Editor’s note: Jerry Lindsey took the photos.
The Morrison Mustangs traveled 70 miles to play the Spring Valley Hall Red Devils for the first time on their field. But they made the late-night journey home with a 26-14 win. The Mustangs used a pounding ground game that racked up 288 yards rushing, and a tough defense that only allowed the Red Devils 63 rushing yards and 80 passing. However, the overzealous defense hurt themselves by committing several untimely penalties and earning one player ejection.
The first quarter saw each team owning the ball twice, before Morrison started a scoring drive on their 31-yard line with 4:18 left in the period.
The drive carried into the second quarter where Riley Wilkens scored from the three-yard line to put the Mustangs up 6-0. The key plays in the drive were a 15-yard scramble by quarterback Riley Dolan and a Dolan-to-Ben Brackemyer pass for 26 yards. After a three-and-out by the Red Devils, Morrison hit pay dirt again. Aaron Deter punched it over from the 3-yard line to cap a ten-play, 46-yard drive, to up the advantage to 12-0. Both first half scores were followed by failed extra point kicks. The ensuing kickoff was received by Hall’s James Mautino on the 13-yard line and returned to the Morrison 35-yard line, before he was run out of bounds. Six plays later Hall’s Anthony Buchanan scored from the 3-yard line, to make the halftime score 12-8 in favor of the Mustangs. A four-point lead wasn’t very reassuring after the Mustangs had dominated the time of possession in the first half and run off 47 plays, compared to the Red Devils’ 18.
Six plays into the second half, Wilkens grabbed a deflected pass from Cade Wozniak at the Morrison 41-yard line and galloped untouched into the end zone, to allow the Mustang loyals a little extra breathing room. Brevin Pruis upped the score 19-8 with a successful extra point conversion. Midway through the third quarter the Red Devils owned the ball on their 31-yardline. Morrison was called for a facemask penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the same play, resulting in a 30-yard walk off against the Mustangs. Following the walk off, quarterback Cade Wozniak connected with Steven Brust for a 17-yard completion and a 15-yard touchdown, to pull the home team to within five points of the Mustangs, 19-14 with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter. Morrison responded to the score by finishing the period with ten rushing plays that moved the ball to the Morrison 9-yard line, as the quarter ended.
The fourth quarter opened with a Morrison fumble, recovered by Grant Slater, after a 7-yard loss back to the 16-yard line. Deter was unable to make up the lost yardage, and the Mustang turned it over on downs at the 8-yard line. Buchanan immediately ripped off a 21-yard gain. Morrison defense forced a three-and-out, so the Red Devils had to punt from their 29-yard line. A poor punt gave the Mustangs the ball at mid-field, with 9:31 remaining in the game. A ten-play drive followed, featuring a 15-yard run by Pruis and a 3-yard plunge into the end zone by Deter. The score moved to 26-14 after the Pruis extra point, leaving 4:24 left on the clock. The Red Devils went to the air on the next eight plays and completed five passes, gaining 48 yards. But their drive ended on the 18-yard line, where Grant Slater recovered a Red Devil fumble with 2:39 left in the game. To run out the clock and protect the ball, Deter received six consecutive handoffs and gained 24-yards, to erase the final seconds and secure the 26-14 triumph that raised the season record to 2-0.
Rushing: Deter: 120 yards (30 carries) 2 TD’s, Slater: 45 yards (7 carries), Dolan: 54 yards (7 carries), DeMay: 35 yards (6 carries), Pruis: 17 yards (2 carries ), Wilkens: 8 yards (2 carries) 2 TD’s
Passing: Dolan: 5/8 = 84 yards
Receiving: Wiebenga 1/19, DeMay 2/11, Brackemyer 3/54