Pinkerton's Morrison capped stellar football postseason with incredible D1 final performance

EXETER - Brian O'Reilly didn't think either of his kickoff returners were going to see a returnable kick during Saturday's Division I championship game, but just in case they did, the Pinkerton Academy football coach had a plan.

With the Astros receiving the opening kickoff from Londonderry, both Matt Morrison and Jamie Isaac were back ready to execute the return that was set up, if the ball came to either of them.

"We set that up (Friday), that if they kick deep, we were going to have Matt or Jamie, whoever got the ball, drive forward, suck them all in and then use their speed to break to the opposite side of the field," O'Reilly said. "You’re either going to get caught for no gain, or you’re going to get the corner and get some serious yards.

"Those serious yards turned into a touchdown. We couldn’t have drawn it up any better. When it came to our sideline, I was like ‘ready, ready, ready, go.’"

The opening kickoff from Londonderry's Blake Thompson went right to Morrison, who took a few strides forward before going left toward the far sideline. Once the senior got to the corner, he was gone down the sideline for an 86-yard touchdown that set the tone for Pinkerton's 42-7 win over Londonderry at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

"I was definitely surprised, but as soon as I saw the ball coming to me, I knew they messed up," Morrison said. "I was here to make a difference and I think I did so. I knew as soon as I got the ball, I was doing something with it. We had a wall of blockers and it was there."

Morrison was a big difference for the Astros (11-2), not only in this game, in which he scored five touchdowns, but also in the playoffs.

In Pinkerton's four postseason games, the senior scored 10 touchdowns - five rushing scores, two on receptions, and one each on a punt, kickoff and interception return - and that came after missing the final three-plus games of the regular season with a broken finger.

"If he wasn’t hurt, he’d have been player of the year," Londonderry coach Jimmy Lauzon said of Morrison. "We couldn’t have put a worse start together. Our kickoff coverage, they’ve covered kicks all year really well. We wanted a squib there and of course it took a direct shot right to (Morrison). That was probably worst-case scenario.

"Still we’ve got to do our jobs and contain. He got outside of our contain guy. We’re supposed to have two safe players and they were no where to be found. We haven’t made those mistakes all year and it’s a bad day to make that mistake."

Morrison helped change the momentum of the game again right before halftime, after Londonderry was back in the game following a long touchdown drive and a couple of nice possessions that came up empty.

On a first down from the Lancers' 25-yard line, Pinkerton quarterback Aiden McDonald was forced to scramble and found Morrison just beyond the line of scrimmage. The pass was low, but Morrison was able to bring it in and dance his way through Londonderry's defense to the end zone for a 21-7 lead.

After Pinkerton utilized its passing game for almost all of the first half, the Astros put the ball in Morrison's hands in the running game, as he had 12 of his 15 carries and 109 of his 115 rushing yards and all three touchdowns on the ground in the second half.

"I don’t know what you can say about a kid who scores five touchdowns in a championship game," O'Reilly said. "I’ve told everybody all year that wants to listen, he’s the best player in the state. He got injured and had to miss four games. He’s a difference maker and I’m going to miss him."