2A Prep Football: Missed opportunities cost Mark Morris at West Valley
Moving Forward: Monarchs make a big push in 21-6 playoff loss to Rams
Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
The Monarchs fell behind by multiple touchdowns before finding the end zone themselves Saturday in a 21-6 loss at West Valley in Spokane. It felt like a premature end to a season of getting-to-know-you with first-year head coach Mike Peck, but even a defeat in the opening round of the playoffs wasn’t enough to offset the overall optimism in the Mark Morris camp.
“I feel good and I feel proud of these kids and the coaches,” Peck said after making the long trek back from the inland empire. “It’s quite the quest to travel nine hours on a school bus.”
With a big push in the trenches going both directions Mark Morris was able to hold an undefeated offense mostly in check while piling up rushing yards themselves.
“We really controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and that’s kind of what they were known for,” Peck noted.
Still, the Monarchs trailed 14-0 at halftime despite winning most of those battles up front. Was it a matter of tired legs from a log bus ride? Feet not accustomed to natural grass after two seasons playing home games and practicing on turf? Were the Rams just too good to get by?
“We just struggled to finish once we got inside the 20,” Peck said. “We had our chances, we just didn’t take advantage of them.”
But as good as Mark Morris was on defense in the first half, it allowed even fewer points down the home stretch in an effort to give the offense an opportunity to figure out how to break the seal.
“They had a very physical rushing attack and our front seven really flew to the football, knew what play was coming, and were incredibly physical when they got there,” Peck noted.
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