A week after dispatching of Vega by 38 points, Wellington took on Morton in the Class 2A Division II area round Thursday at Happy State Bank Stadium. The second round seemed almost too easy to believe, as the game seemed like a mere formality after one quarter, with the Skyrockets soaring to a 70-0 victory.
Wellington (9-3) will return to Happy State on Friday at 7 p.m. to scout the New Home-Sunray game, as the Skyrockets will take on the winner of that game next week.
Reason would dictate that the Skyrockets should have a tougher game against one of those two teams than they got from Morton (6-6). Not only did Wellington pile up 498 yards rushing in a game in which the two second-half quarters lasted only eight minutes apiece with a running clock, the Skyrockets didn’t give up a single first down, as the Indians chalked up negative-32 offensive yards.
A lopsided win might be hard to judge in terms of how well his team played, but Wellington coach Greg Proffitt couldn’t help but be happy.
“We preached to our kids being prepared all week and that we have to play our best each and every time we take the field,” Proffitt said. “No matter the opponent we have to go in with the mindset of playing our best football and I think we did that tonight, offense, defense and special teams.”
The Skyrockets got help they didn’t need on their first three possessions, all of which came in Morton territory. They deflected a punt on the first possession and took over at the Morton 44-yard line and two plays later Travon Lewis scored on a 10-yard run for an 8-0 lead.
Later, the Indians opted to go for it at their own 28 and quarterback Dante Chavez, who was running for his life most of the first half, was chased 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage and called for intentional grounding, giving the Skyrockets the ball at the Morton 12. Nixon Folk then scored on a 13-yard run to make it 24-0.
Wellington didn’t get as favorable field position the rest of the half, but it hardly mattered. Nonetheless, the Skyrockets scored four running touchdowns in the second half, none of which were shorter than 37 yards.
“We certainly know whoever wins that game (between Sunray and New Home) will be a very good opponent,” Proffitt said. “Our kids are playing really well right now. We just hope to continue that roll into next week’s practice.”
Brenden Garcia scored on a 72-yard run and Cameron Brooks on a 67-yarder to conclude Wellington’s scoring in the first half to make it 62-0. Conner Bowen scored the last touchdown for Wellington on a 46-yard run in the third quarter, and to put the cherry on top, the Skyrockets ended the scoring by blocking a Morton punt in the end zone for a safety in the fourth quarter.
Brooks came off the bench to lead Wellington with 103 yards on only three carries.
