdale rushing

game as they had done all game to that point. The one thing that Riverdale had in its

favor was that it was their homecoming weekend! Enthusiasm, exuberance, and

excitement prevailed. Riverdale Senior quarterback Brett Murphy showed fine

leadership as he guided his team 76 yards with less than three minutes remaining in the

game with a seven play drive mixing the run with the pass. He hit Karson Smeltzy on a

14 yard toss with 16 seconds remaining to make the score 14-13 Mustangs. A gutsy call

by Coach Guy Dierikx, as the Rams went for the two point conversion and the win.

Murphy again showed his mettle as he passed to junior Jacob Meloan in the southwest

corner of the end zone for the two point conversion and the victory.

Coming into the game, Morrison has had trouble with turnovers. They had

committed five in their last two contests against Newman and Fulton. This game

followed that trend. They had a fumble lost as well as an interception. Riverdale, on the

other hand, played errorless offensively.

Morrison got on the board first with two yard touchdown on a Reilly Dolan

quarterback sneak with 4:51 left in the first quarter. Brevin Pruis kicked the extra point to

put Morrison up 7-0. Riverdale’s Murphy returned the favor as he went across the goal

line one yard away midway into the second period. Logan Otto kicked the extra point for

the Rams, and the game was tied at 7 all at the half.

After excellent defensive efforts by both squads in the third frame, Deter’s four

yard TD run coupled with the Prius’s extra point kick, put Morrison in the driver’s seat

14-7 with less than a quarter to play. Then Murphy and company ended the game with

a flurry, and the homecoming celebration was on.

One more incident that happened in the game needs to be addressed. With

11:47 remaining in the event, the bank of lights on the south side of the field went out.

They came back at the 5:56 mark. The stunning thing is that the officials directed the

game to continue in partial darkness. I could not see the lines on my paper as I sat in

the stands and tried to follow the action. People around me had the same problem. The

players looked like silhouettes. Numbers, colors of uniforms, and line markers were

dark. With all the discussions these days about player safety and concussions, I cannot

believe that the game was allowed to continue. These are 18 year old men throwing

themselves at each other in almost total darkness. The game should have been

delayed until the lights came back on, or the end of the contest should have been

played on the next day (Saturday).

Morrison Rushing: Deter 20-73 yards, Tristan Demay 11-39 yards, Grant Slater 9-66

yards, Riley Wilkens 2-13 yards.

Passing: Dolan 2-6, 23 yards, 1 Int., Jacob Schlegel 0-2, 0 yards. Receiving:Demay 1-

13 yards, Jarrett Wiebenga 1-10 yards

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