Editor’s note: Jerry Lindsey took the photos.
Football statistics can often be deceiving, and that was definitely true Friday night, October 12, 2018. The undefeated Morrison Ponies took the field against the Fresh-Soph of the Rockridge Rockets.
The records revealed a play snap advantage for the Rockets of 57 play attempts contrasted to the Ponies’ 23 snaps. The record also revealed that the Ponies only needed 15 plays to rack up 28 points. The Rockets failed to change the scoreboard in their 57 play attempts.
The Ponies grounded the Rockets for win number eight of the 2018 season.
The only first-quarter possession for the Ponies ended on the fifth snap, as Brhenan Linke broke tackles en route to a 79-yard scamper into the end zone, with 3:56 left in the quarter. Linke added 3-yards to his total by completing the 2-point conversation, and the Ponies led after one possession 8-0.
The second quarter started with the Pony defense holding the Rocket offense on a fourth-and-eight situation on the Ponies’ 16-yard line. The Ponies took over possession 84-yards from their end zone, but that didn’t bother John Winkleman. He took the first snap and turned up the sideline, for an 84-yard scamper to score, and the Ponies were up 14-0.
The Rockets retaliated on their next possession by grinding out an eight-play drive, moving the ball to the Morrison 27-yard line. On the ninth snap, Rockridge’s Lucas Rosmann was met for a 2-yard loss by Tyler Shambaugh that forced a fourth-and-eight pass play. Hunter Newman intercepted the pigskin to end the drive with 1:29 left in the half. The half-ending drive by Morrison recorded a 10-yard run by Linke and a 36-yard pass completion from Newman-to-Thomas Dauphin, before Newman was thrown for a 12-yard loss to end the drive. That closed out the first half with the Ponies leading 14-0.
Rockridge opened the third quarter with the ball on their own 25-yard line. They proceeded to execute a 13-play ground attack that was eventually ended when Justice Emil stopped quarterback Brayden Deem, for a 2-yard loss, and a fourth-down sack of Deem by Nathan Schaefer. The ball was turned over to the Ponies on the Rockridge 46-yard line, with only 1:50 left in the quarter. Two snaps later, Linke covered the 46-yards to the end zone to up the Ponies lead to 20-0, with 1:04 remaining in the third quarter.
The Pony defense stopped the Rockets to open the fourth quarter and took possession on the Rockridge 48-yard line. Immediately, Newman connected with Winkleman in the flat, and he outran the Rockets to the end zone, to up the score to 26-0. The 2-point conversion was recorded as Kayden White bulled over the end line to finalize the night’s scoring at 28-0.
The Ponies’ offense gained 279 yards on the ground versus the Rockets’ 158, with Linke rolling up 138 yards and Winkleman adding 86 yards toward the Pony win.
The Ponies take on the Bureau Valley Storm next Friday at Manilus, with hopes of completing the second straight undefeated season for the Ponies.
