Opportunistic Helix Rips Morse, 34-21

Morse High’s football team had been used to doing things quickly. Friday night, it quickly put itself in a deep hole against Helix in a first-round 3-A football playoff game from which it never got out.

The Tigers, behind the passing of option quarterback Manny Cass, made a valiant comeback, but Helix came away with a 34-21 victory at Mesa College.

Playing on a wet field, Morse (7-4) lost fumbles on three of its first five plays. An experienced Helix club (10-1) converted each turnover into a touchdown.

Helix then converted a fourth Morse fumble into a touchdown that gave the winners a 27-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

“We were really tight during the first quarter,” said Morse Coach John Shacklett. “I tried to calm them down all week, but they were nervous coming in.”

On Morse’s second play from scrimmage, running back George Jackson never gained possession of a pitchout from Cass. The ball was recovered by inside linebacker Joe Plum at the Morse 20-yard line.

Six plays later, running back Kerry Barr bounced up the middle for a two-yard touchdown.

The oints were barely on the scoreboard when Jackson fumbled a handoff on Morse’s first play. Jackson hadn’t fumbled all season before Friday night. Lineman Rick Hensley recovered the ball at the Morse 26-yard line.

On third and 16, quarterback Jeff Hammerschmidt teamed with Jeff Exum on a 34-yard streak pattern down the left sideline. 14-0.

On the Tigers’ second play of the next series, Wesley Fuller’s fumble was recovered by Plum at the Morse 13-yard line.

Two plays later, Paul Appenzeller took a flare pass from Hammerschmidt and, getting a key block from Exum, raced 13 yards down the left sideline. 20-0.

Later in the second quarter, Helix lineman Mike Barnett recovered a fumble by Cass at the Helix 30-yard line.

A Hammerschmidt-to-Terry Mack 69-yard bomb down the right sideline made it 27-0.

“It looked like they were playing us inside,” said Helix Coach Jim Arnaiz. “We went for the long passes and they worked.”

Morse finally got on the board when running back Stanley Ethridge went 17 yards off right tackle with 3:59 to play in the half to make it 27-7.

The explosive Helix offense, which averaged 29.7 points a game, fooled the Tigers on fourth and one from the Morse 24-yard line. Hammerschmidt tossed a soft touchdown spiral to Mack, who beat his defender along the right sideline.

Hammerschmidt completed his first eight passes of and 9 of 10 for 179 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. For the game, he was 13 for 16 for 208 yards. Barr gained 113 yards on 25 carries.

Morse started its comeback when wide receiver Orlan McNair caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Cass with two seconds remaining in the half to make it 34-14. Cass, forced to throw much more than usual, was 14 for 23 for 236 yards.

Ethridge scored on an eight-yard run midway through the third quarter to cut the Helix lead to 34-21.

Trailing by 13 points, the Tigers had a fourth and goal from the Helix three-yard line at the start of the final quarter. However, Jackson was dropped for a two-yard loss on a sweep to the left.