SCA's Morton honored
dan burda/News-Item File Photo Southern Columbia fullback Jake Morton, the News-Item 2009 Player of the Year, hurdles over the line to pick up yardage during the Tigers' victory over Mount Carmel Area.
It was a simple handoff to the right side after Southern Columbia had tried two other runs in its opening drive of the season against Shamokin.
Jake Morton turned that dive play into a 75-yard touchdown trot.
The run came about 30 yards shy of matching the rushing total for Morton's entire career up to that point. It's tough to make the case that Morton got better as the year went on, but he did. He also got stronger as the season wore on. And if the adage that big players make big plays at big times holds true, then there was no bigger player in the area than Morton, the 2009 News-Item Player of the Year.
It was a year when any of the six area teams could have made an argument for having the area's best player. And while the biggest story coming into the season was the new coaches, by year's end it was two district championship teams. Either, but for a bounce here or there, could have played for a state championship.
It was clear that as Morton went, so went Southern Columbia. He gained 1,500 yards rushing and scored 21 touchdowns on the ground, and when the Southern coaches needed a stopper on defense, Morton was called upon. He made 48 tackles and had an interception without being a starter on defense.
What set Morton apart was that when Southern needed tough yards, or just yards in general, his number was tabbed as the most reliable offensive plan of action. Apart from a 98-yard effort against Northwest in the opening round of the state playoffs, a game the Tigers won 60-7 and Morton wasn't really needed in past the first quarter, the junior fullback had over 100 yards each playoff game.
In the regular season Morton, while not a decoy by any means, Morton was one of three backs the Tigers wanted to use. He had his big
games in the regular season (193 yards and two touchdowns against Jersey Shore), but so did tailback Tyrell Thomas, who finished the season with 957 yards. Tim Benner got his share of carries.
With Thomas unavailable for the playoff game against Bloomsburg, factoring very minimally in playoff wins over Line Mountain and Northwest and on the sidelines with an injury against Tri-Valley, Morton's carries and workload were increased, and he proved to be up to the challenge.
"I knew that I was going to have to get a lot of the carries," Morton said after the Tigers' 28-6 defeat of Bloomsburg in the District 4 semifinals. "I knew when they called my number, I had to make the most of it."
In the Tigers' three playoff wins and a three-point loss to Tri-Valley, Morton averaged 19 carries and 135.5 yards per game, scoring nine touchdowns between the four contests.
Offensive MVP
Michael Bastian was just seven yards shy of finishing the season with 1,100 yards rushing last season. Most thought it would be tougher for Bastian to match that total this season, let alone surpass it. The Red Raiders had to break in a new quarterback, were without their best receiver from last year and Bastian wasn't a surprise anymore.
What Lourdes got from Bastian was nothing short of spectacular. He surpassed the total from '08 with two less games on the schedule, and was more than 50 percent of Lourdes' total offense. He also threw for a touchdown, as the coaches tried every which way to use their senior back.
Defensive MVP
Pick a position on defense and chances are Kody Flail lined up there at some point this season for North Schuylkill. Everywhere the coaches put the junior, he excelled. About midway through the season, thanks to other positions being manned well, Flail settled in as a linebacker and made plays.
On a defense that was keen on taking the ball away from the opposition, Flail had seven takeaways by himself, three of which he returned all the way for a score. The best part for the Spartans is that they'll have a whole year to think up new ways to use the playmaker on a team that went 13-1 with only seven seniors.
Copyright ©2012 The News Item | 707 N. Rock St. | Shamokin, PA 17872 | (570) 644-6397
Privacy Policy | Opinion Posting Policy | About our ads | Questions or comments? Contact Us
Be the first to comment on this article!