Morgan football unites for a 62-0 win over Ogden
Oct 17, 2024 11:04AM ● By Brian Shaw
Senior captain Miller Beardall in the No. 33 jersey escorts senior Ryler Jorgensen to the end zone Friday Oct. 11 on a 60-yard interception return touchdown. Morgan won 62-0 over Ogden. Photo courtesy of Jessica Jorgensen
Unity. For Morgan head football coach Jared Barlow, it is a vital part of who the Trojans are as a team.
“What I loved about the game was the opportunity we had to celebrate the seniors,” said Coach Barlow of Morgan’s 62-0 win over Ogden on Senior Night Friday Oct. 11. “This group of seniors has done an amazing job of uniting this team.”
On one side of the football, quarterback Beck Sheffield showed he’s ready to take Morgan [9-0, 4-0 3A North] as far as his teammates will let him.
With 1:37 total elapsed in the game against Ogden, the senior Sheffield zipped a touchdown pass of 21 yards to fellow senior and team leader Lincoln Gilson.
A minute and 21 seconds later, Sheffield threw another TD strike, a 25-yard toss to Boston Zack, Morgan’s giant target who caught it in stride as he jogged past the visitors’ sideline to a 14-0 lead after Carter Gorham’s PAT.
Sheffield let the clock operator take a four-minute breather before the senior launched another rocket into the waiting arms of big senior wideout Ben Russell for a 38-yard TD and 21-0 advantage with 5:32 left in the first quarter. Sheffield closed the quarter completing seven of eight passes for 131 yards and three scores.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, junior defensive end Bracken Saunders made it 3-for-3 for Trojans basketball players on the night when he picked up a ball for his first varsity TD that senior D-lineman Nik Preece jarred loose inside Ogden’s 5, handing Morgan a 28-0 first quarter lead.
When senior Ryler Jorgensen high-pointed an Ogden pass with 7:29 left before the half and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown – his first – he was accompanied the entire way by Morgan teammate and friend, senior team captain Miller Beardall.
“I have been impressed with their ability to try and include everyone and not make it about one grade or one group,” said Barlow. “I love seeing them celebrate not only their success, but the success of everyone.”
The Trojans weren’t done. 3A’s No. 1-ranked team showed why when senior Tristan Nelson blocked Ogden’s next punt in their end of the field, giving Morgan great field position with 6:37 to play in the first half. About 45 seconds later, Lincoln Gilson scored his second TD of the game on a 4-yard inside zone run to increase the lead to 42-0.
The Trojans would tack on two more scores in the first half – a 20-yard run from senior Drew Korth and a 5-yard spin away from three Ogden tacklers and lunge for the pylon, courtesy of senior Krew Galbraith. That last TD resulted in large part from the legs of Gilson, who returned Ogden’s punt 55 yards to the Tigers 5.
All told, after sophomore Cael Edgington returned an Ogden fumble 70 yards to pay dirt, the Trojans grabbed a share of the 3A North title and likely, the No. 1 seed in the state playoffs.
“If we can continue to build that unity and work together to continually improve, we will put ourselves in position to attain our goals for the season,” said Barlow. “The other thing that we’ll do is build our culture into something that will transfer year to year.”
In girls soccer, the Trojans blanked Ben Lomond 5-0 Oct. 8 as Lily Evans scored twice. Amy Thomas, Lacie Poll and Kendall Peterson each had a goal and Maddie Fisher and Skye Bernardo shared the shutout for a Morgan team that clinched a share of the Region 13 title with the win. Next up for the Trojans is the start of the 3A state tournament Oct. 16 where they will host Juab. λ
