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SYCAMORE – Morris had just stopped Sycamore for the first time and was looking to tie things up in the second quarter.
Caden O’Donnell and the Spartans’ defense had other ideas.
O’Donnell intercepted Morris quarterback Brady Varner and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown, the first of his two interceptions as the Spartans shut out Morris 42-0 to win the Interstate 8 title Friday and remain undefeated.
“It feels amazing. We’ve been talking about it all week,” O’Donnell said. “Coaches keep saying we have the opportunity to go play for a conference championship, and I think we earned it. They were a good team, but it’s because of our hard work we won.”
Morris was last shut out in 2022, 28-0 at Sycamore.
Morris (5-3, 3-2) didn’t get into Sycamore (8-0, 5-0) territory until the second half and did not enter the red zone.
“We knew coming in here they are a big-play offense,” safety and quarterback Burke Gautcher said. “Just limiting those was big, and their run game, too. Our communication and working hard throughout the week and playing all together came through.”
Sycamore outgained Morris 241 to 184 yards of total offense. The Spartans made big plays in all three facets to secure the win.
There were no big plays on the first drive, in which they went 68 yards in 15 plays, capped by a 1-yard Kevin Lee run. They converted all four third-down opportunities on the drive. They were 9 of 10 on the day on third down, and on the one miss they made the fourth-down conversion.
After O’Donnell’s return, Morris kicked up a first down but had to punt. Then came Sycamore’s second big play, a 53-yard strike from Gautcher to Aidan Wyzard for a 21-0 lead late in the third.
“I saw the lineman and was racing him to the goal,” O’Donnell said of his interception return for a score. “I just barely got there. I’m kind of surprised I did.”
Josiah Mitchell joined the big-play parade for the Spartans, returning the opening kickoff of the second half 98 yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead.
“It was really, not a relief but really good to great to see,” Gautcher said. “Being 28-0 in the second half, at that point you just got to hold on. You’re right there. It was great to see Josiah return that. It was really cool.”
Morris entered Sycamore territory for the first time on its next drive. But a bad snap on fourth-and-2 cut it short. Sycamore then went 62 yards on 16 plays for another 1-yard Lee touchdown run to lead 35-0 lead with 0:33 left in the fourth.
Morris followed with its longest drive, but on a fourth-and-seven from the 22, O’Donnell threw his second pick. Sycamore had only 15 yards in front of them, and four plays later, Gautcher had a 1-yard scoring run to start the running clock with 5:46 left.
Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said getting a conference title is always special.
“I told the kids, I’ve been to the semifinals five times as a coach, and this is only the fifth time I’ve been able to enjoy a conference championship. Those are hard. Those are really hard and you need to really enjoy. We beat a good team tonight and we made it look easier than it really was. They’re a really good team, and to get through this league and this schedule we had and be 8-0 at this point, if you had told me that at the beginning of the season I would have called you a liar.”
Morris coach Alan Thorson declined to comment after the game.
Caeden Curran ran 22 times for 70 yards for Morris as the team finished with 184 yards of total offense on 49 plays.
Sycamore ran 49 plays for 241 yards. Lee ran 17 times for 60 yards and Dylan Hodges had 10 carries for 45 yards. Gautcher threw for 128 yards completing 10 of 14 passes.