The Morrison Mustangs wanted nothing more than to right the ship and put a win on their record and forget the loss of a week before. Their opponent, the Amboy Clippers, wanted nothing more than to prove that they are a legitimate contender and their undefeated record of 5-0 was no fluke. What resulted was a hard fought battle with strong play in the trenches and the Clippers sailed home with an unblemished record by defeating the Mustangs 24-12.
The opening quarter saw both teams trying to feel out the defense and find a combination that would penetrate the stubborn defenses. Morrison owned the ball for three possessions and ended the period with only 27 total yards of offense and Amboy earned only 28 total offensive yards with two possessions.
Morrison started the second period on their own 38 yard line with a third and seven situation. Quarterback Matt Wilkens connected with Travis Keller for fifteen yards and twice with Alex Volckmann for 13 and 5 before he found Keller again for three and the offense had moved to the Amboy 27 yard line. Danny Willis carried the ball to the 16 where the Mustangs stalled and gave the ball up on downs when Wilkens threw behind Volckmann at the three yard line.
Amboy gained enough for one first down before they returned the ball via a punt to Morrison. Wilkens hit Ryan Mayberry in the right flat for a 12- yard completion, but wasn’t successful on a third and one yard dive by Andre w Connelly and punted the ball back to the Clippers . With only 1:07 left in the half, the Mustangs wanted to hold on and go in at half and regroup , but Amboy wasn’t going to let that happen. Quarterback Tyson Powers rambled for ten yards and then completed a 24-yard pass to Damon Quest that positioned them on the Morrison 23 yard-line with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Spencer Johnson moved the line of scrimmage to the 18-yard line and with 22.6 seconds remaining Powers threw a line drive into the end zone and Taylor Ikens made a diving catch over Brock Deters to open the scoring. With only 19.9 seconds left in the half, Powers intercepted Wilkens on the first play of the Morrison possession and then Alex Volckmann returned the favor by picking off a Powers pass at the three yard line to end the first half with Amboy leading 6-0. The first half statistics were as close as the score with Morrison gaining 78 yards in the air and 23 yards on the ground and Amboy gaining 56-yards in the air and 44 yards on the ground.
Amboy went three and out after receiving the kickoff and Morrison traveled 51 yards in six plays to tie the score with a 19-yard pass completion from Wilkens to Willis. Willis also contributed to the drive with a 20-yard scamper on a third and 1 call. The extra point was blocked and the game was netted at 6 with 7:17 remaining in the third quarter. The ensuing kickoff was returned to the Amboy 33 yard line by Garrett Anderson. Bailey Appleman immediately rumbled over center for 17-yards and the Amboy ground attack moved the ball for two more first downs. One of the critical calls of the night ensued when Morrison piled up Appleman on a fourth and three play on the 32-yard line. The referees called for the chains to measure and measured twice before signaling a first down for the Clippers. Spencer Johnson carried the ball to the seven yard line two plays later and eventually Appleman scored on a fourth and one from the one and moved the score to 12-6 after missing the extra point conversion.
The Mustangs went three and out and Amboy owned the ball at their own 31 yard line to start the final quarter.
Fourteen plays and seven minutes and sixteen seconds later, Amboy crossed the goal-line again to make the score 18-6 and only 4:44 left on the clock. The Mustangs needed only one snap as Wilkens laid the pass out for Willis and he ran under it for the score and immediately the Mustangs were back in the game being only down by six points.
It only took Amboy one minute and thirty-one seconds to find the end zone again thanks to a 48-yard gallop by Cooper Nelson that took the ball to the Morrison two-yard line where Appleman finished the drive with a two-yard run over center and the fate was sealed for the Mustangs as the Clippers led 24-12 with only 3:01 left to play. In desperation, Wilkens couldn’t connect with Ryan Mayberry on two pass attempts and was intercepted on a fourth and ten to end any hopes of a comeback and send the Clippers home undefeated with a 24-12 hard fought win.
During the critical final stanza, the Clippers were able to control the ball for all but three minutes and thirty-one seconds and ran the ball 24 plays to the Mustang’s five. A hard fought contest and the Mustangs look forward to make the necessary corrections and grab a victory on Homecoming week-end and remain eligible for the playoffs with the three losses.
Final Score; Morrison 12 Amboy 24