Class 5A football: Morris prepared to take on Peoria in Saturday semifinal

MORRIS — For the 15th time in school history, the Morris football team will play in a semifinal game, as they visit Peoria on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff. Morris has won 11 of its previous 14 semifinal games. One of those semifinal losses came to Peoria in 2016, a 43-35 decision that the Lions won en route to the Class 5A state championship.

This year, Morris owns a 10-2 record entering the Class 5A semifinal game, while Peoria is 11-1. Last week, Morris turned away undefeated Mahomet-Seymour, 35-14, while Peoria came away with a 36-21 win over Mascoutah.

The Lions had all they could handle early in the game last week, as Mascoutah held a 21-14 halftime lead. But the defense stiffened after halftime and allowed the high-powered Peoria offense to score 22 unanswered points.

For the season, Peoria has outscored its opponents 580-211, including 146-56 in the playoffs. Morris. meanwhile, has outscored its opponents 462-152, with a 133-31 edge in the playoffs.

“Peoria is a very good, very athletic team,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “Their running back [Malachi Washington] is an all-stater and he’s a threat to score every time he touches the ball. But they aren’t just a one-man show. They are balanced and they will put the ball in the air. Their quarterback [Tino Gist] throws a nice ball and they have a couple of receivers that are dangerous.

“Defensively, the word ‘aggressive’ isn’t really enough. They will bring pressure on almost every play. They like to line up almost everyone near the line of scrimmage, and they send a lot of guys. They have given up some points this year, so we hope to be able to score some of our own.”

In last week’s win over Mascoutah, Washington ran 40 times for 268 yards and three touchdowns, putting him over 2,600 yards for the season. Gist completed 9 of 25 passes for 146 yards with receiver T.Q. Webb catching five passes for 114 yards, including a 68-yard TD reception.

With a runner like Washington gaining that many yards, it’s clear that the offensive line is a strength for the Lions.

“Their line is big,” Thorson said. “They have a freshman [Jaquarius Green] who is 6-2, 385. He’s the younger brother of Kendrick Green, who we played against in 2016 and then went on to play at Illinois and now the Steelers. Their fullback [Landon Newby-Holesome] is a very good blocker and a physical kid. He also plays defensive line for them.

“It’s going to be tough. It’s a semifinal. Every team is very good. We are going to their field, but we feel like we are playing our best football of the year right now. Both teams know what’s on the line. If we win, we go to state. Let’s just go out there and see who’s better.

“We hope we can continue with the physical style of play we have had since the playoffs started. We have a different level of intensity so far in our playoff games, and we are going to need more of that Saturday.”

Morris’ offensive line has been doing the job as well in the playoffs, opening holes for running backs Ashton Yard, Sam Reddinger and Jacob Swartz and giving quarterback Carter Button plenty of time to hit receivers A.J. Zweeres, Matt Stark and Will Knapp.

Yard went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the win over Mahomet-Seymour and now has 1,023 yards and 16 TDs on the ground. Swartz has run for 632 yards and nine touchdowns, while Reddinger has 269 yards and six scores. Zweeres has run for 251 yards and five touchdowns while catching a team-high 38 passes for 548 yards and 11 TDs. He also averages 30.8 yards per kickoff return and 22.1 yards per punt return.