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By NICHLOS CUTRELL | For the Selma Times-Journal

SELMA – Morgan’s ground game bulldozed its way to a 44-0 shutout of Bessemer on Friday night, as the Senators controlled the clock, forced turnovers and delivered big plays in all four quarters.

The Rebels tried to seize momentum early with a surprise onside kick they recovered, but Morgan’s defense shut them down and turned the tide. From there, the Senators never looked back.

Wide receiver Speedie Pernell lit the fuse for Morgan at 8:55 in the first quarter, snatching a touchdown to get the Senators rolling.

After a failed two-point try, Morgan came right back with another score, this time from Wide receiver James Jones, who finished off a bruising drive and converted a two-point pass to put the Senators up 14-0.

Morgan turned up the heat in the second quarter when running back Rhett Thomas punched it into the end zone and added two to push the lead to 22-0.

Just seconds later, the defense jumped on a Bessemer fumble with 8:54 left in the half, snuffing out any chance of a rally and giving the offense another short field.

Halftime belonged to Libby Pearce who was crowned this year’s homecoming queen. After the field was cleared and the lights came back up, the Senators continued to dominate the game.

In the third quarter, Thomas punched in another touchdown, and the two-point conversion pass stretched the lead to 30-0. Behind a dominant offensive line, Morgan’s backs chewed up yards at will. The rout rolled on in the fourth. Running back William Ousley scored with 11:51 left in the game, after a busted PAT turned into a failed two-point attempt, the Senators weren’t done. With 4:43 left running back Patrick Johnson broke free for the final touchdown, and a successful conversion capped the score at 44-0.

Morgan’s defense posted the shutout by swarming to the ball and keeping Bessemer bottled up all night. The Senators forced multiple turnovers, consistently won the battle in the trenches and never allowed the Tigers to find rhythm on offense.

With the victory, Morgan finished off homecoming on a high note.

“We’ve got a tough rest of the season,” said head coach Jacob Webb. “We are playing some of the top ranked teams in the state, but if we play like we have been, we should make it to playoffs.”

Morgan Academy will take on Patrician Academy at home next Friday.