The Morrison Ponies took the wet gridiron in Fulton, IL, fresh from their first season win the previous Friday and anticipated to repeat.
The opening quarter was a feeling out event by both teams, as each owned the ball for two possessions. Fulton gained a negative 1-yard, and the Ponies only mustered ten yards.
As the rain clouds cleared in the cool evening, the Ponies were the first on the scoreboard. Cody Southern ran off right guard for a ten-yard score, followed by a two-point conversion run by Jarrett Ruchotzke. Morrison jumped to an 8-0 lead with 1:35 left in the first half.
The young Steamers responded immediatel, as they started the drive from their own 40-yard line with 1:31 on the clock. Three ground attacks and a ten-yard pass completion from Bryce Grant to Erik North placed the ball on the Morrison 35-yard line with 27 seconds on the clock. Quarterback Grant found Austin Schroeder in the left flat, and they connected for a 35-yard touchdown. It was followed by a Grant-to-Matt Eads conversion, and the half ended in an 8-8 tie.
The Ponies ended the first half with 55 yards rushing, compared to the Steamers’ 12 yards, with the touchdown pass ending the half as the offensive highlight.
The halftime adjustments we made as the back side of the front passed over and the air cooled considerably for a mid-september evening. The Ponies owned possession of the ball for only four snaps and less then two minutes as the Steamers controlled the ball and collected 77-yards rushing compared to the Ponies -1 yard. The quarter ended with the Steamers lined up on the Morrison 17-yard line and the game still tied at 8-8.
Austin Rash took the opening handoff of the fourth quarter and gained 12 yards before Erik North found the end zone on the second snap. The extra point conversion featured an athletic catch by Erik North to move the score to 16-8 with 9:26 left in the final stanza. Following the ensuing kickoff, Aaron Deter took a hard hit on the second play and coughed up the ball. It was recovered by Bryce Grant at the Morrison 36-yard line. Seven plays later, North scampered 11 yards into the end zone and followed with a 2-point conversion run, to expand the lead to 22-8 with only 4:29 left in the game. Morrison failed to gain a first down on its final possession, and the young Steamers celebrated a 22-8 win.
The second half statistics saw Fulton grind out 151 yards on the ground, compared to the Ponies’ 5, to claim the win.
Morrison 8-0-0-0 = 8
Fulton 8-0-0-14 = 22