In the Politically Incorrect Bowl played Friday night at Bremen–the Braves played host to the Morris Redskins in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs–there were enough tomahawk chops to keep Ted Turner and Jane Fonda happy.
But the biggest chop was delivered by the Morris defense, which powered the Redskins to a 30-0 victory.
Just how dominant was the Redskins’ defense? It limited Bremen, which began the night with a 10-0 record and an average of better than 30 points a game to only 56 total yards of offense. On 17 of the Braves’ 43 offensive plays, the Redskins either stopped them for no gain or threw them for losses.
“Our kids can play,” said Morris head coach Dan Darlington. “We’ve got some size, but we’re quick too. That’s what wins ballgames–defense.”
Bremen coach John D’Ambrosio concurred wholeheartedly. “They just beat us up on both sides of the ball,” D’Ambrosio said. “They really set the tone on the first series.”
That first series came after Morris kick returner Jim Muntefering fumbled the opening kickoff and Bremen’s Bryan Reule fell on it at the Morris 29. Four plays and 11 yards in losses later, the Braves had to punt.
The Redskins (9-2) used a balanced offense to dismantle Bremen. Quarterback Derek Ferguson was 10 of 16 for 149 yards and two touchdowns, but Morris’ primary weapon was tailback Matt Curran, who caught one of Ferguson’s TD passes and rushed for two more and a total of 63 yards.
The Redskins scored on their second possession. From the Bremen 42, Derek Claypool slipped unattended into the flat on the right side and Ferguson drilled him. Claypool did the rest, dancing down the sideline and then breaking a tackle at the 5-yard line for the score to make it 7-0.
Morris added to its lead with a 35-yard field goal by John Polanshek with 10 minutes 14 seconds left in the first half. That came at the end of an 11-play drive that was kept alive by a controversial call by the officials.
After Morris punted, the Braves were flagged for a clip. The officials gave the ball back to Morris instead of assessing the penalty on Bremen after the ball had changed possession.
The Braves were inept at best offensively in the first half–they had minus-11 yards of offense in the first quarter and 23 for the half, despite a 27-yard gain by Kurt Kreis. In fact, their best offense may have been Tim Daggy’s consistently solid punting.
Another bizarre drive ended with Curran scoring on first and goal from the Braves’ 6 to give the Redskins a 16-0 lead at halftime. On the play prior, Polanshek had booted a 38-yard field goal. But a roughing-the-kicker penalty set up Curran’s TD.
Curran’s second rushing score, from the Bremen 2, was set up by a 45-yard completion from Ferguson to Nathan Slaughter. Curran’s TD put the game out of reach at 23-0.
