Morris to host Homecoming game against Woodstock North on Friday

MORRIS — Coming off a big win in Week 3 against Kishwaukee River/Interstate Eight Conference White rival Kaneland, the Morris football team is gearing up for a Homecoming contest against another conference foe, Woodstock North.

Last season, Morris handed Woodstock North a 56-12 defeat, but Morris coach Alan Thorson feels that the Thunder are an improved team this year. They enter the game with a 1-2 record, having defeated Harvard, 20-14, in Week 2 and suffering a 27-17 defeat to Johnsburg in Week 1 and falling 21-13 to LaSalle-Peru last week.

“They are definitely a better team than they were last year,” Thorson said about Woodstock North. “They run a triple-option offense similar to Antioch [Morris’ Week 2 opponent] did. Their quarterback is a returning starter, so he has a year of experience under his belt. They run the fullback dive a lot, and both the fullback and quarterback are good, hard runners.

“It is going to be assignment football. Any time you play a triple option team, the defense has to stick with their assignments. Luckily, we have already seen an offense similar to theirs when we played Antioch, so it should still be pretty fresh in our guys’ minds.”

Morris (3-0) is coming off a 32-24 win over Kaneland, but Thorson feels that his team can still improve.

“As good a win as that [Kaneland] was, I didn’t like the way we executed, especially at the start,” he said. “The first half, we were actually pretty sloppy. This game is about us getting better.

“We want to get better every week and keep moving forward. We don’t want to take any steps back.”

Quarterback Carter Button has been outstanding for Morris so far this season, as he has completed 27 of 36 passes for 355 yards and six touchdowns and only one interception. His main receiver has been A.J. Zweeres, who has caught 15 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns. Gage Phillips has six catches for 62 yards, while Will Knapp has caught four balls for 64 yards and two scores.

The running game has also been productive, led by Ashton Yard’s 261 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries. However, Yard was ejected during the Kaneland game and will not be able to play Friday night. Jacob Swartz has collected 115 rushing yards on 20 attempts, while Sam Reddinger has 85 yards on 11 carries and Button has 83 yards on 24 attempts.

“Our offense has moved the ball pretty well all year,” Thorson said. “Carter has been very good, and the offensive line has been outstanding.

“I don’t think any coach in the state really likes Homecoming Week. There are some distractions, but we have a good group of senior leaders that understand the importance of Friday night and what we are playing for. I don’t think the distractions will get to us that much.”