Lawrence Breaks Loose for Morse : Spectacular Plays Turn It Around Against Orange Glen

Early Saturday morning, Morse football Coach John Shacklett met for breakfast with three of his players--Ty Morrison, Darrell Lewis and Michael Ivory--and their parents.

It was a fine breakfast, the conversation peppered with talk of recruiting and Saturday night’s San Diego Section 3-A football championship game with Orange Glen. But it ended abruptly when Morrison said simply, “I’ve got to go.”

Anticipation.

“We were all pretty worked up,” Shacklett said. “We were about ready to break some furniture.”

About 8:40 Saturday night, in the midst of Morse’s 31-28 high-octane victory, that nervous energy let loose before 12,416 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium and caught previously unbeaten Orange Glen like a right hook across the face.

In the final 2:07 before halftime, Morse’s Teddy Lawrence set a San Diego Section record with a 106-yard interception return for a touchdown, then took a fake punt 53 yards for another touchdown. Morse, which had been down, 13-7, and staring at a 20-7 deficit before Lawrence’s stunning interception return, had reversed itself to take a 21-13 halftime lead.

And about that fake punt: It was all Lawrence.

“I wish I could take credit for calling that play,” Shacklett said.

Said Lawrence: “It was a high snap, and I saw No. 2 (Lenny McGill) coming in. I just faked it and ran.”

Morse (11-2) never trailed after that, although Orange Glen (12-1) was right behind the Tigers the entire way. As the fourth quarter opened, Morse clung to a 24-19 lead. Jessie Campbell streaked 54 yards for a touchdown to give Morse a cushion, but Orange Glen quarterback Cree Morris passed 8 yards to Jake Nyberg to bring Orange Glen to within, 31-28, with 5:20 to play.

But on fourth and 10 with 1:15 to play, Orange Glen’s Shannon Vinje was wide left on a 37-yard field goal attempt. The Patriot comeback was finished.

“It was a tough decision (to go for a field goal), but Vinje is great,” said Orange Glen Coach Dave Lay, who will work in the stadium next fall as a San Diego State assistant. “Vinje is a tough-minded kid. He just had one of those nights, for whatever reason.”

Vinje also missed two PAT tries. Morris, on the other hand, had a typical night, completing 19 of 33 passes for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. Nyberg caught 12 of those for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns.

But the night belonged to Lawrence.

Orange Glen, which controlled the first 22 minutes of the game, was leading comfortably, 13-7, and ready to score again. Morse had yet to pressure Morris, and the Patriots had a first and goal from the Morse 6. Then, disaster.

Morris rolled back to pass, and the Orange Glen offense shifted to its left. So Morris edged to his right, looking toward the weak side and Glen Reyes. Morris flicked his wrist, but the ball traveled off course--smack into the arms of disbelieving Lawrence, who was positioned about 6 yards deep in the end zone.

Lawrence didn’t even have time to blink before making his decision. He reached the goal line, and then the 5, and was gone by the time he reached the 15.

The Orange Glen momentum had disappeared by the time Lawrence reached midfield. He outraced the entire Orange Glen offense, going 106 yards on the interception return.

Not bad for a warmup act.

Orange Glen ran 4 plays and punted on its next series, and Morse took over at its 29. The Tigers moved 18 yards to the 47 with 7 seconds remaining in the half before Shacklett sent Lawrence in to punt.

But Lawrence took the high snap, suckered three Orange Glen defenders inside with a lift of his leg, and then took off to his left. Twenty yards upfield, Morse quarterback Jimmy Rose leveled Gary Clinger with a block, and Lawrence blew through the Orange Glen defense for a 53-yard touchdown.

The Lawrence ledger: 2:07 elapsed, 2 plays, 159 yards, 2 touchdowns.

It was quite a turnaround from what had already transpired. Orange Glen took the opening kickoff and smoothly moved 65 yards in 14 plays. Opening jitters? The Patriots were cool, but Morse stepped offside 3 times during the drive. Morris capped it with a 1-yard dive.

Undaunted, Morse came right back, bruising its way for 70 yards in 15 plays--just 2 passes. Derrick Greene bulled in from the 1 on the first play of the second quarter.

With 8:14 left before halftime, though, Morris found Jake Nyberg for a 9-yard touchdown pass--3 plays after a 40-yard touchdown pass to Reyes was called back because of a holding penalty.

Morse went ahead, 24-13, when German Puentes kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:52 left in the third quarter. The kick was set up by Charles Johnson’s interception at the Orange Glen 47. By the time Puentes converted, the Patriots had run just 3 offensive plays in the second half.

Still, Orange Glen came back. Starting at his 26, Morris directed his club through the Morse defense and found Sean Coy open with a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-19.

Morse’s Darrell Lewis broke up the conversion pass, leaving Orange Glen still needing more than a field goal to catch Morse.