Prep Football: Mark Morris offense sputters in shutout loss at Washougal
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Dirty Laundry: Monarchs move the ball but can't break on through
Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media
WASHOUGAL— No one likes to see too much laundry piling up. And for the Mark Morris offense, too much laundry was ultimately what did the Monarchs in during a 22-0 loss to Washougal in 2A Greater St. Helens League football action Friday at Fishback Stadium.
And still, first-year head coach Mike Peck was as optimistic as one could be after getting shut out in a league game. His Monarchs amassed 229 yards of total offense, including 217 passing yards from the right arm of senior quarterback Carter Huhta.
But three things seemed to do Mark Morris in once it got close to paydirt: holding penalties, sacks, and Washougal senior Elijah Franco.
“We moved the ball well all night. I think this might be the most yards we’ve ever had without scoring a point,” Peck said. “But every time we started getting in the red zone, we had a killer penalty that backed us up. Not many teams can overcome that kind of thing. We’ve got to get more disciplined in doing our job.”
The game’s tone was set on the Monarchs’ opening drive when Franco made a highlight-reel interception on a deep fourth-and-18 throw down the right sideline and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.
It wasn’t altogether surprising to the Mark Morris coaching staff that the game’s first score was on the defensive end considering both teams came in with stout defenses but offenses still looking to get rolling.
“We talked about it all week,” Peck said. “We said it was probably going to be like a 14-7 ballgame, somewhere in that range. If we don’t throw that pick-6…it’s 14-0.”
Mark Morris’s defense hung tough on the road. Deker Bartell notched a sack to kill a Washougal drive, but midway through the second quarter, Franco notched his second interception and returned it to the Monarchs 36-yard line to set the Panthers up.
Franco then took a direct snap out of Wildcat formation and went nine yards into the end zone before hitting Travis Lundberg for the 2-point conversion. That gave the Panthers a 15-0 lead with 3:20 left before halftime, a score that held into intermission.
Mark Morris opened the second half by flipping the momentum. Bartell pounced on an errant Washougal snap, giving the Monarchs possession at the Washougal 30-yard line.
But a holding penalty gave Mark Morris a long set of downs, and the Monarchs turned over on downs at the Panther 21-yard line.
Again, the Monarch defense was ready, forcing Washougal to punt from its own end zone and returning the ball to the Panther 23-yard line. And again, a holding penalty preceded by consecutive Washougal sacks forced the Monarchs offense back into a turnover on downs.
The Panthers struck the final blow when Brandon Austenfeld made a sliding 19-yard touchdown catch from Kaden Fautt to make it 22-0 with 2:29 left in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter shone zeroes on both sides and a quiet exit for the visitors as Washougal improved to 1-1 in league and 2-2 overall.
Peck remained optimistic after the game, despite the shutout result that dropped the Monarchs to 1-1 in league play. There were moments where he could see things working like they should.
“Especially on the defensive line I thought we did a really good job preventing big runs, controlling the line of scrimmage, things like that,” he said.
Finishing drives is the next step of evolution for the Monarchs.
Mark Morris (1-3, 1-1 league) will host Hudson’s Bay at Longview Memorial Stadium next Friday at 7 p.m.
Washougal will play at Ridgefield next Friday.