July 03, 2025
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Class 5A football: Morris ‘almost perfect’ in romp over Centralia

By Rob Oesterle
Morris logo

CENTRALIA — Despite driving for more than four hours, the Morris football team showed no signs of bus lag in a 56-0 thumping of Centralia on Saturday in the second round of the 5A playoffs.

Morris (9-2), which hosts Mahomet-Seymour in the quarterfinals next week, ran the ball almost exclusively in the windy conditions. The ploy worked, to the tune of 322 rushing yards on 47 carries. Ashton Yard had 96 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, Sam Reddinger had 91 yards and two TDs on nine carries, Griffin Zweeres had 50 yards and a touchdown on five carries, Jacob Swartz ran for 40 yards on 10 carries and A.J. Zweeres had 22 yards and a touchdown on three rushing attempts. Quarterback Carter Button ran twice for nine yards and completed his only pass for a 27-yard TD pass to Reddinger.

Meanwhile, the Morris defense was stellar, allowing just 77 yards to the Orphans, and the special teams joined in the fun with a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown by Will Knapp.

“We couldn’t have played better,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “We were almost perfect on both sides of the ball.

“The kids really stepped up big-time. That’s what you want to see out of a team in the playoffs.”

Morris got TD runs from Reddinger (21 yards) and Yard (4 yards) in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead at the first break. They exploded for four more scores in the second quarter, as Reddingsr (7 yards), Yard (4 yards), and A.J. Zweeres (8 yards) scored on the ground before Reddinger caught his 27-yard TD pass for a 42-0 halftime lead.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Morris got the punt return from Knapp and a 32-yard TD run by Griffin Zweeres in the fourth.

Jonah Williams had five tackles and a sack to spearhead the defense, while Gage Phillips also had a sack. Broc Grogan had five tackles and an interception, while Sam Mateski (fumble recovery) and Reddinger each had five tackles. Dan Spencer added three tackles and a sack.