Jacob Swartz, Morris run by Ottawa to set up conferene title showdown

OTTAWA – Like a counterbalance to the accolades Morris’ school-record breaking passing game has garnered in recent weeks, Mother Nature gave Morris and Ottawa a thoroughly soaked, muddy surface to play upon Friday in their Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 White meeting.

Not that it was a surprise, but the Morris running game proved it’s pretty tough too.

Senior running back Jacob Swartz took handoffs the first six snaps and marched the visitors right down King Field on his way to a 159-yard, three-touchdown night, setting the tone for Morris’ eventual 54-17 handling of the Pirates.

“We kind of figured [we’d run] a little more because of the conditions,” Swartz said. “I was pretty excited about that ... and our offensive line is great. They’re awesome, unbelievable, and they’ve just gotten better every game.”

Morris (8-0 overall, 5-0 KR/I-8 White) is set for next week’s conference title game at home against Sycamore after a game in which Morris led 48-3 and had its starters safely tucked away on the sideline by halftime.

“Jacob is a tremendous running back. Jacob is probably one of the best running backs I’ve had,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “He runs extremely hard, he’s a north-south runner, and he plays extremely physical. I thought he had a great game, and the line too, very single week, these guys just keep improving and improving. ...

“We respect everyone in our conference, but now that this one’s over, yeah, we put ourselves in position to play for a conference championship at home. We’ve got to knock off the defending champs, and it won’t be easy, but this is why you play the game.”

Barring an unprecedented and unlikely number of 4-5 teams qualifying for the playoffs, Ottawa (3-5, 1-4) will close out its season next Saturday afternoon at Woodstock.

“It wasn’t a lack of effort or preparation,” Ottawa coach Chad Gross said. “Sometimes you just run into opponents that are just very, very good. Morris is ranked high in the state and a powerhouse every single year. Coach Thorson does a great job, and they are one of the teams that we aspire to become.”

The night’s final statistics, with Morris outgaining the Pirates 326-220 in yards from scrimmage, aren’t indicative of how Friday’s game played out.

Morris led 28-0 by the close of the first quarter thanks to Swartz’s first two touchdowns runs (15 and 14 yards) plus scoring runs from QB Carter Button (9) and lineman Vaughn Mills (5). The visitors went on to make it 48-0 with three TDs in quick succession — a Swartz 61-yarder and back-to-back Button TD passes (15 yards to A.J. Zweeres and 27 to Jack Wheeler) on both sides of a fumbled kickoff return by Ottawa recovered by Merek Klicker — before Ottawa kicker Cam Loomis hit a 28-yard field goal just before halftime to get the Pirates on the board.

Anthony Smith (7-yard rushing touchdown) for Morris and backup QB Weston Averkamp (55-yard and 9-run TD scrambles) for Ottawa added scores during the running-clock second half.

Ryder Miller tallied 37 yards rushing and 21 more receiving for the Pirates, who defensively received QB sacks from Garrett Cupples, Brayton Lehr and Luke Boaz as well as a late interception courtesy of Bryler Gende. Averkamp finished with 121 yards rushing and minus-2 passing in relief of Colby Mortenson (6-of-16 passing for 33 yards).

“Weston has been willing to do whatever we ask him to do,” Gross said. “He was a quarterback his [freshman and sophomore] years, and he showed he has some speed when he gets in the open field. He’s a tough kid, good football player.”

Button (6-of-8 for 129 yards and two TDs) and top target Zweeres (three receptions for 62 yards) were Morris’ top weapons behind Swartz. Caleb Waltron recorded two late tackles for loss for the Morris defense, which racked up seven TFLs on the night.