By Ed Piper
Byron Cardwell, Morse's supreme running back transferred from St. Augustine, had a "terrible" game against La Jolla in the two teams' season opener, and he still rushed for 147 yards.
How's that for "terrible"?
That's my word, not somebody else's. As La Jolla's defense completely stifled the Tigers' attack, which apparently thought it could have Cardwell, a solid 6'1", 205-pound back headed to Oregon next year, just run the ball every time and the Vikings would lie down, Morse's offense went three-and-out on its first possession after La Jolla scored to begin the game and lead 7-0.
In that initial possession, Cardwell, whose dad, Mr. Cardwell, a more-solid 300-pounder who wears LeBron sneakers and chatted amiably with a visiting reporter before the game, watched on the Morse sideline, carried the ball twice for eight yards before the Tigers punted.
After the Vikings scored their second straight time to now take a surprising 14-0 lead, Cardwell then carried the ball six times on a 10-play Morse drive that extended to near the end of the first quarter. He covered 54 of the 68 yards Coach Tracy McNair's offense traveled. The last play of the drive saw number 21 cut right again, this time landing in pay dirt to tighten the contest up to 14-6 in the visitors' advantage.
Following that drive by Morse, honestly, La Jolla took the momentum and the game away entirely, racking up TD's on each of its next possessions of the half. Meanwhile, Cardwell and some of the other Tiger starters were removed by McNair, seemingly beaten up and a little tired after a lack of results that showed on the scoreboard. Cardwell returned later in the first half, but by then the damage was extensive. La Jolla led at halftime with no seeming opposition headed their way, 35-6.
The first-quarter touchdown was the only one that the Oregon commit would score. It was a tough night to be a recognizable figure on the Morse side.
With 62 yards rushing on 11 carries in the first half, Cardwell then piled up 85 more yards in the third quarter, spread over eight carries, for a total of 147 yards on the night. Not to knock one kid who has obviously earned his place at Oregon next year, but not of the latter yards ended up putting more points on the scoreboard and from that standpoint were pretty meaningless in the end result.
Coach McNair's assignment for week two will be to reconfigure his offense from having one back make all of the carries, and to build on sophomore quarterback Johnny Mosti's efforts at moving the ball through the air some of the time.
The Tigers may have their hands full again in week two as they travel to Scripps Ranch. All five games in this COVID-shortened season are Eastern League games. There are no non-league games.
Mosti was only inserted halfway through the second quarter, when Morse recognized that giving the ball only to Cardwell and number one, fellow rusher Tyson Shields, was getting them nowhere as they fell behind 28-6. By then, it was too late to try any kind of aerial attack.
From La Jolla's preparation standpoint, the Vikings had watched video and were aware of Cardwell's ability to run the ball. They had done their preparation and reportedly were pretty confident going into the Morse game, focusing their defensive efforts on Cardwell.
As a result, their preparation was time well-spent.
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