Assistant Editor Jerry Lindsey submitted the report and photos.
High school football owns a certain predictability with each assigned game, but the Morrison vs Monmouth-Roseville Titans game, on Saturday, September 10, 2022, may have ignored most of those normalities. First, the game was played on a Saturday due to the challenge currently being experienced, with the low number of available officials. Second, the game was played 90 miles away, as the reality of school sizes and Conference readjustments came to the forefront. Third, the game time was scheduled for an unfamiliar 5:00 p.m. start, which is seldom part of the High School scheduling process.
The Saturday contest brought two teams searching for improvements and a victory, to establish them as a force for future opponents. The opening quarter saw each team end drives, by losing ball possession due to the fumble. The Titans’ first score was the result of a fumble recovery in the end zone, with 2:41 remaining in the quarter. Morrison was called for off-sides on the extra point attempt that moved the ball to the 1.5 yard line, where C. J. Johnson recorded the 2-point conversion to give the Titans the lead, 8-0. The Mustangs retaliated on the next possession. Brady Anderson skirted left end for a 20-yard score, but a 2-point attempt by fullback Carson Strating was stopped, leaving the Mustangs short by a score of 8-6.
The Morrison defense held the Titans to only seven snaps in the second quarter, before generating a quarter-ending, 17-play drive. It ended as the halftime clock expired, when quarterback Danny Mouw was sacked on a fourth-and-goal on the 3-yard line.
The second half started with the Mustang defense forcing the Titans to punt on their first possession. The kick was blocked and recovered by the Mustangs on the 30-yard line. A 25-yard completion from-Mouw-to-Daeshaun McQueen allowed Strating to score two plays later and give them a 12-8 advantage. The Titans needed only four plays to take their second possession of the second half into the end zone, with 6:41 on the clock. Quarterback Silas Braun scored the 2-point conversion with a dive over center to regain their advantage by a 16-12 score. The scoreboard was changed again by Morrison following the ensuing kickoff. A five-play possession highlighted by a 20-yard scamper by Anderson ended with a 13-yard scoring pass completion from-Mouw-to-Anderson. It changed the score in Morrison’s favor 18-16. The extra point conversion ended with Mouw being sacked at the 5-yard line.
The list of unusual plays continued, and time in the third quarter dwindled. The Titans fumbled a fourth down attempt at mid-field and turned the ball over on downs, with 2:07 remaining in the quarter. The Mouw-to-McQueen duo paired up again on a 24-yard pass completion, before Mouw connected with Chase Newman, to end the quarter with the ball on the Titan 12-yard line. Four plays later, a fourth down Mouw pass was intercepted on the goal line, and returned to the 40-yard line by Jerome Jackson. The Mustang defense responded again and stopped the Titans on a fourth-and-seven six plays later, to regain possession with 5:41 left. The Mustangs owned the ball until they were stopped on a fourth down attempt, with 1:42 left in the game and the ball on their 30-yard line. The Titans immediately took to the air and completed passes gaining 10, 18, 19, and 9 yards, moving the ball to the 12-yard line with 2.9 seconds remaining. The final snap of the game saw Braun toss a pass into the end zone to Ashton Toal, only to see the pass knocked to the ground by the Mustangs–to start the celebration of the 18-16 Mustang victory.
The event stats echoed the competitiveness of the game. Morrison totaled 194 yards on the ground, compared to the Titans’ 153. Carson Strating led the stampede with 83 yards, supported with Brady Anderson’s 53 and Logan Baker’s 37. Danny Mouw completed five passes for 97 yards, to out duel the Titans’ 89 yards, with a Mustang 7-for-13 completion record.
