Undefeated Morrison enjoying best season since 2019

MORRISON – The Morrison Mustangs have had some good football teams over the years. This year’s team looks like their best in at least the last four.

Heading into Week 6, the Mustangs were 5-0 and leading the Three Rivers West.

The last time they opened a season with five straight wins was in 2019, when they finished 11-1. Their only loss that season was to Annawan-Wethersfield in the Class 1A quarterfinals.

This year’s Mustangs may or may not equal that success, but one thing’s for sure: This is one of their best teams in recent memory.

Morrison erased any doubt that it’s a legitimately good team with a 22-21 upset win over Princeton on the road in Week 2.

That momentum has carried forward the past three weeks with wins over Orion, Erie-Prophetstown and Monmouth-Roseville.

The hot start has been fueled by a few key factors, according to the players and first-year head coach Nathan Vandermyde: increased physicality, a high number of returning players, speed and improved offensive line play.

“I think we’re really building off of last year. We lost in the first round, and that’s kind of set a motivational strike just because we don’t want that to happen again,” senior fullback/linebacker Carson Strating said. “We’ve been working every day in practice and things have been going a lot smoother.”

Sophomore running back/safety Brady Anderson sees a difference in the physicality of this year’s team.

“We’ve been a lot more physical this year. That’s helped a lot,” Anderson said. “And speed, obviously. We’ve kept a lot of the same people. We didn’t really lose anything, so that helps a lot, too.”

Senior running back/safety Chase Newman believes the offensive line’s improvement and the larger senior class have made a world of difference this year. He’s also seen underclassmen step up in big ways, such as freshman kicker Josh McDearmon, who booted the game-winning field goal to beat Princeton in Week 2.

“Our blocking’s been a lot better, and we’ve just been more consistent. A lot of us returned, so we’re big on seniors. Last year, we were small on seniors,” Newman said. “And we’ve got a couple younger kids, undersized kids, underclassmen kids that are stepping up and making big plays.”

The Mustangs have excelled on both sides of the ball this season. Through five games, their offense is averaging 37.8 points per game.

Junior quarterback Colton Bielema has led the passing attack. Anderson, Strating and Newman form a three-headed monster backfield with a perfect combination of power and speed between them.

All three runners are quick to deflect credit for their success to the offensive line, a unit anchored by senior twin brothers Evan and Cameron McDonnell.

“It starts up front. I think our line has gotten a lot better since last year. All of the guys are back from last year besides one,” Strating said. “We had guys step up, and they’re doing just as good, so I’d definitely say it starts with the line. And then, our backs have some good speed, so it definitely helps out.”

Newman believes balance has been the key for the offense. With Bielema coming in as the starter, the offense has continued to run smoothly. With improved offensive line play and the return of weapons Strating, Anderson, Newman and senior wide receiver Daeshaun McQueen, there’s still plenty of threats that opposing defenses need to account for each week.

Defensively, the Mustangs have been just as impressive, if not better. Through five games, they’re allowing a mere 12 points per game, and in four of the five, they’ve allowed 14 or fewer. Against Princeton, previously the top-ranked team in Class 3A by the Associated Press, Morrison allowed only 21 points.

To Vandermyde, leadership and a commitment to getting better every day in the weight room and on the practice field have played a big part in Morrison’s success this season.

“Chase Newman, Carson Strating are the big two [leaders]. They’re both offense and defense. They’re seniors. They’ve been here. They’ve been in the program on the varsity level since they were sophomores,” Vandermyde said. “They’ve been through the lows. They’ve been through the little bit of success that we had last year. They know everything inside and out, so that’s huge with those two.

“There’s other kids that have been really stepping up to the plate. The McDonnell twins that I talked about before, they’ve been a mainstay on the offense. Karder White has been a vocal leader on the defense along with Donny Reavy – kids that everybody in the program looks up to. When they talk, people listen.”