San Marcos, Morse Win, Advance to Section Finals : Morse Beats Error-Prone Mt. Miguel

Paul Curtis overcame his mistakes. Mount Miguel could not.

After missing an extra point and two field goals, Curtis made good on kicks of 23 and 36 yards in the second half as Morse rallied to defeat Mount Miguel, 12-7, in a 3-A semifinal game at Southwestern College.

Second-ranked Mount Miguel (11-1) was not able to overcome several mistakes, including three that led to all of third-ranked Morse’s points.

While Morse (10-3) shut down Mount Miguel’s offense in the second half, Curtis finally found his mark in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 7-6 going into the final period, Morse took the lead when Curtis connected on a field goal set up when Mount Miguel quarterback Anthony Rivera fumbled a pitchout at the Mount Miguel 27-yard line.

Mount Miguel nose guard Eric Parker dropped Derrick Greene for an eight-yard loss on the first play, but Parker drew an unsportsmanlike penalty for taunting and Morse had a first down at the Mount Miguel 14.

Morse drove the ball to the six-yard line and settled for a 23-yard field goal by Curtis. The kick ended Curtis’ streak of two straight missed field goals.

“I thought it was going to be a long night,” Curtis said. “This is my first year of football and I hadn’t been in this situation.”

Curtis, a senior, is playing his first year of high school football after playing soccer. He said he decided to try out for football because it was his senior year.

He was called upon to kick when Morse’s regular kicker, Herman Puentes, was injured midway in the season. Puentes is the section record-holder with a 56-yard field goal last season.

Another Mount Miguel turnover led to Morse’s final score. Rivera dropped back to pass and the ball was stripped from his hands by Lincoln Kennedy. Tyrone Morrison fell on the ball. Morse took over at the Mount Miguel 23-yard line with 7:05 left in the game.

Mount Miguel’s county-leading defense held Morse to four yards but Curtis made a 36-yard field goal that slid inside the upright and the Tigers led 12-7 with 5:22 remaining.

Morse had scored first on a 15-yard run by Melvin Maxwell in the first quarter.

The score was set up when Mount Miguel’s Rivera took the snap in a punting situation but decided he couldn’t get the kick off and threw a pass completion to Robert Griffith for a 42-yard gain that was called back because of an ineligible receiver.

The subsequent penalty and loss of down gave Morse the ball at the Mount Miguel 15. Maxwell scored on the second play for a 6-0 lead. Curtis’ extra point attempt went right.

Mount Miguel rallied to score on its next drive behind the running of junior Gene Ethridge.

Ethridge had a 25-yard run to give Mount Miguel a first down at the Morse 48. Four plays later, he broke around the right side for a 29-yard touchdown run. Jesus Alvarez kicked the extra point to give Mount Miguel a 7-6 lead.

Morse’s defense never allowed Mount Miguel to mount a drive in the second half. The Matadors had 139 yards offense in the first half, but had just 18 yards in the second half.

Ethridge, who had 97 yards on 10 carries in the first half, was held to 14 yards in 5 carries in the second half.

Mount Miguel’s defense contained Morse’s offense, which came into the game averaging 30 points, second best in the county. Larry Maxey, the county’s second leading rusher, had 108 yards in 19 carries.

But in the end, Mount Miguel could not overcome its errors.

“You can’t make mistakes at this level,” Mount Miguel Coach Gary Cooper said. “They took it to us on our mistakes.”