By Tim Heaton
After some season-opening jitters, the Morristown High School Colonials quickly got down to business and left Montville with a 49-14 road victory on Friday night.
After taking the first kickoff, the Colonials fumbled to the Mustangs on third down deep in their own territory.
Morristown got the ball back, however, after subjecting Montville to a defensive rodeo from Justin Contreras, Brain Fajardo, and Alejandro Lopez. And the visitors never looked back.
From the Morristown 25, sophomore Jha’mil King gained 17 yards on his first varsity carry.
Then he added eight yards, and then three more for his first first down. On the next play, junior Ricky Lorenzo corralled a 45-yard pass from senior quarterback Cameron Boswell.
On the next play, Morristown recovered its own fumble in the end-zone for a touchdown. Kicker Ethan Bolson made it 7-0, barely three minutes into the game. Bolson had a perfect day, including several touch-backs that kept the Mustangs pinned deep in their own territory.
The Mustangs were held to three-and-out by the Colonials’ defensive wrecking crew of Andrew Mandel, Mario Sierra, Samari Robinson, Luke Jackson, Devontae Jonah, Justin Burke, Sami Cazimoski and Jesse Unger.
On the next offensive series from the Montville 36, King carried for another first down. Then in a replay of the previous offensive series, Boswell hit Lorenzo on a slashing 55 yard TD pass.
Montville quarterback Graham Jespersen almost answered with a TD run; Justin Burke brought him down.
Robinson and Eugene Hayes dropped Jesperson for the first of many losses; Robinson was in the backfield so much the Mustangs should have deputized him.
After a turnover on downs, Morristown regained the ball on Montville’s 40. On the first play from scrimmage, sophomore Drew Chilson galloped from a herd of Mustangs for a 60-yard TD, his first as a varsity player.
After a punt, Morristown took over from its own 34. Jesse Unger powered ahead for 11 yards, King chugged for 15 more. Then, from the Montville 30, Boswell connected with Lorenzo for another touchdown toss.
One the next offensive series, Burke fought off coverage to grab another TD. It was Colonials 42-0 at the intermission.
In the second half, Morristown’s coaching staff let other players show their stuff:
Issac Castillo, Nathan Estiverne, Teddy Vogtman, Ryan Becker, Cody Bubrickie, Owen Sindorf, Isai Sanchez, Thomas Hussey, Ryan Gilmore, Dan Wagner, Marc Capella, Javaine Smith, Matthew McNally, Rosse Conway, Tyshawn Robinson, Robert Schneider, Will Culmone, Wayne Amaya and John Cafaro only allowed 14 points from the home team.
The last score of the game was a 90-plus yard kickoff return by Eugene Hayes, capping a 49-14 victory to open the 2015 season. Next up: The Randolph Rams, at 1 pm on Saturday, Sept. 19, in Morristown.
Offensive statistics
Boswell completed eight of 17 passes for 178 yards. Ricky Lorenzo caught four passes for 145 yards. Justin Burke caught two passes for 33 yards.
On the ground, Drew Chilson rushed for 60 yards on two carries. Jha’mil King rushed for 139 yards on 11 carries. Jesse Unger gained 17 yards on four carries. Ricky Lorenzo gained seven yards on one carry.
Tim Heaton is a former president of the Morristown High School Football Boosters.
