Morse Gives Vista Hard Football Lesson

The unsuspecting fan who left her car before entering De Vore Stadium at Southwestern College Friday night didn’t have a clue.

“I don’t know much about football,” she said.

A little more than two hours later, she got a lesson from the best, as top-ranked Morse manhandled Vista, 48-14, in a 3-A quarterfinal game featuring runs usually reserved for a guy named “Rocket.”

Morse (12-0) had two of them. Gary Taylor and Conan Smith run everywhere but circles around Vista (6-6). Together, they went ballistic.

Taylor was the long-winded one. He ran for touchdowns of 35, 17 and 66 yards. Smith was the sprinter. He went in twice from the 1-yard line.

“We’re a pretty good offensive team,” Morse Coach John Shacklett said. “I’m never too concerned with being held scoreless.”

Vista made a valiant effort to stay in the game, and did, for about a quarter despite not gaining any yards in 23 carries.

The Panthers even scored first, on a nine-yard run by Donte White at 11:00. The run was set up when Vista recovered its onside kick on the Morse 45, and Jose Perez threw a 36-yard pass to Aaron Rounsifer.

“I wasn’t too pleased with that,” Shacklett said. “They caught us flat.”

But Morse came up for air and scored the next four touchdowns, Taylor and Smith traded scoring runs, to take a 28-7 halftime lead.

“We played as hard as we could play,” said Vista Coach Dick Haines, who watched the Panthers’ six-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt. “I’m proud of my kids. (Morse) just outmanpowered us. They had too many tools.”

And Teddy Lawrence was the keeper of the tool box.

After Vista’s Chato Jackson scored on a two-yard run to open the third quarter, pulling the Panthers to 28-14, Taylor scored on a 66-yard run from his 34.

Then Lawrence unleashed a couple of touchdown passes that couldn’t have been prettier, or more on target.

Lawrence found Dwain Bostic on a 21-yard pass play with 10:23 remaining, then threw over half the field when he connected with Glenn Steele for a 65-yard play with 1:26 left.