By Bill Popkin
Going into this football contest between the Mustangs and the Riverdale Rams
on Sept. 29, it seemed that Morrison would be a solid favorite. The Mustangs had
averaged 27 points per outing compared to Riverdale’s 16. The Rams were on a
four-game losing streak, while Morrison had won three of its first five ballgames. The
teams were knotted up in a 7-7 defensive struggle at halftime, but the Mustangs
galloped ahead 14-7 on an Aaron Deter TD to open the final period. All they had to do
to escape with a hard fought win was play solid defense and stop the Riverdale rushing
game as they had done all game to that point. The one thing that Riverdale had in its
favor was that it was their homecoming weekend! Enthusiasm, exuberance, and
excitement prevailed. Riverdale Senior quarterback Brett Murphy showed fine
leadership as he guided his team 76 yards with less than three minutes remaining in the
game with a seven play drive mixing the run with the pass. He hit Karson Smeltzy on a
14 yard toss with 16 seconds remaining to make the score 14-13 Mustangs. A gutsy call
by Coach Guy Dierikx, as the Rams went for the two point conversion and the win.
Murphy again showed his mettle as he passed to junior Jacob Meloan in the southwest
corner of the end zone for the two point conversion and the victory.
Coming into the game, Morrison has had trouble with turnovers. They had
committed five in their last two contests against Newman and Fulton. This game
followed that trend. They had a fumble lost as well as an interception. Riverdale, on the
other hand, played errorless offensively.
Morrison got on the board first with two yard touchdown on a Reilly Dolan
quarterback sneak with 4:51 left in the first quarter. Brevin Pruis kicked the extra point to
put Morrison up 7-0. Riverdale’s Murphy returned the favor as he went across the goal
line one yard away midway into the second period. Logan Otto kicked the extra point for
the Rams, and the game was tied at 7 all at the half.
After excellent defensive efforts by both squads in the third frame, Deter’s four
yard TD run coupled with the Prius’s extra point kick, put Morrison in the driver’s seat
14-7 with less than a quarter to play. Then Murphy and company ended the game with
a flurry, and the homecoming celebration was on.
One more incident that happened in the game needs to be addressed. With
11:47 remaining in the event, the bank of lights on the south side of the field went out.
They came back at the 5:56 mark. The stunning thing is that the officials directed the
game to continue in partial darkness. I could not see the lines on my paper as I sat in
the stands and tried to follow the action. People around me had the same problem. The
players looked like silhouettes. Numbers, colors of uniforms, and line markers were
dark. With all the discussions these days about player safety and concussions, I cannot
believe that the game was allowed to continue. These are 18 year old men throwing
themselves at each other in almost total darkness. The game should have been
delayed until the lights came back on, or the end of the contest should have been
played on the next day (Saturday).
Morrison Rushing: Deter 20-73 yards, Tristan Demay 11-39 yards, Grant Slater 9-66
yards, Riley Wilkens 2-13 yards.
Passing: Dolan 2-6, 23 yards, 1 Int., Jacob Schlegel 0-2, 0 yards. Receiving:Demay 1-
13 yards, Jarrett Wiebenga 1-10 yards