“We’re going to enjoy this one,” said Jordan head coach Mike Rabe. “This is school history for us and these guys deserved it. We’ll start focusing on Hightower this weekend, we know how good of an opponent they are. But for now these guys deserve to celebrate.”
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Wilson Kalvass stepped up and took a deep breath.
Legacy Stadium was silent and everything was on the line. But none of it phased Kalvass, he was in his element and calm. It didn’t matter the situation or what was on the line.
The senior kicker made school history for Jordan on Thursday after that moment. Nailing a 19-yard field goal and sending the Warriors to their first ever playoff appearance with a 52-49 win over Morton Ranch at Legacy stadium.
“It’s nothing I haven’t prepared for in practice and it’s nothing I haven’t worked on,” Kalvass said. “It’s something I’ve done over and over again and at that point it’s all mental, doesn’t matter what the situation is. We’ve fought for months from the offseason to now to get to this point and to see it all pay off and for this school to get into the playoffs for the first time is everything.”
Kalvass’ kick was the ending of a wild night of football that saw the fate of Jordan’s season hanging in the balance, but ultimately going the way of the Warriors in the end. The Warriors needed some heroics throughout the game though and got it from a number of places, one of the biggest though was Andrew Marsh, the junior wide receiver had one of the best games of his career to help lead Jordan to the playoffs, catching eight passes for 240 yards and five touchdowns, including touchdowns of 45, 49 and 70 yards when the Warriors needed it the most. Senior quarterback Colin Willetts also came up huge, throwing for 380 yards and five touchdowns in the win.
“I wanted this bad,” Marsh said. “Me and the guys have been dreaming about this for a long time, really since we opened the school. This is what we’ve been working on for the past four years and it’s a great feeling.”
The game was back and forth from start to finish and had nine lead changes and four ties. Morton Ranch came out and took the lead early behind a strong run game and Jordan didn’t get ahead until midway through the second quarter. It continued through the first half and the second as both sides scores and the lead. No team led by more than seven in the whole game. Morton Ranch took a touchdown lead with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but just as soon as they got the lead Jordan answered back, as Marsh caught a screen pass, made the cornerback miss and sped past everyone for a 49-yard touchdown to tie the game.
“Andrew is just everything, I can’t put in to words everything he can do,” Willetts said. “We have four guys that are great, but Andrew just did it all himself today. It proves that he is one of the best in the nation and I’m just glad to have him on my team.”
Jordan’s defense came up big after that, making one of an important stop with just over a minute left and the offense did the rest from there. Zechariah Sample got the Warriors is field goal range with a big 33 yard catch and then drew a pass interference penalty that got Jordan the ball inside the 10-yard line. Kalvass took care of the rest, nailing the field goal and sending Jordan to the playoffs, despite a tremendous effort from Morton Ranch where they gave everything they had.
The win ended a two game skid for the Warriors and secured them the second seed in Class 6A-Division II out of District 19-6A in the playoffs. Jordan will face Hightower (9-1) in the bi-district round 7 p.m. Friday at Mercer Stadium. It will be a huge test as they try to continue to make school history, but for now, the Warriors are going to savor in the moment.”
“We’re going to enjoy this one,” said Jordan head coach Mike Rabe. “This is school history for us and these guys deserved it. We’ll start focusing on Hightower this weekend, we know how good of an opponent they are. But for now these guys deserve to celebrate.”
Jordan 52, Morton Ranch 49
Morton Ranch |
16 |
13 |
0 |
20 |
-- |
49 |
||||||||||||||||||||
Jordan |
13 |
14 |
7 |
18 |
-- |
52 |
First quarter
MR: Ryan Hall 3 run (Kason Martinez kick) 10:22
J: Colin Willetts 45 pass to Andrew Marsh (Wilson Kalvass kick) 9:59
MR: Mike Gerald 14 pass to Tyler Williams (Martinez kick) 7:18
J: Willetts 9 pass to Marsh, 1:35
MR: Jermaine Martin extra point block return, 1:35
Second quarter
J: Chad Gasper 10 run ( Kalvass kick) 9:09
MR: Hall 26 run (Martinez kick) 6:00
J: Willetts 19 pass to Andrew Marsh (Kalvass kick) 4:39
MR: Gerald 7 pass to Markel McNeal, 0:17
Third quarter
J: Willetts 70 pass to Marsh (Kalvass kick) 5:50
Fourth quarter
MR: Gerald 25 run, 11:51
J: Gasper 16 run (Willetts pass to Marsh) 7:56
MR: Martavian Hill 42 run (Martinez kick) 6:05
MR: Gerald 20 run (Martinez kick) 3:16
J: Willetts 49 pass to Marsh (Kalvass kick) 2:29
J: Kalvass 19 field goal, 0:00
Team stats
Morton Ranch |
Tompkins |
|
First downs |
18 |
23 |
Yards rushing |
45-356 |
33-151 |
Yards passing |
54 |
380 |
Passes |
5-12-2-1 |
18-25-5-1 |
Punts |
2-46 |
N/A |
Fumbles-lost |
0-0 |
2-1 |
Penalty-yards |
3-40 |
5-55 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Jordan: Chad Gasper, 26-140-2; Van Keith Brown, 1-9; Tanner West, 3-6; Colin Willetts, 2-6; Morton Ranch: Ryan Hall, 26-181-2; Martavian Hill, 12-103-1; Mike Gerald, 7-72-2;
Passing – Jordan: Colin Willetts, 18-25-380-5-1; Morton Ranch: Mike Gerald, 5-12-54-2-1;
Receiving – Jordan: Andrew Marsh, 8-240-5; Zechariah Sample, 4-88; Tanner West, 2-20; Van Keith Brown, 2-19; Chad Gasper, 2-13; Morton Ranch: Martavian Hill, 2-26; Markel McNeal, 2-14-1; Tyler Williams, 1-14-1;