Morton Shows Go-To Talent

The season could hardly have gone any better for Damon Morton and his Riverside North team. The team was undefeated and won the Southern Section Division V championship, and Morton was the star of a team that seemed to have an entire constellation’s worth.

Few, if any, athletes in the Southland were more efficient playmakers than Morton, who is The Times’ back of the year.

“When he touches it, magic happens,” said his coach, Lou Randall, whose team scored 10 times on its first possession.

A wingback in North’s wing-T offense, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior caught 64 passes and averaged 24.4 yards per catch.

He also ran the ball for 414 yards, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. He totaled 26 touchdowns, 19 through the air, on a team that scored 84. Seven times in 14 games, Morton reached the end zone the first time he touched the ball -- including the section title game against Norco, in which he returned the opening kickoff in his kick-return debut. He returned two punts and one missed field-goal try for touchdowns.

If that’s not enough, Morton also played cornerback and intercepted six passes.

“I wanted to be a team player,” Morton said. “I don’t like to think of myself as the go-to guy, but I do like to play that role. I like to think of myself as a role player.”

-- Martin Henderson