Morrice at Kingston – – Football – – The Bleacher Denizen – – October 15, 2021 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight’s journey takes your Bleacher Denizen to Kingston. Kingston’s Cardinals will compete with the Morrice Orioles. (One wonders if you can start calling your travels an “odyssey” if you pass a test or something.) Anyway, while I have done basketball games for both schools, this is the first time I’ve seen either of them play football.

Morrice enters the game with a 7-0 record. Kingston is at 4-3.

Kingston’s football field is a really nice facility. Thanks to Athletic Director Carl Nicol and everyone else from Kingston. I really enjoyed my visit and your friendly press box!! It is now time to learn of the events of this game through the eyes of a Bleacher Denizen who quit playing football after he learned that protecting himself with medieval armor was frowned upon.

Kingston’s band started off the night’s events by playing the National Anthem as well as the Kingston Fight song, which is the same as the University of Michigan fight song. (It’s rare that I know most of the words to the fight song although I refrained from singing.) The band did a nice job on both pieces!

Jacob Rayl opened the game by kicking the ball to about the 8 yard line, where Wyatt Wesley fielded it and returned it about seven yards before he was met by James Rayl, Owen Collis and MIchael DeRoseau. Morrice started its opening drive on its own 15 yard line.

Brent McGowan took the ball to the left side for an eighteen yard gain.

Owen Collis covered on the Morrice incomplete first down pass. Jacob Rayl stopped the Oriole second down play for a three yard gain. Anthony Krych halted the third down run for a one yard gain. After Jacob Rayl stopped the fourth down play for a one yard gain, Kingston took over the ball on downs on the Morrice 38 yard line.

Drew McGowan stopped the Kingston first down run for a two yard gain. Brent McGowan and Devon Dietz stopped the Cardinal second down run for a two yard loss. Jonah Mosher stopped Kingston’s third down run to the right by Owen Corlis for a two yard gain. Jonah Mosher led a flock of Orioles in pushing Kingston’s fourth down rusher out of bounds after a two yard play.

Morrice took over the ball on downs on its own 35 yard line.

Wesley Sholes stopped Morrice’s first down run for a one yard loss. On second down, Wyatt Wesley ran through the middle for an eleven yard gain to earn a first down for his Orioles.

On the next play, Wesley Sholes bulled his way up the middle for twenty-three yards to give his Orioles a first down on the Cardinal 32 yard line.

On first down, Wesley Sholes dove on a bad snap to prevent a Morrice turnover. The Orioles lost eight yards on the play. Hunter Vennevy stopped the Oriole second down run for a two yard loss. Wyatt Wesley got forced out of the pocket on third down and gained seven yards before Jacob Rayl forced him out of bounds. Wyatt Wesley passed to Brent McGowan for a fourteen yard fourth down gain; this was just short of what the Orioles needed; Kingston took over the ball on downs on their own 22 yard line.

Jacob Rayl darted to the left for a five yard first down gain. Drew McGowan stopped the Cardinal second down run for a two yard loss. Owen Cortis passed to Jacob Rayl for a six yard third down gain; Travis Farrow and Jonah Mosher teamed up for the Oriole tackle. Owen Corlis went up the middle for a nice fourth down gain and an apparent first down, but a holding penalty called the play back. On the next play, Owen Corlis punted the ball; it went out of bounds at the Morrice 47 yard line. The Orioles started their next series there.

A holding penalty negated a nice first down gain for Morrice. On the first down replay, Michael DeRoseau sacked the Morrice quarterback for a ten yard loss. Owen Corlis and James Rayl stopped Morrice’s second down run for no gain. Wyatt Wesley went to the right for a twelve yard third down play before Owen Corlis and James Rayl took him down.

The first quarter ended with the game tied at 0-0. Morrice faced a fourth down with twenty-five yards to go on their own 32 yard line.

On the first play of the second quarter, Brent McGowan booted a punt that went out of bounds on the Kingston 32 yard line. (Rain had started falling pretty hard which made it difficult to do anything remotely skillful on the field.)

A flock of Orioles stopped the Kingston first down play for a one yard gain. Jacob Rayl went to the right for a five yard second down gain before he ran into Wyatt Wesley. Third down resulted in a fumbled snap very possibly caused by the went ball. Drew McGowan’s tackle completed a seven yard loss for the Cardinals. Owen Corlis’s punt was downed by James Learman on the Morrice 32 yard line. Morrice started its next series there.

On the next play, Wyatt Wesley went through the line up the right side for a sixty-eight yard touchdown run. For good measure, Wyatt Wesley ran the ball into the end zone for a successful two point conversion that gave Morrice an 8-0 lead with 9:13 to play in the first half.

Brent McGowan booted his kickoff to the 34 yard line. The ball had touched a Cardinal player; Wyatt Wesley recovered the ball for Morrice; the Orioles started their next series on the Cardinal 34 yard line.

Michael DeRoseau stopped the Morrice first down run for no gain. James Rayl and Jacob Rayl teamed up to stop the Oriole second down run for a one yard gain. Wyatt Wesley took the ball to the right for a four yard third down gain before he ran into Jacob Rayl. An offside penalty gave five yards to the Orioles. On the next play, Wyatt Wesley ran to the left for a twenty-three yard touchdown. Wyatt Wesley ran to the left to give Morrice a successful two point conversion. With 6:33 remaining in the first half, Morrice had a 16-0 lead.

Brent McGowan kicked the ball to the 38 yard line. Josh Wood and Drew McGowan forced the Kingston returner out of bounds before he could gain any yardage. Kingston started its next series on its own38 yard line.

Owen Corlis went to the right for a nine yard first down gain. Owen Corlis gained five more yards on the second down run before Josh Wood and Wyatt Wesley forced him out of bounds. The Cardinals had a first down.

Owen Corlis cleverly zigzagged his way to an eight yard first down gain before Wyatt Wesley took him down. Gage Cartier, Wyatt Wesley and Drew McGowan teamed up to stop the Cardinal second down ball carrier for a one yard loss. Travis Farrow’s timely hit on the Cardinal receiver caused an incomplete third down pass. Brent McGowan stopped Kingston’s fourth down run for no gain. Morrice took over the ball on downs on their own 39 yard line.

Jacob Rayl stopped Morrice’s first down run for no gain. Wyatt Wesley earned four yards on a second down run to the right before Owen Corlis tackled him. Wyatt Wesley fought off several tackles on his way to an eleven yard third down gain. James Wilson knocked him out of bounds to end the play.

On the next play, Wyatt Wesley got through the line, cut to the left and ran for a forty-six yard touchdown. After a penalty forced Morrice to run its point after play from the seven yard line, Wyatt WEsley completed a pass to Drew McGowan for a successful two point conversion. With 1:52 to go in the first half, the Morrice lead was at 24-0.

Brent McGowan sent his kickoff to the Kingston 36 yard line where an Oriole teammate recovered the ball. (Your aging Bleacher Denizen apologizes for not being able to name the fumble recoverer although if someone messages me, I will get the name in!)

Wyatt Wesley’s nice first down gain was negated by a holding penalty. Wyatt Wesley went up the middle for a five yard gain; Jacob Rayl made the tackle for Kingston. Wyatt Wesley earned another five yards on second down before James Rayl tackled him. Anthony Krych and James Rayl teamed up to stop the Oriole third down run for a one yard loss. On fourth down, Hunter Vennevy and Michael DuRoseau teamed up to sack the Oriole quarterback.

The first half ended; Morrice held a 24-0 lead.

At halftime, the Kingston band led by Director Rod Wagnitz and Drum Major Kali Norris played their “Guardians of the Galaxy” show. The band did a fine job on “Spirit in the Sky”, “Escape” (the Pina Colada song) and “Hooked on a Feeling” (Hooga Shocka Hooga Hooga). They finished up with Kingston Fight Song. The band did a nice job.

Since I spent much of my life as a professional musician, I always enjoy saluting a nice performance by a band!

For those of you who may be curious, here is a song I recently put up on my “Chuck Krafft” You Tube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUieaBvS38w

Brent McGowan booted the kickoff to 10 yard line; James Wilson returned the ball about twenty-five yards before Travis Smith tackled him. Kingston started its series on its own 35 yard line.

Josh Wood covered on Kingston’s first down pass and knocked the ball down. Owen Corlis’ second down run gained six yards before Alex Larner tackled him. On the third down play, the runner slipped on the wet turn and lost one yard. Caden Binkley covered on Kingston’s fourth down incomplete pass. Morrice took over the ball on downs on their own 49 yard line.

Wyatt Wesley sprinted down the right sideline for a fifty-one yard touchdown. The successful point after run gaive Morrice a 32-0 lead with 9:07 left on the third quarter clock.

Brent McGowan kicked the ball off; Wyatt Wesley stopped the Cardinal kick returner on the Kingston27 yard line.

Owen Corlis gained six yards on a first down run to the left. Devon Dietz made the Oriole tackle. Brent McGowan and Wyatt Wesley stopped the Kingston second down run at the line of scrimmage, but a facemask penalty gave the Cardinals a first down on their own 39 yard line.

Drew McGowan stopped the Oriole first down pitch for no gain. Jacob Rayl went to the right for a six yard second down gain. Owen Corlis recovered a third down fumble to prevent a Cardinal turnover, but Kingston lost three yards on the play. Kingston’s fourth down punt was blocked; Morrice took over the ball on the Kingston 43 yard line.

Michael DeRoseau stopped the Morrice first down run for a one yard loss. Wyatt Wesley’s second down run to the right earned twelve yards before Turner Marquardt and Isaac Marquardt tackled him.

Wyatt Wesley gained eighteen yards on the next play before Anthony Krych emphatically stopped him with a flying tackle. Morrice had a first down on the Kingston 14 yard line.

Morrice’s first down run gained four yards; Lawson Lyons made the tackle for Kingston. Morrice lost eight yards on their second down run. Dustin Copeland went to the left for a big Oriole gain and earned a first down; an Oriole penalty after the play pushed Morrice back to the Kingston 19 yard line.

Turner Marquardt sacked the Oriole quarterback for a three yard first down loss. On the next play, Wyatt Wesley took the ball into the end zone for a twenty-two yard touchdown. The Oriole point after pass was not successful. With 1:27 to play in the third quarter, Morrice had a 38-0 lead.

Drew McGowan stopped Kingston’s first down run for a three yard loss.

The third quarter ended. Morrice had a 38-0 lead.

The Oriole line stopped the Cardinal second down play for a one yard loss. Josh Wood tipped Kingston’s third down pass to cause an incompletion. Travis Farrow covered on the Cardinal incomplete fourth down pass. Morrice took over the ball on downs on their own 38 yard line.

Wyatt Wesley went up the middle for a thirty-seven yard Oriole touchdown on the next play. Wyatt Wesley got into the end zone for a successful two point conversion that gave the Orioles a 46-0 lead with 8:48 remaining in the game.

Dustin Copeland recovered an onside kickoff for Morrice on the Kingston 44 yard line.

A wet ball caused a bad handoff which caused a two yard loss for Morrice on the first down play. On second down, Wyatt Cartier went to the left for a sixteen yard gain that earned a first down for his Orioles.

James Rayl stopped the Morrice first down play for no gain. Morrice fumbled a handoff, but recovered the ball. Austin DeRoseau and Myles Spencer made the tackle and Morrice had a five yard loss. Wyatt Cartier went to the left for a seven yard third down gain. Michael DeRoseau made the tackle for Kingston. Myles Spencer stopped the Oriole fourth down run for a two yard loss. Kingston took over the ball on downs on their own 30 yard line.

Owen Corlis went to the right for a five yard first down gain. On the final play of the game, Owen Corlis gained seven yards to the left.

Morrice won the game 46-0.