CHAMPAIGN – The Morrison High School football team made history Friday afternoon, when the Mustangs won the school's first team championship by defeating Maroa-Forsyth 36-14 in the Class 2A state final at Memorial Stadium.
The win completed a 14-0 season for the top-ranked team and second-year head coach Cory Bielema.
Senior running back Josh Vos led the way like he has all season. Vos gained 173 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. His 1-yard TD run with 6 minutes, 17 seconds left in the second quarter broke a 7-7 tie, giving the Mustangs a lead they did not relinquish.
Maroa (11-3) struck first, driving 84 yards on 10 plays in the game's first drive, capped by quarterback Logan Stelzried's 3-yard run and an extra point kick.
Morrison scored the next 29 points, 20 on three touchdowns in the second quarter. Kyle Janssen tied the score with a 35-yard run that, along with Kyle Dermody's extra point, made it 7-7 one minute into the second quarter.
Vos followed with TD runs of 1 and 4 yards, and the Mustangs led 20-7 at halftime.
Dermody kicked a 23-yard field goal with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, and Conner Bealer ran for a 7-yard touchdown that put Morrison ahead 29-7 a minute into the fourth quarter.
Stelzried connected with Justin Barnes for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 8 minutes to play, pulling Maroa within 29-14. Vos answered with his third touchdown, a 4-yard run with 1:35 left.
Janssen rushed 13 times for 111 yards. Bealer gained 41 yards on seven carries, and the senior also made all three of the team's receptions, for 57 yards, and gained 45 more yards on punt returns.
Patrick Wagenecht led the defense with 10 tackles. Janssen made an interception, and sophomore Matt McDonnell recovered a fumble.
The football title is the area's first since Bureau Valley's Class 3A championship in 2005. The Mustangs became the fifth team from the 10-team Big Rivers Conference to win a football title, after Amboy, BV, Fulton and Newman Central Catholic.
For more coverage of the Mustangs' state football championship, see Saturday's edition of Sauk Valley Weekend.