Morris football geared up for long trip to Centralia for Class 5A second-round action

MORRIS — By the time the season is done, the Morris football team may earn the unofficial award for the team with the most miles traveled.

Having played road games already at Antioch (196 miles round-trip), LaSalle-Peru (78), Woodstock (142), Richmond-Burton (164) and Sycamore (112), Morris gets its longest trip of the year Saturday when they travel to Centralia (452) for a second-round Class 5A playoff game. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.

“One good thing about our schedule this year is that we are used to long bus trips,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “That’s part of the fun of the playoffs, though. You get to go somewhere you have never been or maybe would never go in your life and play a team you really know nothing about.

“We aren’t complaining at all. We would rather be traveling on a bus than sitting at home not playing.”

Thorson said that the team will leave Morris at around 8 a.m., stop and have an hour or so walk-through type of practice at Effingham High School, then get back on the bus and be in Centralia around 1 p.m.

Centralia (6-4) started the season 5-1 before ending with consecutive losses to Class 5A Marion (32-31), Class 5A Mt. Vernon (35-7) and Class 7A Collinsville (35-31) and earning the 12th seed in the southern bracket of the 5A playoffs. Last week, though, the Orphans went on the road and beat fifth-seeded Triad 27-14 to earn the right to host fourth-seeded Morris (8-2), a 42-17 first-round winner over LaSalle-Peru.

Centralia has outscored its opponents 274-207 in 10 games this season, while Morris holds a 368-138 advantage over its opponents.

Running back Amir Johnson has run for 1,178 yards and 18 touchdowns on 181 carries, while quarterback Carson Green has completed 104 of 199 passes for 1,447 yards and six touchdowns against six interceptions. Green has also run for 575 yards and six touchdowns on 141 attempts. The main receivers for the Orphans are Camden Newcomb (27 catches, 319 yards, 2 TDs), Xavier Koch (21 catches, 283 yards) and Daryle Jones (21 catches 303 yards, 2 TDs).

Morris has been balanced throughout the season, utilizing a big, experienced offensive line to open holes for runners such as Ashton Yard (105 carries, 777 yards, 13 TDs) and Jacob Swartz (68 carries, 562 yards, 9 TDs). When they go to the air, quarterback Carter Button has completed 76 of 113 passes for 987 yards and 14 touchdowns against two interceptions. His main receiver is A.J. Zweeres, who has caught 36 passes for 515 yards and nine TDs. Zweeres, Will Knapp and Matt Stark also make up an excellent kick return corps.

“Centralia’s offense has some talent,” Thorson said. “They have a 1,000-yard rusher, and their quarterback is very athletic. He runs well and has a good arm, and they have a couple of good receivers. Scheme-wise, I would say they are pretty similar to Kaneland on our schedule.

“Defensively, they are very aggressive. They like to blitz a lot, especially in passing situations. A big key for us will be to stay ahead of the chains and not get ourselves into those obvious passing downs. And, this is true in any game but even more so in the playoffs, we have to win the turnover battle. We can’t hurt ourselves with turnovers.”

The game will not be streamed online. Gates at Centralia will open at 1:30 p.m. and tickets, which cost $6, can be bought with cash at the gate.