THE BIG GAME / MORSE-POINT LOMA : Pointers Are Up for Challenge

Mighty Morse is everywhere. Ranked 19th nationally by Associated Press. Ranked fourth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. Ranked first in the county by every newspaper in town.

But until Point Loma football Coach Bennie Edens sees this high school wonder team, he won’t believe that it is invincible. Today is his chance. The second-ranked Pointers (6-0, 1-0) play host to Morse (7-0, 1-0) at 3 p.m. in a game that should decide the City Eastern League title.

Point Loma’s players repeatedly have been told of Morse’s greatness. They have been told this could be Morse’s best team, and that this is one of San Diego’s finest teams in years.

Today they will have an opportunity to form their own opinion.

“We’re basically saying to our kids, ‘Make them prove to us that they’re a better football team than we are,’ ” said Edens, Point Loma’s coach since 1955. “Let’s not believe what we read.

“Our focus is we’ve got to be a better team at the end of the game. If that’s good enough to beat them, that’s great. We’d love to beat them, and I think we have a chance to beat them.”

What kind of a chance? The Tigers have outscored their seven opponents, 357-91, and their offense is a migraine headache for even a defense as strong as Point Loma’s.

Quarterback Teddy Lawrence, who directs the Morse offense, is fifth in the county in rushing, which, in itself, isn’t that amazing, but he has covered 883 yards in 44 carries. That’s 20 yards a pop.

“Point Loma has to figure out how to stop Teddy,” Morse Coach John Shacklett said. “So that puts a lot of pressure on them.”

Stopping Lawrence isn’t all that Point Loma needs to do. The Pointers must also stop running back Gary Taylor, who leads the county with 1,467 yards in 115 carries for a 12.8-yard average.

Before taking pity on the Pointers, consider they have a few guys who also play pretty good football. La’Roi and Darcel Glover, brothers who start at defensive end, are quite good at finding the quarterback. They have combined for 13 1/2 sacks, and Morse has allowed its six opponents a total of 27 points.

On offense, running back Marlon Manassa is averaging 7.2 yards a carry in 94 attempts. Point Loma doesn’t get to the end zone as frequently as Morse, but its defense has been enough to keep it a step ahead of the pack.

“I can’t imagine us getting blown out by 30 or 40 points with this defensive team,” Edens said. “And I know we’re not going to blow them out. They come in and they run away from people. Our objective is to stay in the ball game while we adjust to their speed.”

If this game is anything like last year’s, in which Morse won, 42-35, after the teams amassed 897 yards total offense, the fans are in for a treat. Might this be as exciting?

“I hope not,” Shacklett said. “Those are tough for coaches to live through.”