Morgan Pee Wee team hasn’t given up point all season
Published 10:53 pm Thursday, October 15, 2015
The Morgan Academy Pee Wee football team is undefeated going into Monday’s game against Southern Academy. The members of the team are: John Allen Ingram, Noah Smith, Cole Wilson, Wyatt Peavy, John Beekman Youngblood, Andrew Thomas, Clay Beers, Allen Michael Creech, Andrew Morris, Rhyne Williams, Matthew King, Kristian Smith, Casen Huff, Jackson Griffin, Wilks Chittom, Matthew Hand, Alston Moring, Cink Minter, Allen Lightfoot, Perrin Utsey, Christopher Ezelle and Jack Moore. –Daniel Evans
Dominant may not be a strong enough word to describe just how good the Morgan Academy Pee Wee football team has been this season.
The team, which consists of fifth and sixth graders, has not allowed a single point while outscoring its opponents 152-0. The Senators’ (6-0) closest win was a 16-0 victory at Wilcox Academy in their last game.
The same group also played football for Morgan’s Termites team when in fourth and fifth grade.
The team didn’t lose a game then either, with its close calls resulting in ties. Overall, the group is 20-0-2 since the start of 2013 and could finish off a truly perfect season Monday night against Southern Academy.
“I think about it sometimes, and I think we should try to keep that win streak going,” said quarterback Andrew Thomas. “We just go out there and play hard.”
Coaches Rick Williams, Don Smith and Travis Wilson teach all 11 defensive players to swarm the football and it shows in the final result.
“We have 11 people run to the ball and if somebody misses a tackle and somebody else gets them, we pick the other guy up who missed the tackle and just play hard,” Thomas said.
Williams said every player has gotten on the field this season and that no matter who’s on defense, no opponent has been able to find the end zone.
“The most impressive thing about that to me is a lot of the games when we’ve gotten ahead, we’ve tried to play some of our younger players and folks that may not be in our starting group,” Williams said.
“Our second string defense hasn’t given up points either obviously.”
How does any team, regardless of their age group, manage to get seven games into a season without giving up points? The players say it’s because they play with a lot of heart.
“We just practice hard and play hard with each other,” said Christopher Ezelle, a sixth grader who plays right guard.
While the defense’s performance has been incredible, the offense deserves its due as well. Morgan has averaged 25.3 points per game this season despite playing in an age group where quarters are only six minutes long. The Senators defeated Monroe 40-0 and Fort Dale 36-0 in their two highest scoring outputs of the year.
“I think we’ve scored in the upper 30s in a couple of games,” Williams said.
“That’s a lot of points for that young of an age group with six minute quarters.”
If Morgan Academy can finish its regular season with a win Monday, the Senators will be 7-0. Smith said the players are taking a lot of pride in finishing off this season without a blemish.
“They take pride in that,” Smith said. “They do not want to lose.”
