The 2016 Homecoming football games at E. M. “Bud” Cole Field on Friday, September 23, 2016, began on a warm, buggy evening, with a play that the Riverdale Rams didn’t have in their playbook.
On the first snap of Riverdale’s opening possession, quarterback Kale VenHuizen spun and pitched to Cody Lamb for a 13-yard gain. The next play was the same play to the right side, but Morrison’s Jacob Schlegel stepped in front of Lamb and picked off the lateral. He ran untouched for a 44-yard touchdown, with only 39 seconds off the clock. Riley Wilkens added the point after, as the crowd tried to figure out what had just transpired. The stunned Rams went three-and-out on their next possession. The Ponies needed only two plays to double the score. Wilkens bulled up the middle for 11 yards, and Keagan Anderson sprinted right end for a 34 yard touchdown. Wilkens added the extra point, putting Morrison in charge, 14-0.
Riverdale’s Cody Lamb was the major contributor to the Rams’ offense. He was up to the task, as he broke off a 61-yard scamper on the first play of the next series, before Anderson caught him on the 17 yard line. The Pony defense stepped up and forced the Rams to turn the ball over on downs at the 9 yard line. A Wilkens 11-yard run and an Anderson 20 yarder took the Ponies out to midfield, but the drive ended on a lost fumble to end the first quarter.
The Pony defense held Riverdale to only 28 rushing yards in two second quarter possessions. They were driving for a score of their own, when Brandon Zigler had the ball stripped as he crossed the end line. The official ruled it a recovered fumble, and the Rams took possession on their own 20 yard line. With 1:03 left in the half, the visitors went to the air. Quarterback Ven Huizen connected with Jacob Meloan on passes of 19, 6, and 26 yards; the clock read 7.2 seconds, and the ball rested on the 11 yard line. Ven Huizen rolled right looking for a receiver in the end zone, and, finding none, he chose to run the ball. The Ponies downed him at the 1-yard line as the halftime clock expired.
The Ponies took charge of the game in the third quarter. Zigler scored on the opening drive from the 1-yard line. The second possession saw quarterback Schlegel fight off continuous tackles enroute to a 56-yard scoring quarterback keeper. The score grew to 26-0. The Pony defense only allowed the young Rams four rushing yards in their two possessions of the quarter.
The fourth quarter opened with the Rams owning the ball at their own 32 yard line. Ven Huizen fumbled the opening snap. Morrison’s Jackson DuBois recovered the miscue, and the Ponies scored six plays later, on a Keegan Manard 1-yard plunge, to expand the lead to 33-0. With the game out of reach, the Rams gave the ball to Lamb on six of the next nine snaps. He crossed the end line with 1:53 remaining, to post the final score of 33-6.
The Homecoming win by the Ponies was led by the defense. They held the young Rams to 167 yards on the ground, of which 66 yards were gained on the final possession. The Ponies’ backfield racked up 343 yards, led by Schlegel‘s 101, Wilkens‘s 75, and Anderson‘s 73 yards.
Morrison 14 – 0 – 12 – 7 = 33
Riverdale 0 – 0 – 0 – 6 = 6