Birthday boy: Griffin Zweeres’ 2 TDs help Morris get past Highland in 5A second round

MORRIS — There aren’t many high schoolers that would forget their 18th birthday.

But Griffin Zweeres’ focus was so intent on Morris’ Class 5A second-round playoff game against Highland on Saturday that he didn’t pay much heed to the big day.

“I honestly forgot it was my birthday,” Zweeres said after he ran for 52 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in Morris’ 36-20 win. “I was focused on something else.

“This was a game where we really showed our heart. We didn’t play our best, but we showed what kind of heart this team has.”

Morris (8-3), which will visit top-seeded Morgan Park in the quarterfinals next week, got out to an early 7-0 lead on Zweeres’ first touchdown, a 4-yard burst, after the defense forced a Highland punt on the game’s opening drive. Quarterback Brady Varner got the drive going by hitting Ethan Mumbrue with a 49-yard completion to the Highland 10. Varner finished 11 of 19 for 171 yards and a touchdown, while Mumbrue was his top target, catching five passes for 88 yards.

Highland (7-4) was not fazed and answered on its next drive. Quarterback Blake Gelly hit a wide-open Wyatt Rinderer in the middle of the field for a 45-yard touchdown to tie the game with 6:40 to play in the first quarter.

Morris responded, this time using the legs of both Varner and his twin brother Bryce. Brady Varner scrampled for a 21-yard gain and was hit out of bounds, the extra 15 yards putting the ball at the Highland 28. After a holding penalty, Mumbrue caught a 12-yard pass and, on third-and-9, the two connected again for a 10-yard gain and a first down at the Highland 17. Varner kept the ball on an option and slid down after a three-yard gain, but was hit after he slid and the penalty put the ball at the Highland 5. Bryce Varner then came in and ran out of the wildcat formation, first for 4 yards and then for a 1-yard touchdown. It was the first of two TDs on the night for Bryce Varner, who spends most of his time playing defensive back.

“We want to try to get the ball in Bryce’s hands in situations like that,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “He is such a good athlete and can make things happen when he has the ball.”

Highland again counter-punched, this time scoring on an 11-yard pass from Gelly (16 of 28, 215 yards, three TDs) to Isaiah Grunenfelder, to tie it at 14 near the end of the first quarter.

Midway through the second, Morris forced a Highland punt, and the snap went over Gelly’s head. Gelly picked it up and threw it, but ther ball didn’t make it to the line of scrimmage, resulting in an intentional grounding call, giving Morris the ball at the Bulldog 5. A play later, Zweeres ran in for his second touchdown and then added a two-point conversion run to put his team up 22-14.

The two teams traded punts before Highland got a 26-yard TD pass from Gelly to Gavin Frey with 0:19 to play until halftime. Brett Bounds broke up the two-point conversion pass and Morris went into halftime with a 22-20 lead.

“Our guys were down a little bit in the locker room at halftime,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “I don’t know if they thought we should be winning by more, but I reminded the that teams don’t get to the second round of the playoffs if they aren’t good teams. Highland was a good team and I expected this to be a battle.

“[Defensive coordinator] Ryan Clauson made some good adjustments at halftime and we pitched a shutout in the second half. We played more nickel coverage, and our defensive line was able to get a good pass rush.”

Neither team scored in the third quarter, although there was a scary moment for Morris. During a Highland punt, the ball went past Morris returner Steven Wagner and bounced toward the end zone. Both teams scrambled for it, but it was ruled to have been knocked out the back of the end zone before anyone recovered it for a touchback. There was a 10-yard penalty on Morris on the play, and they started on their own 10.

On first down, Brady Varner launched a deep pass and Bounds made a leaping contested catch for a 25-yard gain on the final play of the third quarter. That gave Morris some breathing room, and their ensuing punt gave Highland the ball on its own 30. On fourth-and-4 from their own 49, the Bulldogs went for it and the snap went over Gelly’s head and Morris’ Logan Sparrow recovered at the 43.

Zweeres ripped off his biggest run of the night, a 26-yarder, to put the ball at the 17. On third-and-8, Varner hit Mumbrue for a 10-yard gain and a first down. After a 4-yard gain by Caeden Curran, Bryce Varner scored on a 2-yard run for a 29-20 lead with 3:28 to play. Morris added its final touchdown on an 8-yard TD pass from Brady Varner to Jack Wheeler with 1:50 to play.

“This was a very physical game,” Thorson said. “There were some real big hits on both sides. We had to play all four quarters. When the fourth started, I told our guys that this is what we worked so hard during the offseason for. We wanted to wear them down and I think we did.”