The Morrison Mustangs entered the Friday night, September 26, 2014, Homecoming game after experiencing a week of great weather, enthusiastic Thuse activities, and one of the most spirited pep rallies the school has experienced in a long time.
They were hosting the 2-and-2 Amboy, IL, Clippers with hopes of making a game of it.
Only four downs into the game the door of opportunity opened for the Mustangs, as they recovered a Clippers’ fumble on their own 35-yard line. A 13-play drive, that included three Amboy penalties and a 25-yard connection between quarterback Joey Brackemyer and halfback Merik Kennedy, left the Mustangs with a first-and-goal on the 6-yard line. Brackemyer ducked off-tackle for three yards but fumbled the next snap. Amboy’s Dallas Appleman recovered it on the 3-yard line to end the chance for an early score. The Clippers moved the ball south with continual pounding rushes inside the tackles and ended the quarter with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Liam Ohlendorf to Ryan Leffelman.
The Mustangs hurt themselves on the next possession with two penalties and a fumbled snap under center and were forced to punt from their own 40-yard line. Amboy continued to grind out yards with Dallas Appleman and Chris Jones gathering yards at a steady 3- to 6-yard clip each play. The drive ended when Triston Houzenga intercepted an Ohlendorf aerial in the end zone with 4:49 left in the half. The Mustangs moved from their own 20 to their 45-yard line, when a bad snap from center was recovered by Mason Sitzmore for an 18-yard loss. The drive was stopped two plays later. The Clippers owned the ball the rest of the half but couldn’t get any closer than the Morrison 27-yard line before time expired in the half with them leading 7-0.
The Clippers outrushed the Mustangs by a 136 to 33 margin, but despite the yardage advantage the Mustangs were only a touchdown down.
The Mustangs received the kickoff to start the second half from their own 22-yard line. Brackemyer rolled to his left on the first snap and was forced to the sideline. He flipped a pass before being run out of bounds, and it was picked off by Dallas Appleman on the Morrison 35-yard line. Appleman gained 17-yards in two carries. Chris Jones carried four times, with the fourth carry being a one-yard touchdown with 9:42 left in the third quarter. Amboy led 14 to Morrison’s 0.
Morrison experienced a three-and-out on the next possession, and Amboy needed only three minutes to expand the score to 21-0 with 4:52 left in the third quarter. Morrison came right back after the Clippers’ score with a drive that ended the quarter with a fourth-and-11 on the Amboy 20-yard line.
To open the final quarter, Barckemyer pitched to Mason Sitzmore and ran out to become a receiver, but the completed pass only gained eight of the 11 yards needed. Amboy took over on downs on the 12-yard line. The ground game of Amboy pounded out yards and ate clock, as they rolled off 20 plays that ended with a failed fourth-and-goal on the four-yard line. They had eaten up the entire fourth quarter. The Mustangs got the ball back with only 2:28 left in the game, trailing by 21 points and 96 yard from their own end zone. With 1:47 left in the game, Amboy’s Koty Conderman intercepted a Brackemyer pass, and the Homecoming game came to a close with the Amboy Clippers leading 21-0.
The Amboy offense outrushed the Mustangs by a 305 to 50 margin, with Dallas Appleman gaining 92 yards and Chris Jones adding another 141 yards.
The Mustangs’ record moved to 0-5 with a game at Bureau Valley next Friday night, October 3.