After forcing turnover in end zone, Morris pulls away from La Salle-Peru

PERU – Facing second-and-goal from the 6-yard line on the opening drive of the second half, La Salle-Peru quarterback Brendan Boudreau pitched to Mason Lynch.

Lynch was hit and dropped the ball as he fell, but teammate Ty Terzick scooped it up near the 3 and ran toward the end zone.

He also fumbled, but this time Morris senior Gage Phillips recovered it in the end zone.

Instead of the Cavaliers scoring to pull within a touchdown, Morris gained possession and dominated the rest of the game to pull away for a 49-7 victory in a Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 White Division game Friday at Howard Fellows Stadium.

“That’s huge,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “That was probably the worst we were playing in the game, coming out and giving them 30 yards of penalties (on the opening drive). I was very unhappy with that, but over the course of the season, we’ve had moments like that where we’ve come up with big turnovers in the red zone or big fourth down stops. This defense doesn’t quit. They’re going to keep playing. I think that was another play that showed their character.”

Following the turnover in the end zone, Morris held L-P to three three-and-outs and forced a fumble.

Meanwhile, Morris scored on a 52-yard pass from Carter Button to A.J. Zweeres, a 26-yard run by Ashton Yard, a 33-yard run by Zweeres on the first play after L-P lost a fumble and a 2-yard run by Jacob Swartz with the subs in to start the running clock with 3:21 left.

“I think a lot of it comes down to our conditioning,” Thorson said about what allowed Morris to pull away. “It comes down to the weight room and just how our kids prepare for games. I think we wear teams down. We always preach playing four quarters and I think that showed tonight.”

L-P coach Jose Medina argued Terzick was down at the 1-yard line, but the officials ruled otherwise.

It was one of several big calls that went against the Cavs, including a pass interference that wiped out an interception in the first quarter and a horse collar penalty on a 12-play drive by Morris that ended with a 2-yard TD run by Yard with 56.9 seconds left in the first half to put Morris ahead 21-7.

“It could have been a different game (if we had scored there),” Medina said about the turnover in the end zone. “It puts them on the ropes a little bit maybe. If we would have put points on the board there, it could have changed the game a little bit, but we didn’t and it didn’t go our way.

“We had a couple plays called back on us. That pass interference (on the interception), I didn’t think it was pass interference, but the refs made the call so you have to regroup and go to the next play. Hats off to them. They’re No. 1 for a reason. They’re big up front and they run the ball hard. We battled, but it just didn’t fall our way.”

Morris built an early 14-0 lead behind Yard, who scored on runs of 28 yards and one yard on the first two drives of the game.

Yard finished with 158 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries to lead a Morris ground game that finished with 245 yards and six touchdowns.

“We had a solid game on offense,” Yard said. “All the credit goes to the line. They were sending all their backers. There were seven on probably six every play and we were still getting the shooters and open holes.”

Button completed 9 of 13 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Zweeres finished with seven catches for 87 yards and a TD and 37 rushing yards and a TD on three attempts.

Morris limited L-P (3-2, 1-1 KR/I8 White) to 124 yards rushing. L-P’s lone TD came on a play action pass from Boudreau to Gage Starkey for a 38-yard score with 17.4 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 14-7.

“We kept sending the backers at them,” Yard said. “We did a lot of line stunts. We practiced it all week. We switched to a six-man front, which got the job done.”

Morris becomes playoff eligible at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the league.

“It feels great, but we knew it was going to come though,” Yard said. “We’re not really focused on going 5-0 and making the playoffs. We’re focused on going for a state title.”