The weather app was on most phones in Orion, IL, as the Morrison Ponies took the field to defend their undefeated record, on Friday, October 6, 2017. The weather held off to allow them to record a 34-8 victory.
The young Orion Chargers caught the Ponies off guard on the opening play. Quarterback Ryan Jungwirth connected with John Foley for a 67-yard gain that ended on the Morrison 8-yard line. The Morrison defense awakened to stop the Chargers, on a fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line to stop the scoring attempt. The quarter ended without a score, but the surprise 67-yard pass completion would turn out to be over half of the yardage the Chargers would gain the rest of the game.
The second quarter opened with a 1-yard score by Coby Schultz and a 2-point pass completion that earned Orion an 8-0 lead. Each team had three possession in the quarter. Orion’s offense was held to a -25 rushing yards. The Morrison offense found the end zone with only 12 seconds remaining. Quarterback Nathan Helms found Keegan Anderson in the flat, and he did the rest to complete a 17-yard score. Jevin Smith scored the two point conversion from the 3-yard line to close the half in a tie 8-8.
The second half opened with the Ponies marching 55 yards in ten plays. It ended with a 1-yard Smith touchdown and a Nick Smith 2-point conversion, to up the score to 16-8.
The Pony defense, led by a Darby Cooper stop for no gain, forced a three-and-out. The Ponies scored–five snaps later–as Anderson broke tackles to skirt left end, for a 28-yard touchdown. Again Smith converted the 2-point conversion, to expand the Pony advantage to 24-8 with 3:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Chargers owned the ball for one other series in the quarter. It ended with a 5-yard loss created by a crushing tackle by Izaak Shetler and Chance Challand. The Orion offense was held to a -1 yard rushing in the quarter.
With the end result clearly in hand, the Ponies defense continued to dominate. They held the Chargers to 1-yard rushing in the final quarter, while they padded their lead with a 2-yard score by Smith and Shetler converting, to form the final tally at 34-8.
The Chargers were held to a -6 rushing yards and 127 yards passing, remembering that the opening play covered 67 of those yards.
Eight Ponies carried the ball led by Brhenan Linke (72 yards); John Winkleman (80 yards/1-TD); Jevin Smith (42 yards/3-TD’s.) Passing: Nathan Helms (1/3 17 yard TD to Anderson.)
The undefeated Ponies will encounter the Rockridge Rockets at the Lumberking Stadium in Clinton, IA, at 5:30 p.m., next Friday, October 13.