Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Quarterback Marcus Morgan didn’t play in the second half against Muscatine on Friday because he wasn’t needed.

The talented 6-foot-2 sophomore already had done enough damage in the first half by passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 38 yards and another score as the seventh-ranked Trojans crushed Muscatine 58-14 to clinch a berth in the Class 4A playoffs.

With West High leading 37-7 at halftime, Morgan handed the offense over to senior and former starter Joey Kuehn for the entire second half.

“It’s great’ it’s everything a quarterback could ever want,” Morgan said of West High’s potent offense. “Being comfortable back there and just being confident in your teammates is everything.”

West High started quickly on offense as Morgan connected with senior receiver Jalen Gaudet on a 62-yard touchdown pass on the second play from scrimmage.

Leading 16-7 after the first quarter, the Trojans then outscored Muscatine 21-0 in the second quarter and expanded their lead to 44-7 when Gaudet returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown with 10 minutes, 50 seconds left in the third quarter.

Gaudet's punt return put the game into a continuous clock, which happens once a team leads by at least 35 points.

West High showed great balance on offense with 266 passing yards and over 200 rushing yards. The Trojans also showed tremendous depth as 11 players had at least one rushing attempt.

“The guys really stepped up and we challenged them hard this week,” said West High coach Garrett Hartwig. “We had the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth tonight, which has been our number one goal all season coming out of the gate.

“And to do that, you have to run the ball. We’ve been close, and to do that tonight is encouraging against a team we respect a lot.”

Morgan was inserted as the starter at quarterback after Kuehn was injured early in the season. Morgan then seized the opportunity and is now playing with the poise of a veteran.

“He’s a really good player,” Gaudet said of Morgan. “He has a lot of potential. He’s going to be really good in the next couple of years.”

Hartwig feels good about his depth at quarterback with Kuehn now healthy again.

“We’ve got two quarterbacks that I think could start at the varsity level for most 4A teams, my personal opinion on that,” Hartwig said. “Joey is a quality quarterback. He’s put the work in, too. So when he goes in we have as much faith in him as we do Marcus. They just have different skill sets.”

Gaudet led West High with 122 receiving yards on just three catches, while fellow senior receiver Justin Thomas finished with five catches for 91 yards.

West High had seven players who rushed for at least 20 yards, led by senior Peter Breitbach with 58 yards on 14 carries.

“Everybody is contributing,” said the 6-2, 225-pound Gaudet. “We’ve got weapons all over the place. It just makes it easy for everyone.”

Gaudet has the size of a tight end and the speed of a receiver as he showed on his 62-yard touchdown catch and on his 63-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“I like to call myself a wide receiver, but people do call me a tight end because of the size,” Gaudet said. “That’s fine. I don’t mind playing both positions.”

As for Morgan, he feels fortunate to be running an offense that is loaded with so many weapons and that has balance with the run and pass.

“It’s very important because one sets up the other,” Morgan said. “When you can do both, it’s a lot more dangerous.”

The West High offense is even more dangerous with a dual-threat quarterback like Morgan leading the way.

“Marcus has got a hell of an upside,” Hartwig said. “He’s a tough kid. He comes from a great family with competitive genes, certainly, and he’s not afraid of the moment. And he’s got some talent, too. So we just continue to let him work.”

Morgan is the son of former Iowa basketball player Michael Morgan and the younger brother of former Northern Iowa basketball standout Jeremy Morgan, who was also a standout receiver for West High.

West High had to replace some key players from last season, including all-state quarterback Evan Flitz, but the offense just keeps producing big numbers, while the defense held Muscatine to minus-13 rushing yards.

Hartwig was asked after Friday’s game how rewarding it is to make the playoffs again despite losing some key players from last season.

“I don’t really think of it as a reward,” Hartwig said. “I think of it as just fulfilling expectations, and the expectations started with the players to be honest with you.

“They worked so hard during the offseason. I pushed them to the point where I’m sure the last person they want to see at times is me. But they respond and I appreciate them for that and love them for it. They’re good boys and these are the fruits of their labor right now.”

West High improved to 7-1 on the season and will face rival City High in the Battle for the Boot next Friday.

“We’re going to have fun with it,” Morgan said. “We’re going to come out ready, and hopefully, we can take it to them.”

                                        MUS              ICW

First downs                         9                  21

Rushes-yards               13-(-13)          38-231

Passing yards                    224               266

Punts                               3-28.6              0-0

Fumbles-lost                      0-0                 1-0

Penalties-yards                 4-37                3-25

Muscatine    7   0    0   7  –  14

West High   16  21 21  0  –  58

ICW – Jalen Gaudet 62 pass from marcus Morgan (Josh Jasek kick)

ICW – Safety, Carson Borde kicked ball out of bounds

ICW – Will Hoeft 1 run (Jasek kick)

MUS – Eli Gaye 51 pass from Carson Orr (Carson Borde kick)

ICW – Owen McAreavy 1 run (Jasek kick)

ICW – McAreavy 10 pass from Marcus Morgan (Jasek kick)

ICW – Marcus Morgan 14 run (Jasek kick)

ICW – Jalen Gaudet 63 punt return (Jasek kick)

ICW – Grant Henderson 23 fumble return (Jasek kick)

ICW – Peter Breitbach 13 run (Jasek kick)

MUS – Eli Gaye 35 pass from Carson Orr (Carson Borde kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – MUS: Timothy Nimely 7-23, Jonah Koch 1-3, Carson Orr 5-(-16). ICW: Peter Breitbach 14-58, Marcus Morgan 4-38, Marchaun Hoover 5-30, Jalen Gaudet 1-25, X Lubuelo 2-23, Joey Kuehn 2-20, Will Hoeft 2-6, Cole Mabry 2-4, Owen McAreavy 2-3, Justin Thomas 1-2.

PASSING – MUS: Carson Orr 16-26-224. ICW: Marcus Morgan 10-18-0 242, Joey Kuehn 2-3-0 24, Cole Mabry 0-1-0 0.

RECEIVING – Muscatine: Eli Payne 7-165, Timothy Nimely 2-22, Takpor Tiah 2-2, Zach Hardy 1-15, Carson Borde 1-10, Cooper Zeck 1-8.