Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412140081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Morris could be jumping for joy this morning after helping his team complete an undefeated season and win the NCAA Division III national championship with a 38-15 victory over Washington & Jefferson on Saturday afternoon at Salem Stadium in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
The 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior from Highland, Mich., was one of several unsung heroes on the day for the Britons:
Linebacker Tim Davis, who had 12 tackles, pressured Washington & Jefferson quarterback Jason Baer into an interception that Jared Wood returned for a touchdown to give Albion a 14-7 lead it would not lose.
Tight end Scott Casteele forced a fumble on a kickoff that led to an Albion field goal and extended its lead to 10 points.
Morris, though, was the most valuable unsung star of the day. He had 27 yards on eight carries, caught one pass for 4 yards and had an opening-kickoff return of 40 yards.
It was Morris, too, who freed tailback Jeff Robinson on his momentum-swinging, 70-yard touchdown run that tied the score 7-7. Morris blocked the Washington & Jefferson outside linebacker and allowed Robinson to get to the outside.
"We had seen in the films that the play would work," Morris said. "Their outside linebacker rushed up and when I finished my block I saw Robinson. I couldn't move. I said to myself, 'He's gone. Yeah, here we go. The game has begun - now.'"
Late in the first half, with Albion winning 17-7, it went into a power-I left formation that caught the Presidents by surprise. Albion (13-0) had not run out of that offensive set in any of its previous 12 games. Morris came up with another crunching block, this time on the strongside linebacker, and Robinson scored the second of his three touchdowns to give Albion a commanding 24-7 lead at halftime.
"That's a new formation that we put in this week," the fullback said. "[Tight end] Scott Castelle lines up to the left of me on the formation. Both of us had great blocks on their outside linebacker and Jeff had a perfect lane to the end zone."
Washington & Jefferson had allowed only 213 yards rushing combined in nine regular-season games and was ranked No. 1 in the nation among Division III schools against the run. Albion rushed for 254 yards on 43 carries, thanks to the lead blocking of Morris and backup fullback Gabe Cooper.
No one was more appreciative of Morris' crunching blocks than Robinson, who gave his teammate credit for his success - 166 yards on 24 carries.
"He's the man who should be getting the props," Robinson said. "Because he was the one who set me free with his blocking. There's no better way to end the year than to win the national championship."
Morris said after the Britons forged their 17-point halftime lead, he started to celebrate.
"I had the utmost trust in our team at that point," Morris said. "We had Augustana 21-0 in the first round and it came back to tie it up at 21. We weren't going to let that happen again."
by CNB