Published: November 16, 2009 06:52 am      

Morrison guts out quarterfinal football playoff victory

By Erik Smith

For the Herald

MORRISON, Ill. — Morrison was put to the test Saturday.

Thanks to the legs of Josh Vos and some timely defense, the top-seeded Mustangs passed with a hard-fought 14-7 victory over visiting Orion.

Vos scored both touchdowns for Morrison (12-0), which advanced to the Class 2A semifinals for the second time in four seasons. The Mustangs will host Gibson City (11-1), a 32-20 winner over Annawan/Kewanee Wethersfield, next Saturday.

“He means everything,” Morrison coach Cory Bielema said of Vos. “He’s our backbone.”

Vos, who rushed for a game-high 163 yards on 24 carries, scored the decisive touchdown on a 42-yard scamper with 4 minutes, 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

“I knew all through the game I was only a broken tackle away from a touchdown,” Vos said. “On that one, I tried to get my feet up a little higher.”

The senior standout put the Mustangs on the board first with a 32-yard run on his first carry of the game.

“The hole was wide open,” Vos said. “I just had to make my man miss.”

The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder actually barreled over the defender to break free.

Defensively, the Mustangs came up big when they needed it.

Junior Will Bird seemingly put the game away with an interception of Orion quarterback James Matson with 1:47 left. Bird cut in front of the Chargers‚ Kennen Hutchison at the Morrison 8-yard line and returned the ball to the Orion 32.

“I could tell it was underthrown, and I was just praying I would come down with the interception,” Bird said. “We definitely had our backs against the wall. They were driving on us and about to tie it.”

Orion caught a break, though, when Morrison quarterback Andrew Cook fumbled the snap on third down, giving the Chargers the ball at their own 20 with :53 remaining.

This time it was senior Kyle Janssen providing the heroics, making a diving interception at the Orion 35 to seal the victory.

“Our defense has played great all year,” Vos said. “All year we were getting publicity for our offense, but we knew our defense was the heart and soul of our team.”

The defense set the tone in the first half.

Orion controlled the ball for most of the half, running 38 plays to Morrison’s 16, outgaining the Mustangs 159-86 in yardage and driving into Morrison territory three times. But each time the Chargers (10-2) were turned away.

Trying to answer immediately after Vos’ first touchdown, Orion marched down the field to set up first-and-goal from the 6. Three running plays left the Chargers facing fourth down from inside the 1. A pitch left to Hutchison came up inches short of the goal line to preserve Morrison’s 7-0 lead.

“The defense has been outstanding,” Bielema said. “We haven’t had an offense come in here and move up and down on us like they did. We kept them out of the end zone, though, and that’s the important part.”

Orion was able to tie the score at 7-7 midway through the third quarter, capping an 83-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown reception by Jared Simmer.

The Chargers, who played without second-leading rusher Evan Viager (emergency appendectomy last Thursday), rolled up 343 yards of total offense, including 233 through the air, while limiting the Mustangs to 222.

“They are a fantastic football team,” Orion coach Chip Filler said. “We gave them our best shot.”

But after halftime, the Mustangs handed the reins over to Vos, who carried the ball 19 times for 110 yards in the second half.

“He’s legit all-state,” Filler said. “We thought we’d have a handle on him, but he’s a great player. Great players make plays in big games, and he did.”

That’s exactly what Bielema was counting on.

“We made a decision in the second half to take our horse and ride him,” Bielema said.

And that ride carried Morrison within two wins of a state championship.



MORRISON 14, ORION 7

Scoring by quarters

Orion 0 0 7 0 — 7

Morrison 7 0 0 7 — 14

First quarter

M — Josh Vos 32 run (Kyle Dermody kick), 4:41

Third quarter

O — Jared Simmer 6 pass from James Matson (Matson kick), 7:46

Fourth quarter

M — Vos 42 run (Dermody kick), 4:48

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Orion, Kennen Hutchison 14-49, Brad Walker 13-38, Zach Kahley 8-23, James Matson 3-0; Morrison, Vos 24-163, Kyle Janssen 8-33, Conner Bealer 4-6, Andrew Cook 4-2, Patrick Wagenecht 2-(-3).

PASSING — Orion, Matson 13-25-2, 233 yards; Morrison, Cook 1-5-0, 21.

RECEIVING — Orion, Tyler DeDecker 4-98, Hutchison 3-62, Kahley 4-48, Walker 1-19, Jared Simmer 1-6; Morrison, Janssen 1-21.