Assistant Editor Jerry Lindsey wrote the report and took the photos.
The Friday, October 4, 2024, Morrison High School Homecoming will be remembered for the perfect weather, excellent student participation, and a rewarding victory on the Football field, as the Mustangs controlled the Dakota Indians en route to a 49-6 victory.
The Mustang offense established the mood in the opening quarter. They scored 14 points on only nine plays, while the defense was holding the Indian offense to 30 yards on 20 plays. Levi Milder opened the scoring with a 17-yard scamper at the 9:24 mark. That was followed by an 11-yard score two minutes later, by Rylan Alvarado. Joshua McDearmon followed each score with a successful extra-point conversion, to give the Mustangs a 14-0 first quarter lead.
Only three seconds into the second quarter, Colton Bielema found the endzone after recovering a fumble and scampering 44-yaards to up the advantage of 20-0 before McDearmon made it 21-0 with the extra point kick. Dakota used the quarter to generate 17-play drive to only have it end with a fumble that the Mustang’s Caleb Modglin recovered on the 17-yard line. Brady Anderson took the first snap of the Morrison possession and galloped 83-yards down the sideline to give the Mustangs a 27-0 lead that McDearmon edged to 28-0. A touchdown pass from Bielema to Anderson of 35-yards was nullified by a holding penalty, but the Mustangs entered halftime with a commanding 28-0 lead.
The third quarter saw Morrison muster a 70-yard drive that ended with a 46-yard score by Brady Anderson. McDearmon made it 35-0. The defense stymied the Indians on a three-and-out, and the Mustangs found the end zone again on the following possession. A pass interference call against Dakota gave the ball to the Mustangs in good field position. Caleb Modglin carried three consecutive plays to give the Mustangs a first down on the 11-yard line. Levi Milder took the next snap into the end zone, to up the score to 41-0 halfway through the third quarter. Mc Dearmon’s foot made it 42-0, while the defense held the Indians to only 15 total yards in the quarter.
The Indians owned the ball the entire fourth quarter. A score was generated with a Drake Davis 2-yard dive, with only 3:41 left in the game. The following kickoff was received by Brady Anderson on the 15-yard line; it was quickly returned to the Mustang end zone to boost the score to 48-6. McDearmon added the extra point to form the Homecoming final score of 49-6.
The game was highlighted by Brady Anderson’s 257 yards gained and the Defense, that held the Indians to a total of 154 yards of offense on 73 plays. The Mustangs will travel to Stockton, IL, on Friday, October 11, for a game against the Stockton Blackhawks with a scheduled 7:00 p.m. kickoff.