No one can remember the last time that a Friday night on E.M. Cole field offered only a varsity game and no fresh-soph game. That was the situation for the 2012 Morrison Homecoming because the Riverdale Rams were unable to field enough players to participate in both games. The normal between game Homecoming ceremonies presided the opening kickoff and the out-manned Rams fell to the Mustangs by a 25-6 score.
The Rams from Riverdale deserve a little credit for playing hard and forcing the Mustangs to work hard to maintain the competitive edge. They received the opening kickoff on their own 35-yard line and marched to the Morrison 18-yard line with a ground attack that had the Mustang defense scrambling to make the adjustments before they were stopped on a fourth and six.
Morrison gained one first down before they were forced to punt from their own 35-yard line. The Ram defense was too quick for the Stangs and the punt was blocked and Danny Willis had to fall on the loose ball on the seven yard line to prevent the Rams from carrying it into the end zone. Three plays later, quarterback Wyatt Klavon snuck over from the one-yard line and the Rams were on the scoreboard first with 4:29 left on the first quarter clock.
Quarterback Matt Wilkens brought the team back on the next series that started on the Morrison 43 yard-line thanks to a 25 yard kickoff return by Alex Volckmann. Halfback Danny Willis gained seven before Wilkens connected with Travis Keller for a seventeen yard pass completion. Three plays later, Wilkens and Keller repeated their previous play for another eighteen yards and the Mustangs were first and goal on the one-yard line. Volckmann crossed the goal to tie the game at six with 1:35 remaining in the opening quarter. Riverdale ended the quarter with the ball at midfield and tied with the Mustangs at 6.
Unable to move the chains, the Rams punted to the Mustangs and their series started from their own 20-yard line. Volckmann gained eight, fullback Andrew Connelly rumbled for twenty, freshman Andy Bird ran for seven and Willis added eight more and the Mustangs were on the move. On a first and ten on the Ram 42 yard-line, Wilkens hit Volckmann in the flat for twelve yards and two plays later they connected again for another 22 to make it first and ten on the Ram 14-yard line. With 5:49 on the clock, Wilkens found Willis in the right end zone corner to move the score to 12-6.
Following the kickoff, the Rams generated a six play drive that gained twelve yards and that was all of the offense the Mustangs allowed the Rams for the entire second quarter. The Mustangs ended the half with a 77-yard drive that included a Connelly sixteen yard charge up the middle, a 13-yard pass completion to Volckmann, a 15-yard pass completion to Keller and finally a 15-yard pass completion for the score to Willis with 29.8 seconds left in the half. Alex Fischbach recovered a Nate Rocker fumble on the ensuing Ram drive and the Mustangs had 17.1 seconds to try to score again before the half ended. Willis grabbed a Wilkens pass and scampered from the 44-yard line to the 17, but time ran out as Wilkens tried to connect unsuccessfully with Alex Weets in the end zone and the half ended with Morrison leading 18-6.
The second half started with another fine kickoff return by Alex Volckmann to position the Mustangs at the Rams 45-yard line. A steady ground game took the Mustangs to the Rams 20-yard line where Wilkens was thrown for a 13-yard loss by Riverdale’s Nate Rocker. Willis was asked to punt and the Rams flooded him again and blocked the second kick of the night but this time the ball was picked up by Willis and carried to the eight-yard line only to be one-yard short of a first down and the possession was returned to the Rams at the eight-yard line. Riverdale’s Terry White ran off tackle for 15-yards but that was the only forward progress the Rams could muster and they punted the ball back to the Mustangs with 5:23 left in the third quarter. Morrison needed less than four minutes to cover the 44-yards to the end zone as Wilkens scored on a quarterback sneak to enlarge the Ram deficit to 25-6. The scoring drive was highlighted by a Wilkens to Willis pass for eighteen yards and two ten-yard runs by Connelly and Willis.
The final period saw the Morrison defense completely smother the Rams efforts and allowing them only ten yards rushing and seven yards passing in three possessions. While the Mustangs ran off a lot of clock in their two possessions and the game ended with the Mustangs returning to the victory column with a 25-6 Homecoming win.
The Morrison defense rose to the occasion after allowing the Rams 65 first quarter yards they only allowed them 61 total yards the remainder of the game. The Morrison offense collected 415 total yards with Wilkens completing 12 pass in 18 attempts for 187 yards and Danny Willis gaining 90-yards on the ground while Andrew Connelly filled in for the injured Brock Deer and collected 99-yards on the ground.
All–in-all, a quality Homecoming victory for the Mustangs and the fans enjoyed the brisk evening even though they only got to see one game instead of the customary two