Morris coach Alan Thorson said his offense prepares for situations like Friday night against visiting Wilmington.

After a false start pushed Morris back to the 6-yard line on third-and-goal with 22 seconds remaining and the home team trailing by 1, the offense lined up in a Wildcat formation. Mick Smith took the direct snap and handed off to wide receiver Quaid Phillips on the end-around.

Phillips saw daylight and scored the game-winner as Morris went on to a 27-20 victory against Wilmington in a matchup of powerhouse programs.

“When I turned at the end of the line, I saw one of my guys had made a block for me,” Phillips said. “I knew then that I was going to be able to get in. They gave me the play there, and the guys blocked for me. I couldn’t have asked for better blocking.”

Thorson said Friday’s game gave him mixed feelings. On one hand, Morris let 13-0 and 19-7 leads slip away. On the other hand, the team rallied to score a game-winning touchdown after falling behind 20-19 with 4:21 remaining.

“We put together an outstanding two-minute drill,” said Thorson, highlighting a 35-yard pass from senior quarterback Brady Varner to Phillips on the final drive. “Our offensive coaches work on those kinds of things, so we’re ready to go when we get into situations like this.”

Early in Friday’s contest, it appeared Morris would control the game, jumping out to a 13-0 lead following a fourth-down touchdown reception for 11 yards by Caedan Curran to get the scoring started and a 4-yard touchdown run from Keegan Kjellesvik.

Wilmington’s Ryan Kettman answered Morris’ second touchdown immediately with an 80-yard score of his own, giving the Wildcats life with 5:23 remaining in the second quarter.

“Everything went perfectly on that play, everyone did a great job up front,” Kettman said of the touchdown run.

While Morris answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brady Varner to his brother Bryce in the corner of the end zone to extend its lead to 19-7 before halftime, the Wildcats believed the game tempo had started to turn in their favor.

Wilmington’s ground-and-pound style and waiting to snap the ball until late in the play clock kept Morris’ high-paced offense off the field. Morris ran 10 plays to Wilmington’s 15 plays in the third quarter, culminating in scores of 13 yards from Hunter Kaitschuck and 1 yard on fourth-and-goal from Kettman.

“In the second quarter, we fixed some things up front,” Kettman said. “I think our pace frustrated them a little bit.”

Morris’ Brady Varner admitted as much.

“They just drained the clock,” he said. “I want the ball in my hands.”

Wilmington coach Jeff Reents said Friday’s contest lived up to its billing.

“I think we were both frustrated (with the styles of play),” Reents said. “They frustrated us, and we frustrated them. We knew it was two different philosophies, and we knew it was going to come down to that.

“I’m proud as I can be for our kids to come into a hostile environment and play a great game. [Morris] just made a play at the end of the game, but I can’t say enough about how we played.”

Thorson said Morris will work on cleaning up some aspects of its game, including some key penalties that either pushed them back or allowed Wilmington to continue drives.

“They are an excellent program,” Thorson said of the Wildcats. “Ultimately, it took a team effort to step up and get the win.”

Curran finished with 124 yards rushing on 23 carries. Varner threw for 147 yards on 13-for-20 passing, connecting on two touchdowns and throwing an interception. He also ran for 83 yards.

Kettman led Wilmington with 169 yards rushing on 18 carries.