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For one half Saturday afternoon, the Morgan Trojans played like the top team in Utah’s 3A ranks.
The other half? They had their fans sitting on the edge of their seats inside Pocatello’s Idaho Central Credit Union Dome, and they didn’t feel comfortable until Lincoln Gilson intercepted a pass with less than two minutes remaining to secure a 24-20 win over the Skyline (Idaho) Grizzlies.
“The kids have learned to trust to each other,” said Morgan coach Jared Barlow, whose team improved to 3-0. “We’ve been preaching that to them the whole time and they look to each other to see who can make the big plays.”
Gilson, in fact, made most of them. A senior wide receiver on offense, he had 10 catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns. That fact, however, was overshadowed when he stepped in front of a Skyline receiver just after the Grizzlies had scored to get within one touchdown, recovered an onside kick and then lofted a long pass to about the 20-yard line that appeared open.
“Good players make big plays,” said Barlow. “This was a good game for us. We like playing bigger schools at the start (of the season) to prepare us for the postseason. We’ve been up here (to Pocatello) three times now and we’ve won each time. They’ve all been good tests.”
The Rumble is a 17 year-old showcase initiated by Pocatello’s Highland High School to invite out-of-state teams to compete against some of southern Idaho’s best. This year’s two-day event had six Idaho schools taking on three Utah teams, as well as two from Nevada and one out of Alaska.
Skyline, of Idaho Falls, was playing its season opener. The Grizzlies came in as one of Idaho’s top 5A teams but couldn’t handle the combination of Gilson and Morgan quarterback Beck Sheffield.
The two started their big days by connecting on a 61-yard scoring pass midway through the first quarter. Sheffield also ran for two scores and connected with Gilson on a 10-yard touchdown throw to give Morgan a commanding 26-6 lead.
The outcome could have looked like a rout but Sheffield had two second-half passes intercepted and the Trojans turned the ball over on downs, all inside Skyline’s 20-yard line.
“We certainly had our chances (to build the lead),” Barlow said.
Skyline also hurt itself with a slow start. The Grizzlies’ offense never threatened until the third quarter, only answering Morgan’s initial score with an 80-yard kickoff return by speedster Trey Kirkham.
Down 20 points, the Grizzlies opened the third quarter by surprising Morgan with an onside kick, and then Gage Searle ended a long Trojan drive with a goal-line interception, which he returned nearly 60 yards.
Morgan’s offense continued to get frustrated on Skyline’s end of the field, and the Grizzlies finally put together two consistent drives.
Quarterback Carmyne Garcia had a pair of scoring tosses and Zyan Crockett broke free a few times on long runs. Garcia’s 8-yard TD throw to Crockett cut the margin to 26-20 with 2:27 left and then the Trojans couldn’t collect a perfect onside kick attempt.
That’s when Morgan’s defense came to life. The Trojans’ pass rush forced a holding call on first down, and then Garcia flung a long pass downfield on the next play and that gave Gilson time to catch it in front of Crockett.
Sheffield completed 17 of 24 passes for 295 yards He also ran for 41 yards on seven carries. Garcia also had a decent day inside Idaho State’s newly renovated indoor stadium throwing for 222 yards, and he seemed to get better as the game moved along until his final pass.