Coach Sean Gerald came to Morton to bring Panther Football back to winning and playing for championships. He brought with him a rigorous summer workout and conditioning program, and worked his team hard. Last Friday night in Newton, in Gerald’s first game as a head coach, his Panther players responded with a 30-14 win over the home standing Tigers.
After back-to-back losing seasons MHS got off to a winning start in 2019. The Panthers offense played balanced and looked good for early in the season.
“Our guys came out and played good on the road and got a big win tonight,” Gerald said. “There are some things on both sides of the ball we have to work on, but this is the way we wanted to start the season,”
Morton’s junior quarterback James Johnson was in control of the offense and was 11-of-19 for 215 yards and one touchdown through the air. He also had 21 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Gerald said his quarterback played a solid game. “Johnson had a good game leading the offense tonight and made some big plays. He kept our offense moving and put pressure on Newton’s defense.”
Johnson’s favorite target on the night was sophomore WR Joe Laster who hauled in 6 receptions for 148 yards and 1 touchdown. Another key Panther contributor with the football in his hands was junior Tay Simms who gained 224 all-purpose yards rushing, receiving and returning kicks. Simms longest kick return of the night was 57 yards off a kick off that set up Morton’s offense up with a short field they later capitalized with a score.
While the offense was converting first downs and putting points on the board, the Panther defense was swarming to the football and the Newton quarterback. Morton had four sacks by four different Panthers while causing two fumbles and picking off two Tiger passes for four total turnovers.
Leading the way for the Panthers on defense was sophomore Robert Jennings who was around the ball the entire game. He registered 11 total tackles (10 solo and 5 for loss), 1 sack and a forced fumble, which he recovered. His teammates on defense got in on the turnover parade, when DL Kayshawn Norwood recovered a Tiger fumble, and Simms and Tyris McCoy each had an interception to stop Newton drives.
Jennings also got touches for the Panther offense with 7 carried for 24 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
“Our team gave great effort in the win Friday night and that got us the win,” Gerald said. “We will go to work this week and get ready for a tough game against a tough Scott Central team this Friday night.”
With the 30-14 road win over Newton, the Panthers moved to 1-0 on the season. The team will attempt to stretch that to two wins this Friday night in a tough matchup at home against the defending 2A state champion Scott Central Rebels at Panther Field. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m.
