Maxey and Sidekicks Lead Morse to 41-12 Win Over Mira Mesa : Liera Passes for 270 Yards; Defense Comes Up With Eight Sacks

It might sometimes seem that Larry Maxey, San Diego County’s leading scorer and second-leading rusher, is the entire Morse offense.

He’s not.

Although Maxey did gain 129 yards on 14 carries and score 2 touchdowns in Morse’s 41-12 City Eastern League victory over Mira Mesa Friday afternoon, others stepped forward and proved to be worthy sidekicks.

Introducing:

--Quarterback Mike Liera, who had his finest passing day of the season, a 13-for-25 effort that produced 270 yards and 2 touchdowns.

--Wide receiver Melvin Maxwell, who caught 4 passes for 152 yards, including a 60-yard scoring pass from Liera and a 69-yarder that set up another score.

--Fullback Darrell Greene, who scored on runs of 1 and 7 yards.

--Charles Johnson, the other receiver, who had 3 catches for 59 yards, including one for a 15-yard touchdown.

--The improving Morse defense recorded eight sacks and limited Mira Mesa to one first down before halftime. Mira Mesa had just 25 yards total offense in the first half.

“We have a lot of good athletes on this team,” Shacklett said. “Maxey gets most of the notoriety, but these other kids deserve their notoriety, too.”

And they deserve their shot next week at top-ranked and unbeaten Point Loma, which will come into Tiger Stadium to decide the league championship and maybe the No. 1 seed in the upcoming San Diego Section 3-A playoffs.

“We’ll find out just how far we’ve come next week,” Shacklett said.

If Friday is any indication, Morse has come a long way already. Earlier this season, the Tigers relied on Maxey and, although he played well, Morse started just 2-2.

But, since then, Liera has emerged as a dangerous passer, and Friday he led an offense that piled up 421 yards despite playing in muddy conditions.

“We put some dirt on the field before the game, but it was nowhere near enough,” Morse Coach John Shacklett said. “It was hard for our runners to get their traction.”

It was hard to tell. Morse lost four fumbles but otherwise moved at will to win for the fifth straight time and improve its record to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in league play.

Even Morse’s defense, an inconsistent group throughout the season, played well. The Tigers limited Mira Mesa to just one first down in the first half and held the Marauders (5-4, 1-3) to just 25 yards of total offense.