Morrison looks good, but next year could be rough
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
MORRISON — Morrison could very well win the Class A championship, thus adding to an illustrious football history.
But next year could be a different story.
The Wildcats are graduating 12 seniors, which represents roughly 37 percent of its team. And Morrison only has two juniors on its roster this year — tight end Kyle Dotter and running back Elam Cronquist.
Cronquist got some carries late in Saturday’s 48-10 quarterfinal rout of Christian Heritage. He carried the ball 4 times and finished with minus-1 yards.
This team is senior dominated — both in numbers and talent. Quarterback Shawn Walls throws a beautiful ball, and running backs Cale James and Joey Quinata were impressive in the win over Christian Heritage.
Joey’s little brother, Dylon Quinata, could be the future of Morrison football. He is just a freshman, but in Saturday’s game, the RB/SS had 3 sacks, had a 42-yard run and caught a touchdown from Walls. Quinata took a few snaps late in the game, so it’s possible that he takes over under center for Walls next season.
The quarterback position will be the toughest one to fill for Morrison, so if Dylon Quinata can step in, that would be huge in the transition from these 12 seniors. There are no other quarterbacks listed on Morrison’s roster, so unless there is a stud 8th grader, Dylon or someone else will have to step up.
But, that is all in the future. What’s important right now is that Morrison looks very, very tough. The Wildcat defense gave up just 44 yards on the ground and swarmed Christian Heritage quarterback Grant Lindsey all game. It will be very interesting next week, when Morrison faces Hennessey and electric running back Auggey McCulley.
CHA at Morrison — Does homefield advantage matter?
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
Christian Heritage and Morrison play Saturday afternoon, continuing the teams’ epic series that (still) hasn’t taken a year off.
For more information on that, check out Ryan Aber’s column from Monday’s paper.
The game is at Morrison, which is a big advantage for the Wildcats. The current players have never lost a game at home.
“We’re excited we get to play this game at home,” Morrison coach Cory Bales said. “It’s big that we’re playing at a place that this group of seniors has never lost. Psychologically, that comes into play.”
Christian Heritage coach John Merrell said: “I would rather have it at home, but once the game starts that stuff isn’t even on the radar. I just concentrate on the game. Maybe to the players, it matters a little, but it doesn’t to me.”
CHA at Morrison — Series history
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
The series history on the Christian Heritage/Morrison game. The two teams have played every year since CHA has been in existence. This was the first year that the game wasn’t scheduled in the regular season, but oddly enough, they are playing in the Class A quarterfinals.
1980: Morrison, 34-6
1981: Morrison, 46-40
1982: Morrison, 48-20
1983: Morrison, 56-20
1984: Morrison, 36-0
1985: Chr. Heritage, 27-14
1986: Morrison, 29-8
1987: Chr. Heritage, 30-22
1988: Morrison, 50-16
1989: Morrison, 42-13
1990: Morrison, 32-12
1991: Morrison, 43-14
1992: Morrison, 20-6
1993: Morrison, 35-0
1994: Morrison, 46-6
1995: Morrison, 20-0
1996: Chr. Heritage, 22-0
1997: Chr. Heritage, 35-14
1998: Chr. Heritage, 34-8
1999: Morrison, 40-13
2000: Morrison, 32-26 (OT)
2001: Morrison, 24-14
2002: Chr. Heritage, 28-14
2003: Morrison, 38-21
2004: Morrison, 26-22
2005: Chr. Heritage, 18-6
2006: Morrison, 50-6
2007: Morrison, 44-14
All-time series: Morrison leads, 21-7
See also: Ryan Aber’s column from Monday’s paper about the CHA-Morrison series.
