The Morrison Ponies took the field Friday evening, September 19, 2014. trying to recapture the the momentum they established a couple weeks ago in their opening win over Orion, IL. Their opponent, the Newman Shooting Stars, were coming off a high scoring game against Bureau Valley, and the outcome was hard to predict as the opening kickoff approached.
The first quarter saw the defenses control the stat sheets as Morrison gained only 32 total yards on two possessions. Newman gained six yards on their first possession and fumbled away a kick return that was recovered by Aaron Deter, as the quarter ended without any serious scoring threats.
Both offenses remained contained in the second quarter. Morrison had the ball on three occasions and went three and out on each. Newman earned one first down, but ended two other possession with Morrison interceptions by Reilly Dolan and Ethan Fischbach. Score at the half was Morrison 0 and Newman 0.
Newman returned for the second half by an adjusted game plan and received the kickoff on their own 41-yard line. They marched into the Morrison end zone six plays later. Three of the six snaps gained ten or more yards, and the two-point conversion gave them a 8-0 advantage with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
The Ponies’ third quarter possessions ended in a pass interception and a punt, as they only generated ten total yards in the quarter. The Shooting Stars collected 88 yards and led entering the final period, 8-0.
Newman owned the ball on their 20-yard line to open the final period. Seven plays later, with the ball on the Morrison 46-yard line, a Newman halfback skirted the left end and collected ten yards. He fumbled the ball, and a teammate scooped up the loose pigskin and ran the remaining 35-yards into the Morrison endzone. The two-point conversion upped the score to 16-0 with 6:28 remain in the game.
The Ponies’ last possession started with Reilly Dolan under center, and he immediately connected for a 31-yard completion to Ethan Fischbach. Two plays later, a Dolan interception on the 14-yard-line ended any hopes of a Ponies’ comeback. The Shooting Stars went home with a hard-earned 16-0 win.
The Ponies were out-rushed on the ground by a 268 to 44 margin. They look forward to a better result next week, with a Homecoming game against the Amboy Rowboats.