The Morton Indians football team went on the road to face Hale Center this past Friday night, losing 55-3.
The loss puts them at 2-7-1 overall and finalizes their district record at 2-3 this season, finishing fourth out of six teams in the district.
It was a lopsided result, but one that’s understandable when you realize that Morton was missing two of their stars Brayden Villareal and Jaeden Alvarado.
“Anytime you’re a school of our size and you’re missing two of your five best players, you’re going to feel the weight of that. That certainly made a tall task even tougher,” Morton Football Head Coach Trevor Bulmer said. “Hale Center’s a good football team, so we knew we had to be dang near perfect with the personnel that we had. I felt like our kids played hard and competed. We got a lot of young kids reps, playing five or six freshmen, and they all got better. I was proud of the team, it wasn’t what we wanted but it was an opportunity to get better and when we’ve got a playoff game coming, that’s what matters.”
Three of those players that Coach Bulmer specifically noted competed hard were senior EJ Rivas, senior Matthew Rodriguez and freshman Masyn Enriquez.
Rivas has over 1,200 receiving yards this season and with Villareal out at quarterback, he filled the role, which was his first time ever starting at quarterback.
Rivas completed five of 11 passes for 76 yards and two interceptions, while also rushing the ball seven times for 10 yards with a long of 12 yards, even adding a reception for 10 yards.
Rodriguez and Enriquez tied as the Morton receiving leaders, both with 38 yards. Rodriguez had three receptions with a long of 24 yards, while Enriquez had two receptions with a long of 24 yards.
Junior Luis Aguirre was the Indians leading rusher with 28 yards on 13 carries.
Overall, it was a gutsy performance by Morton that will give them valuable experience as they head into their playoff matchup.
The Indians are set to face the Stratford Elks on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Hereford at Whiteface Stadium. Stratford is 8-2 overall this season and went undefeated in district play to clinch the title and a top playoff seed.
Coach Bulmer has immense respect for Stratford and the level of program they have, noting that his team will have to play their best football of the season, but he thinks they’re up for the challenge.
Morton has faced tough competition all season as all their non-district opponents are in the playoffs, and their district has two teams with eight or more wins.
They’ll look to take that experience and use it to secure a win in the first round of the playoffs. Alvarado will remain out for the matchup, but Coach Bulmer is hopeful that Villareal will return, which would be a huge boost for Morton.