In a season when nothing has been easy for the Morrison Mustangs, Homecoming against the 1-3 Riverdale Rams was no exception. On Friday, September 23, 2016, they fell behind early, regained and mounted a comfortable lead, and then had to hold on, to earn a well-deserved Homecoming win of 47-35.
Junior Parker Corson gained 56 of his 126 total yards on the opening drive, as the Rams marched from their own 26 yard line into the Morrison end zone, to take a quick 7-0 lead. Morrison’s Ethan Fischbach is establishing himself as a big play threat; that night he really opened some eyes. Fischbach picked up an excellent kickoff on the three yard line, eluded several tacklers, and returned the kickoff 97 yards to score Morrison’s first touchdown and close the score to 7-6. A shanked kickoff gave the Rams good field possession on the Morrison 46 yard line. They needed only five plays to cross the end line again and stretch their lead to 14-6 after one quarter.
The second quarter was the turning point for the Mustangs. They made some adjustments on defense and held the Rams to no rushing yards and a negative 11 passing yards in the quarter. With the tightened defense, momentum swayed toward the Mustangs, who scored on all three possessions and delighted the Homecoming crowd, by executing eight plays over ten yards. In the quarter Cody Southern punished tacklers and collected runs of 10, 8, and 35 yards. Aaron Deter added runs of 10, 13, and 12 yards and scored three touchdowns. Fischbach pulled in two Reilly Dolan passes for 15 and 31 yards, to take a 27-14 lead into the halftime break.
The third period opened with a 68-yard, 11-play drive by the Mustangs, who took a commanding lead of 34-14 with 6:48 remaining in the quarter. The Rams didn’t fold. They needed only two minutes to up their scoreboard total to 21, on a five-play drive that featured a 40-yard pass completion from Brett Murphy to Blake DeClercq, before Corson took it into the end zone from the one yard line. The see-saw battle continued. Morrison immediately retaliated on the scoreboard. Deter broke a 29-yard run up the middle. Dolan connected with Southern for the score from 45 yards out, to up their advantage to 41-21, with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.
Riverdale started their next possession from their own 30 yard line. Corson ripped off 15 yards. Quarterback Brett Murphy skirted right end for 20 yards, before Jarrett Ruchotzke caught Murphy for a 10-yard loss and Corson for a 7-yard loss to end the quarter.
Ruchotzke continued his rampage to open the fourth quarter by sacking Murphy again for a 4-yard loss. The Rams went to the “trick play book” on fourth down. They ran a double reverse and pitched the ball back to Murphy, who completed a 40-yard pass to a wide open Corson. They were back within 13 points at 41-28, with 10:00 remaining in the game. Following a Morrison three-and-out, the Rams returned Fischbach‘s punt to the Morrison 43 yard line. Corson took the first snap, found a hole over right tackle, and covered the 43 yards to close the score to 41-35, with 7:05 on the clock. With a nervous Morrison crowd watching, the Mustangs controlled the ball for the next five minutes. Deter added another touchdown. Knowing that the Rams would come out throwing, the Mustang’s safety squad was on alert. As Murphy threw deep down the right sideline, two Mustang defenders were there. Dolan intercepted the Murphy pass, with 1:57 on the clock. Finally, the Mustangs could breath easily and run out the clock for a 47-35 Homecoming win.
The Riverdale offense was lead by Parker Corson, with 126 rushing yards, and Brett Murphy, completing 5-of-7 passes for 122 yards with one interception.
The Mustangs rushed for 319 yards, with Aaron Deter accounting for 151 and Cody Southern for 98. Ethan Fischbach added 173 total yards of offense with his 97 yard kickoff return and two pass completions. Reilly Dolan finished the night by completing 5-of-6 passes for 78 yards.
Morrison (2-3) 6 – 21 – 14 – 6 = 47
Riverdale (1-4) 14 – 0 – 7 – 14 = 35