Morrison starts playoff run with blowout

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MORRISON –  The top-ranked Morrison Mustangs looked scary good on Halloween as they rolled to a 55-20 win over the Deer Creek-Mackinaw Chiefs in an Illinois Class 2A first-round playoff football matchup Saturday afternoon.

Morrison (9-0), the No. 1 seed in its 16-team side of the bracket, advances to a second-round clash at No. 9 seed Eastland-Pearl City (8-2), which trounced Tri-Valley 41-6 Saturday.

Mustangs standout fullback Josh Vos churned out 212 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the way for Morrison, which piled up 362 yards on the ground.

"It was a great day for him, but we've come to expect that from him anymore," Mustangs coach Cory Bielema said of Vos. "He does a great job. We're going to give him the ball whenever possible, and he knows what to do with it."

The Mustangs did not score on their first possession, but they found the end zone on their next four trips.

Senior wingback Kyle Janssen broke a 25-yard run to start Morrison's initial scoring drive, which also included a 13-yard jaunt by Janssen and a pair of 10-yard runs by Vos. Janssen capped the march with a 1-yard plunge. The Mustangs botched the PAT but led 6-0 with 2:32 left in the opening quarter.

After holding Dee-Mack to a third straight three-and-out series, Morrison got the ball back with 51 seconds left in the first period. On the first play of the drive Mustang quarterback Andrew Cook threw a pass that tight end Cory Swanstrom hauled in for a 42-yard gain to the Chiefs' 11.

Vos then went for 10 yards before capping the quick-strike drive with a 1-yard TD on the last play of the quarter. Janssen completed a pass to Vos for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.

Following another three-and-out defensive series Morrison had to move just 34 yards for its third TD, an 11-yard scamper by Janssen. 

Yet another three-and-out defensive set led to another Mustang TD as Morrison moved 69 yards for its fourth score of the first half. A 23-yard run by Janssen and 17 and 16-yard runs by Vos highlighted the drive.

Vos finished the march with a 4-yard run in which he bounced out of the pile-up in the middle and darted to the left to score. The PAT made it 28-0 with 2:39 left in the half.

Vos was happy with the way his team got started.

"We want to get out and jump on top and knock down the momentum of the other team," he said.

Dee-Mack got its only first down and only points of the first half on an 84-yard jump-ball pass play with 1:43 left in the half.

Mustang linebacker Bryce Vegter got his team a defensive touchdown in the opening moments of the second half when he picked off a pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. 

The Chiefs shaved the margin to 35-14 late in the period as they converted three fourth downs on a scoring drive that was capped on a fourth-and-1 QB sneak.

But, Morrison promptly responded as Vos bolted 66 yards for a touchdown on the Mustangs' ensuing possession. 

Vos tacked on a 2-yard TD plunge and Cook sneaked for a 1-yard touchdown to close the scoring.

"Our offense did good," Vos said. "We had too many mistakes on defense. We gave up some big plays. We have to be able to stop those in the next couple games."

Star of the game: Josh Vos, Morrison, 22 carries, 212 yards, 4 TDs

Key performers: Matt Krause, Dee-Mack, 87 passing yards, 1 TD, 135 receiving yards, 1 TD; Kyle Janssen, Morrison, 9 carries, 83 yards, 2 TDs

Up next: Class 2A second round – Morrison at Eastland-Pearl City, TBA

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