Mark Morris embraces growing pains against Seton Catholic

Jordan Nailon / Blast Zone Media

Two weeks in. Two losses on the board. First-year Mark Morris football coach Mike Peck will be the first to tell you it’s not exactly what fairy tales are made of.
Still, after finding out first-hand exactly how good Seton Catholic is in a 46-6 loss at Longview Memorial Stadium, Friday night, Peck will also tell you that sometimes a the past of most resistance is the best way to get where you want to go.
“There’s been a plan from the very beginning and I’m not too shy to say that our goal is to compete for a league title in year one,” Peck said following his first home game at baby blue. “We could have scheduled two teams that were a couple of easy W’s, but it wouldn’t have done what we needed to do in order to make effective adjustments.”
That is to say, Peck and his extensive cast of assistant coaches were not caught off guard by the prowess of the Cougars. Last season Seton Catholic made a run to the 1A State semifinals. This season they return 21 or those 22 starters, a handful of whom are already committed to play college football.
Oh, and their starting quarterback is Kolten Gesser. Son of Seton Catholic associated head coach, and former WSU quarterback, Jason Gesser.
“Kelso and Seton Catholic are both very good teams and Seton Catholic is going to go play for a State title,” Peck emphasized. “As Dennis Green once said, ‘They are who we thought they were.’”
As a psychedelic sunset turned into a light mist in a shaft of light Gesser and company went about shredding the Monarchs in an extended jam session. All the junior signal caller did was throw six touchdowns, while completing 13 of 17 passes for 258 yards. He was not intercepted, and he was not pestered in the pocket as he worked the weak links in the host defense.
“It all starts with the O-line,” Seton Catholic head coach Dan Chase said. “I mean, look at how much time our quarterback had to throw.”
After turning the ball over on downs to end their first possession, the Monarchs must have still felt like they might be able to get a good thing going. After all, the first play from scrimmage for Seton Catholic backwards 15 yards following a muffed shotgun snap. But the following 17 plays of the first half netted 317 yards for the Cougars to go with 34 points.
Trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, Mark Morris strung together its only scoring drive thanks to a developing connection between quarterback Carter Huhta and slot receiver Decker Bartell. The duo first connected for a 36-yard gain on a jump ball down inside the red zone. Then, they capped the drive with a short lob to the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown strike.
“(Bartell’s) talented as heck and plays with a ton of fire,” Peck said. “He’s one of our dudes for sure and he’s going to continue to have a big year for us. We just have to keep finding way to get him the ball.”
But the Monarchs didn’t find much success the rest of the way, allowing 32-unanswered points to close out the game with a running clock and a 40-point deficit. All told, Mark Morris was only able to generate 150 yards of offense on 50 plays.
Meanwhile, the Cougars amassed 383 yards on just 33 plays.
Joe Callerame caught four passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Teddy Wieczorek hauled in four more passes for 62 yards and a pair touchdowns, while Ryker Rules tallied three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Jacob Williams set the tone on the ground for Seton Catholic with 146 yards and a touchdown on a dozen punishing rushes.
“He does a great job with his vision but it’s all about the O-line,” Chase said. “Every time he runs hard, he’s doing it for those guys who block for him.”
As for the Monarchs, it’s back to the drawing board for 48 hours before getting back to the grind in preparation for the start of their 2A Greater St. Helens League schedule. And after starting his first season as head coach at Mark Morris with a pair of lopsided losses, Peck is still keen on keeping the long view.
“Obviously it sucks to start out 0-2, but like I tell our kids - long term vision,” Peck said. “I’ve been very open about our plan from Day 1 and I’m very excited for league because we’re going to be ready and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Mark Morris (0-2) will host Columbia River at 7 p.m., Friday, at Longview Memorial Stadium.
Seton Catholic (2-0) will begin 1A Trico League play next Friday when it travels to Castle Rock for a 7 p.m. kickoff with the Rockets.

BOX SCORE
At Longview Memorial Stadium
COUGARS 46, MONARCHS 6
Seton Catholic 14 20 6 6 - 46
Mark Morris 0 6 0 0 - 6

Scoring Summary
SC - Kolten Gesser 24-yard pass to Teddy Wiezorek; kick good
SC - Gesser 61-yard pass to Joe Callerame; kick good
MM - Carter Huhta 10-yard pass to Decker Bartell; conversion fail
SC - Gesser 7-yard pass to Xavier Crank; kick good
SC - Jacob Williams 33-yard run; kick good
SC - Gesser 11-yard pass to Ryker Ruelas; kick good
SC - Gesser 33-yard pass to Callerame; kick fail
SC - Gesser 9-yard pass to Wieczorek; kick fail

Passing: SC - Kolten Gesser 13-17-0-258; MM - N/A.
Rushing: SC - Jacob Williams 12-146 yards; MM - N/A.
Receiving: SC - Joe Callerame 4-131, Teddy Wieczorek 4-62, Ryker Ruelas 3-49; MM - N/A.

Total Offense: SC - 33 plays for 383 yards; MM - 50 plays for 190 yards.

FRIDAY NIGHT SCORES
R.A. Long 21, Centralia 15
Kelso 40, River Ridge 21
Seton Catholic 46, Mark Morris 6
La Center 28, Woodland 0
Kalama 38, Tenino 35
Castle Rock 30, Rochester 14
Ilwaco 58, Winlock 12
Toutle Lake 34, Fort Vancouver 0
Naselle 72, Wahkiakum 6
Willamina 42, Rainier, Ore. 6