This year’s Homecoming game had all the Morton fans on the edge of their seats biting their nails to see how the game would end. Along with all the week’s homecoming events Morton ended the week off with a football game against the Leyden Eagles.
The Mustangs came out in the first quarter with a full head of steam, scoring the first touchdown of the game against the Eagles. Senior kicker Diego Marquez was not able to secure the PAT, making the score 6-0.
“It was really exciting seeing the offense get off to a head start scoring on their second possession,” said Mr.Rush an English teacher at Morton, who was in the stands.
The defense had also stopped them in their tracks all of the first quarter. “We came out aggressively and with intent to stop them right away,” said starting Strong Safety Daniel Torres.
The second quarter was more of a stalemate between the two teams. Neither offenses were able to score on each other’s defenses. The first half ended with the score being 6-0 with Mustangs in the lead.
“At halftime I felt good, I was frustrated because I know the potential our team has and that when we executed, the plays I was calling were working,” said Offensive Coordinator Jonathan Duarte.
Going into the third quarter nobody really knew what was gonna happen, it was still anybody’s game. Leyden ended up scoring during the third quarter due to poor effort by the defense on one play. “We took a play off and didn’t hustle to the ball, which led to a touchdown,” said Torres. They went on and scored the extra kicking point as well.
The Mustangs’ offense was still not able to do anything all of the third quarter. “Our offense was successful when it comes to moving the ball. However, simply moving the ball does not score points. When it came down to big plays in the drive one person would miss an assignment,” said Duarte.
The defense continued to hold the Eagles to only 7 points. Both teams continued to play till the Mustangs’ last drive, where Anwar Simons attempted a 53-yard field goal. He ultimately missed the field goal and the Mustangs lost their homecoming game. Don’t miss out on Mortons’ final home game this Friday, a Pink-Out game to support breast cancer awareness.
