Morris hoping to slow down Morton’s running attack

MORRIS – The thing that jumps out when looking at the Morris football team’s next Class 5A playoff opponent is the numbers put up by Morton’s Seth Glatz.

The Potters’ running back had a mind-boggling game Friday night in a 56-33 win over Highland, rushing for 417 yards and seven touchdowns. Morton visits Morris in the second round at 2 p.m. Saturday. For the year, Glatz has rushed for 2,422 yards and 36 touchdowns on 251 carries.

“It obviously starts with the running back [Glatz],” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “He is very good. You don’t run for 400 yards against anybody unless you are very good. He has good vision and when he gets in the open field he has good speed. He is definitely our No. 1 concern.”

For good measure, Morton quarterback Layne Kaufman ran for 164 yards and was 3 for 3 through the air for 33 more yards in the win over Highland.

Thorson feels that the Potters will present the Morris defense, which has allowed just 112 points in 10 games and is coming off of a 42-0 shutout of La Salle-Peru in the first round, with its biggest challenge to date. However, Thorson said that his team has thrived on challenges all year.

“It’s a big challenge for our defense, for sure,” Thorson said. “It’s going to be a game where we have to make sure we do our jobs. It will be assignment football again. We can’t give them lanes to run through, and our defensive backs can’t fall asleep, because their quarterback, even though he doesn’t throw very often, throws well when he has to.

“We have to make sure we are ready for everything. It’s the playoffs. No one is going to leave plays in their playbooks. We need to play with discipline, and that’s something we have done pretty well all year.”

Morris hopes to see the return of lead running back Ashton Yard, who missed the first-round game with an ankle injury. Yard ran for 1,138 yards in the first nine games and scored 12 touchdowns. In the event that Yard cannot play, Morris has a stable of more than capable backs ready to step in, including Sam Reddinger, Jorge Loza, Luke Brown and Jacob Swartz. Quarterback Zach Romak also is a big part of the running game with his 873 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground to go with 97 of 142 passing for 1,430 yards and 15 touchdowns against just two interceptions.

“They [Morton] will run a 3-4 defensive front against us,” Thorson said. “We have seen that quite a bit this season, especially the last three or four weeks. But, I am sure they will have some wrinkles to surprise us. The running back [Glatz] also plays linebacker, and they have some good size up front.”

Morton enters the game with an 8-2 record. The Potters lost to La Salle-Peru, 28-21, in the season opener, then dropped a 35-14 decision to Washington in Week 5. Since then, they have won five straight and have outscored their opponents 385-220 for the season.

“They are pretty similar to us as far as the offensive scheme,” Thorson said. “Their quarterback will sometimes keep the ball on the read option and can do some damage. He may not take it all the way for a touchdown, but he can keep drives going by running the ball. We have to make sure we stay with our assignments.

“It’s kind of nice to be playing on Saturday. It has the playoff feel to it. Friday nights are great, but there’s nothing like a Saturday high school playoff game.”