If this had been Friday Night Lights, it might have had a thrilling made-for-TV finish.
But the first varsity football night game at Morristown High School was played on Thursday, and this battle of unbeatens ended with the Colonials on the short end of a 13-7 score against Mount Olive.
The Thursday kickoff was in deference to Friday’s Rosh Hashanah holiday. It marked the debut of lights and an LED video scoreboard, a combined $1.4 million project designed by Parette Somjen Architects.
Mount Olive struck first, when junior quarterback Jake Asbury connected with junior Jekori Zapata in the second quarter.
Defensive back Jasiah Brown answered for Morristown early in the fourth quarter, picking off an Asbury pass and sprinting 80 yards to tie the score.
Minutes later, Mount Olive running back Tyler Cumming capped a 116-yard performance by punching into the end zone for a 13-7 Marauder lead. When Morristown tackle Giakoby Hills blocked the extra point, it sparked hopes in the packed bleachers of a heroic finale.
But a Marauder interception of Morristown sophomore QB James Dzikowski late in the contest helped seal the deal. The visitors went home with a 4-0 record, while the Colonials dropped to 3-1.
Second-year head coach Casey Flynn, a former lineman for the Colonials, took away some positives.
“Our defense was real stingy,” he said. Overall, though, “it was a spotty effort.”
The Colonials entered the game having notched wins against Livingston, Chatham and Millburn, all non-league opponents. Mount Olive was their first matchup in the Liberty White division. Morristown will face division rivals in four of its final five games.
One of them, Morris Knolls, comes to town next Friday.
Flynn’s plan: “Just continue to work out the errors and the mistakes that we made today.”
“They’re a tough group mentally and physically,” he said of this season’s Colonials. “But today, I think the game got a little bit bigger than them. They made a lot of mental mistakes, a lot of mental errors, and we’ll be sure to fix them.”
All three remaining home games are set for Fridays, under the lights. How does Flynn like them?
“They’re nice,” the coach said, hastening to add: “They’re better with a win.”
Although the team gave a tremendous effort, the coaching staff should be held accountable especially in the 4th quarter where there was no management of the clock nor aggressively seeking the endzone! Can’t win under that game plan!