Mustangs Dominate Tigers
by Jerry Lindsey
The 2013 Morrison High School football season started out to be one to remember. The team’s abilities are unrated and scattered with young men that may or may not perform well at the varsity level. The team’s success will be hinging on the ability to keep everyone healthy. Plus, Coach Bielema has instituted a ‘wildcat’ offense that is new to the team and the league
.
The opening night’s action started in 85 degree temperatures and threatening skies. The crowd was smaller due to the high temperatures, but the enthusiasm was there as Ron Kuehl invited the fans to “get ready to rumble”.
Andy Bird handed the opening kickoff to Ryan Mayberry on a reverse and he returned it to the Tigers 42 yard line. Quarterback Joey Brackemyer called his own number for a seven yard gain which was followed by an eleven yard scamper by Mason Sitzmore. Brackemyer found Ryan Mayberry down the left sideline for a 16 yard pass completion before Andy Bird dove in for the first touchdown from the four yard line. Sitzmore fought over the line for the two-point conversion and the Mustangs were on topn 8-0 with only 10:49 left in the first quarter.
Princeton’s first possession ended on the fourth snap as Noah Blacklock caused a Tiger fumble that was recovered by Austin Shoup on the 42 yard line. The Mustang moved immediately to the Princeton 15 yard line with the aid of a Sitzmore thirteen yard run and a 24 yard pass from Brackemyer to Mayberry. A lightning flash in the Northeast forced an automatic 20 minute delay, but the front continued to move over the gridiron and the threatening skies forced the officials to halt any further action and schedule a resumption of play for 11:00 a.m Saturday morning.
The Saturday morning begin the same way the Friday evening ended, with Morrison moving the ball at will. The first snap at 11:00 a.m. saw Brackemyer pitch out to the left to Mason Sitzmore and and he walked into the end zone to make the score 14-0.
Following the kickoff,Princeton moved to the 3 yard line on the strength of a 62 yard scamper ,but coughed up the ball with a fumble on the next play and Morrison’s Blacklock recovered on the 3-yard line.
The Mustangs used the rest of the first quarter to move the 97 yards to another touchdown. The drive was highlighted with a40-yard run by Shoup and a 20 yard Brackemyer to Sitzmore pass completion.
The first play of the second quarter saw Kollin Burn end a tiger possession with an interception and two minutes later the Mustangs scored again on a four-yard push by Sitzmore and the score rolled up to 26-0 with 9:30 left in the first half.
The Tiger’s inability to move the ball continued as their next possession ended when Austin Keller recovered a fumble on the Princeton 47-yard line. Nine snaps later, Brackemyer made a cut-back run into the end zone from the six-yard line and the scoreboard changed to 33-0 with 1:36 remaining in the half.
Princeton unsuccessfully tried to throw against the Mustangs on the next series and had to punt the ball back with only 1:08 left on the clock. The Mustangs needed on 36 seconds to move the 46 yards into the end zone and take a 39-0 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Tigers were able to generate only 17 yards of total offense the entire third quarter while the Mustangs added another score on a Brackemyer twenty-five yard run to stretch the lead to 46-0.
The fourth quarter saw little offense from either side as the continuous clock rolled off the minutes without much delay. The Tigers threatened to ruin the shutout when they moved to the one-yard line with under ten seconds left to play in the game. The Mustangs were not going to allow their goal line to be crossed and crushed two quarterback sneak attempts before Keller fell on a loose ball on the third try and the Tigers loaded the bus with a disappointing 46-0 defeat to a very spirited Morrison Mustang team.
Morrison next test will be next Friday evening when they travel to Orion.
Offensive Stats:
Rushing:
Brackemyer :9 carries = 87 yards
Shoup: 8 carries = 85 yards
Sitzmore: 5 carries = 33 yards
Bird: 7 carries = 19 yards
Passing;
Brackemyer:10 / 12 = 160 yards
Touchdowns Scored:
Bird-2, Sitzmore -2, Brackemyer – 2, Klimson -1