By Darius Hicks–After a dominating first round performance in the NAIA Football Championship Series, Morningside’s football team moves on to face the Baker Wildcats in the second round.
Morningside advances to the quarterfinals after defeating Rocky Mountain College in a 41-21 first-round victory at Elwood Olsen Stadium. The Mustang offense racked up 685 yards, 435 of which came in the first half. Brandon Wegher was named Offensive Player Of The Game after rushing for a total of 277 yards and two touchdowns. He now holds the single game post season rushing record, surpassing Fred Jones who set the mark in 2011 with 152.
“It felt great, we had a good week of practice and it showed on the field today. The offensive line created some huge holes for me to run through, and we got the job done today,” Wegher said.
Quarterback Ryan Kasdorf also had an impressive showing, throwing for 338 yards and two touchdowns, while connecting on 20 of 32 passing attempts. Kyle Shuck was the recipient of both touchdowns, raising his single game season total to 20, one shy of the all time record of 21.
The Mustang defense managed to hold the Rocky Mountain offense to only 21 points. It averaged almost 50 a game in the regular season. Senior linebacker Aaron Roberg was named Defensive Player of the game after leading the team with nine tackles adding to his pass break up and QB hurry performance Saturday.
“I’m proud of the way we played. Guys were flying around and making plays. That’s the way you’ve got to play when you’re in the playoffs. Every team will give you their best punch, so you have to make sure you throw yours,” Roberg said.
Kickoff for Saturday’s quarterfinal match up will be at 1 o’clock at Linston Stadium in Baldwin City, Kansas. Coverage of the game will be provide by Baker University on their athletic website.
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