San Diego High School Football Preview : Mira Mesa Now Reduced to Playing Role of Spoiler Against Rival Morse

Brad Griffith, the Mira Mesa High School football coach, had the following message for Morse Coach John Shacklett concerning today’s City Eastern League game between the two schools at Morse High:

“Just tell him that the snake is laying in the grass for him.”

Griffith laughed a bit at his statement, probably the most laughing he has done in the last couple of weeks.

Three weeks ago, today’s Mira Mesa-Morse game figured to go a long way toward determining which team would win the league championship. But Mira Mesa has lost its last two games and now has taken on the role of spoiler.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, but it has,” Griffith said.

The season has been full of surprises for the Marauders. Before it started, Griffith said it would probably be awhile before his players came together as a team.

Mira Mesa won the Eastern League championship a year ago, but Griffith lost many of his key players, so this season figured to be one of rebuilding.

But Mira Mesa went out and won five of its first six games and moved into The Times’ Top 10.

“I really didn’t expect that to happen, either,” Griffith said.

Most of the winning had to be attributed to the Marauder defense, which was No. 1 in the county through six weeks. However, the offense hasn’t been in sync all season, a fact that has been exposed the last two weeks.

Two weeks ago, Point Loma shut out Mira Mesa, 27-0, and last week Patrick Henry blanked the Marauders, 14-0.

So a change was in order for today’s game. Griffith is replacing quarterback Ed Allison with junior Jimmy Murray.

“We need to get something started,” Griffith said. “There’s still time for us to salvage this season and we need a spark. Hopefully, Jimmy will give that to us.”

A year ago when these teams met, the roles were reversed. Mira Mesa was looking like a league champion and Morse was looking like a team about to call it a season.

But Morse upended Mira Mesa, 23-6, and all of a sudden it made the playoffs.

For Mira Mesa to do some upsetting today it will have to get an outstanding performance from its defense, which, despite the recent defeats, is still allowing only nine points per game.

Morse, however, has the highest scoring offense in the county, averaging more than 32 points per game.

The Tigers (6-2) are led by Larry Maxey, the county’s leading scorer with 16 touchdowns. Maxey has rushed for 1,096 yards, the only back in the county besides Lincoln’s Darren Wagner to have reached the 1,000-yard plateau in eight games. Quarterback Mike Liera threw for one touchdown and ran for another in last week’s 55-13 victory over Madison.

The Morse defense has allowed just over 11 points per game.

And the special teams? Last week, Morse blocked two Madison punts and recovered both for touchdowns.

“So, they’re good,” Griffith said. “Make that very good. The thing is, that they’re putting things together right now and we’re not.”

Other Games to Watch

TODAY

Patrick Henry (3-4, 2-1) at No. 1 Point Loma (8-0, 3-0)--Next Friday, Point Loma plays No. 3-ranked Morse for the City Eastern League championship. So will Point Loma be looking past Patrick Henry?

“I would hope not,” Point Loma Coach Bennie Edens said. “I think our kids realize that this is an important game. Patrick Henry always seems to have a way of giving us a tough time.”

That could be especially true today. The Patriots have won two straight games and they surprised Mira Mesa, 14-0, last week. Still, Patrick Henry Coach Chris Miller worries about his team’s lack of size when matched with the Pointers.

“Those guys at Bennie’s junior college over there are the biggest in San Diego,” Miller said. “We’re not big. What we can’t do is let Bennie’s big human beings blow us off the ball.”

Point Loma probably will play without leading rusher Kelby Downey for the third straight game. Downey suffered torn ligaments in his right knee three weeks ago against Madison.

“He may be able to play, but I don’t want to take any chances with him,” Edens said. “He can run but he hasn’t had any contact in three weeks.”

Fallbrook (6-2, 3-1) at No. 9 Orange Glen (5-2-1, 2-2)--It was at this time a year ago that Fallbrook began gaining momentum for its run to the section 3-A championship. The Warriors had suffered early losses in league play to Vista and San Dieguito before rolling off nine consecutive victories, culminating with a win over Vista in the title game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

This season, Fallbrook opened league play with a loss to Vista, but has since won three straight. Now, the Warriors face another team that is improving each week. Orange Glen has beaten Vista and San Dieguito the last two weeks to enter the playoff picture.

“They’ve been really playing well the last two weeks,” Fallbrook Coach Tom Pack said of Orange Glen. “We’re in a situation where we have to keep winning.”

If Fallbrook wins tonight and next week against Mt. Carmel, it will win the Palomar League championship. If it loses tonight and next week, it could find itself out of the playoffs.

Both teams feature fine passing attacks, Fallbrook with the county’s leading passer in Mike Turiace, and Orange Glen with the county’s No. 3 passer, Sean Gousha.

El Camino (4-4-0, 3-2-0) at Oceanside (3-3-2, 3-1-1)--As it did last year, the game between these cross-town rivals will probably decide the Avocado League title.

“Whoever wins this game will be in the driver’s seat,” Oceanside Coach Roy Scaffidi said.

A year ago, Oceanside defeated El Camino, 20-6, for the second time in 11 years and went on to share the league title with San Marcos. El Camino finished third.

Oceanside finds itself in first place this year, too. El Camino is tied for second with San Pasqual and San Marcos.

The condition of the field could be a key. Scaffidi said a wet field would benefit his team because it would reduce the effectiveness of El Camino quarterback Eric Robinson, who has been successful running the option this season.

Oceanside’s offense has scored only 14 points in its last two games. Its defense scored one of the touchdowns in last week’s 21-7 victory over San Marcos. Matt Tuisee returned an interception 50 yards for the score.

El Camino Coach Herb Meyer said he is just looking for consistency out of his team. El Camino won its first two league games, but then lost two to Rancho Buena Vista, 22-6, and Escondido, 23-7. El Camino beat Carlsbad, 13-0, last Friday.

“This game should decide the league title,” Meyer said. “But this year, there are no guarantees.”

No. 10 Helix (6-1-1, 2-0) at Granite Hills (4-4, 2-1)--Helix is having a fine season, but it’s been somewhat frustrating at times for Highlander Coach Jim Arnaiz.

“The most frustrating thing has been the fact that we haven’t been healthy for one game this season,” Arnaiz said.

This week, Helix will be without starting running back Roman Northcote, who suffered a shoulder separation in practice. Quarterback Tim Zeddies missed two games earlier this season and so has wide receiver Todd Sheehan.

“The one good thing out of all of this is that our kids haven’t allowed the injuries to slow them down as a team,” Arnaiz said.

Granite Hills has been as inconsistent as its record. The Eagles had a three-game winning streak snapped Friday by Mount Miguel, 14-0.

BIG GAME FACTS

Who: Mira Mesa vs. No. 3 Morse.

Where: Morse High School.

When: 2:30 p.m.

Records: Mira Mesa 5-3, 1-2; Morse 6-2, 3-0.

Last meeting: Morse 23, Mira Mesa 6 (1986).

Players to watch: Mira Mesa: Jimmy Murray (5-10, 162, Jr., QB), Ricky Hanson (5-11, 190, Sr., RB), Bill Clem (6-4, 220, Sr., DE-P). Morse: Larry Maxey (5-10, 160, Sr., RB-CB), Mike Liera (5-11, 165, Sr., QB), Derrick Greene (5-11, 150, Sr., RB), Melvin Maxwell (5-10, 160, Sr., WR-S).