3-A Football Final : Morse Has Game It Wanted : Tigers Get Another Try at Unbeaten Point Loma

When the Point Loma High School football team beat Mt. Carmel, 13-7, in the San Diego Section 3-A semifinals last Saturday night, few people were more relieved than Morse Coach John Shacklett.

Ever since Point Loma defeated Morse, 14-13, a month ago in the final regular-season game to win the City Eastern League championship, Shacklett has been thinking about what he could have done to change that outcome.

“That loss definitely stayed with me for a long time afterwards,” Shacklett said. “I was hoping we might get one more chance against them.”

In the semifinal against Mt. Carmel, Point Loma rallied to tie the score in the last minute of regulation, then won in overtime to give Shacklett that chance. Morse will meet its undefeated rival again tonight in the San Diego Section 3-A championship game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“As soon as we beat Mount Miguel (12-7 in the other 3-A semifinal last Friday), I started hoping Point Loma would win its game,” Shacklett said. “The first time we played them it was a great game, and I expect the same thing this time.”

In the Nov. 13 game, Morse dominated the first quarter and took a 13-0 lead but was unable to move offensively in the last three quarters. Bob Brasher, Point Loma’s 6-foot 6-inch tight end, caught 4 passes for 157 yards to help the Pointers rally.

“They stopped us after the first quarter, but I think we didn’t do some things against them that we’d normally like to do,” Shacklett said. “I’m hoping we can attack them differently this time.”

To be sure, Shacklett will want to get the ball to his game-breaker, running back Larry Maxey, more than he did the first time. Maxey, the county’s second-leading rusher during the regular season (131 yards per game), gained only 46 against Point Loma, including minus 4 on two carries in the second half.

Instead, Shacklett went to his passing game, led by quarterback Mike Liera, and couldn’t come up with the big play. Tonight, Morse will be without Liera, who was injured in the Tigers’ quarterfinal playoff victory over Sweetwater two weeks ago. In his place is junior Jimmy Rose.

“Jimmy came through and did a great job against Sweetwater, but he struggled against Mount Miguel,” Shacklett said. “He has a good arm and is capable of throwing the ball. We have to hope he plays like he did against Sweetwater.”

Point Loma Coach Bennie Edens is simply hoping that his 12-0 team will continue to perform the way it has all season.

“There really isn’t anything new to say about this game,” Edens said. “We’ll count on our defense to stop them and hope our offense can come up with some big plays. We’ve been successful all year, so why change anything now?”

Quarterback Mike Bennett completed only 5 of 12 passes against Mt. Carmel and connected only twice with Brasher, his favorite target. As Morse will be trying to get the ball to Maxey more, Point Loma will be trying to get it to Brasher.

Both teams have excellent rushing games, and both figure to run more than 30 times. Maxey and fullback Darrell Greene are the top runners for Morse, and Lewis Guillory and Kelby Downey handle most of the running for Point Loma.

3-A Championship Notes

This is the first championship game for Point Loma since 1982, when the Pointers played El Camino for the 2-A championship. The game was at Mt. Carmel, the only time in the past decade it wasn’t played at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Point Loma and El Camino played to a 6-6 tie to share the title. Morse’s last appearance in the championship game was in 1979, when the Tigers beat Granite Hills, 28-7, for the 3-A title. . . . It’s doubtful that tonight’s first touchdown will be scored by the same player who scored the first touchdown when the teams first met. Morse offensive guard Rex Calvin fell on a fumble in the end zone to give the Tigers a 6-0 first-quarter lead. . . . Bennie Edens, in his 32nd year as Point Loma coach, is 1-2-1 in section championship games. Escondido beat Point Loma, 20-13, in 1960 and Lincoln won, 21-14, in 1965. The Pointers beat Helix, 18-14, in 1966 and tied El Camino in 1982. John Shacklett, in his 16th year at Morse, is coaching in his second final.

3-A CHAMPIONSHIP

GAME FACTS

Who: Morse vs. Point Loma.

Where: San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

When: 8 p.m.

Records: Morse 10-3, Point Loma 12-0.

Last meeting: Point Loma 14, Morse 13 (1987).

Players to watch: MORSE: Larry Maxey (5-10, 160, Sr., RB), Melvin Maxwell (5-10, 160, Sr., WR), Lincoln Kennedy (6-9, 290, Sr., OT-DE), Ty Morrison (6-3, 197, Sr., LB), Jimmy Rose (5-9, 155, Jr., QB). POINT LOMA: Bob Brasher (6-6, 200, Sr., TE-LB), Mike Bennett (6-1, 171, Sr., QB), Kelby Downey (5-6, 158, Sr., RB), Israel Stanley (6-4, 229, Sr., LB), Lewis Guillory (5-8, 174, Sr., RB).