Assisted Editor Jerry Lindsey wrote the report.
October 25, 2024, was a perfect fall night for reviving a high school rivalry that always excites the small towns of Morrison, and Fulton, IL. Both teams entered the game with identical records, of three wins and five losses, and no hopes of State play-off competition. The atmosphere was ignited, because the winner would be awarded the coveted “Wooden Shoe” trophy and carry the bragging rights for the following year.
The opening quarter showed domination by the Steamers on both sides of the ball. The Mustangs recorded a negative 20 yards of offense in two possessions, while the Steamers put 14 points on the scoreboard. The first touchdown came on an 11-yard scamper by Skylier Crooks, that was set up by a 24-yard pass completion from Braedon Meyers to Dane VanZuiden. Meyers completed a two-point pass conversion to Crooks, to make the advantage 8-0 with 5:30 left in the quarter. The second score resulted when Meyers found Crooks in the end zone, to complete a 25-yard pass completion and to up the score to 14-0, after a failed extra point kick attempt.
The Steamers opened the second quarter by scoring on the third play from scrimmage on a 10-yard pass completion from Meyers to Zeke VenHuizen. Eddie Qunaj successfully kicked the extra point, to up the score to 21-0 with 10:46 left in the first half. The Mustangs’ ground game continued to struggle in the second quarter. Then, a 55-yard pass completion–from Colton Bielema to Brady Anderson–put the Mustangs on the scoreboard with only 31 seconds left in the half. Joshua McDearmon’s extra point cut the Steamer lead at 21-7 as the half ended.
The Fulton defense continued its dominance in the third period. They held the Mustang offense to a total of five snaps, that garnered a negative one-yard on the ground and ten in the air. The majority of the third-period clock was owned by the Steamers as they opened the half with an eight-play/45-yard scoring drive, which ended when Crooks bulled into the end zone from the 1-yard line. The second possession took 7:20 off the clock as they drove 88 yards to score on a Jonah Lutz 3-yard run, as the third quarter clock ran out. Qunaj added the extra point, and the Steamers ended the third quarter with a 34-7 lead.
The fourth quarter offered the Mustangs no relief from the Steamer defense. Morrison was only able to generate 21 yards of total offense with two possessions of the ball. The Steamers only owned the ball for one fourth-quarter possession. But they used it to generate an 11-play/75-yard drive to up the score to 40-7, on a Crooks 2-yard score. Qunaj sealed the final score with the successful extra-point kick to end the 2024 Wooden Shoe contest, with a Steamer 41-7 win.