At the beginning of my Junior year in High School, I (Wayne) started at Defensive end on the Mark Morris varsity football team. We had a tough season. Reference 1 indicated that we lost some close games. I remember being on the kickoff team against Kelso. The kick returner broke loose and was near the 50 yard line, and I could see that if I didn’t make the tackle, he probably would score. Fortunately I was able to tackle him on the 50 yard line. Unbeknownst to me, a photographer for the Longview Daily News captured that instance in a photograph; it didn’t go in the newspaper, but the photographer gave it to my Mom (Doris), who in turn gave it to me. We lost that game 21 to 14, but it was a close game. Some key players got injured, so we changed our offense for the last four games. I started at offensive end and defensive end for the last 4 games of my Junior year. On Oct. 27, 1972 we beat Hudson Bay 14 to 12. I remember Hudson Bay went for 2 after scoring late in the game. It was nerve racking for the Mark Morris defense. We had to channel all our energy for one final play at the end of the game to try to make sure they didn’t tie the game. I believe this was a turning point for our team.
At the beginning of my Senior year I started at offensive end and defensive end. During the first game of the season at Hoquiam, I was able to steal the football from the quaterback at their 15 yard line. I considered that play to be a very good play for me, as we scored a touchdown a few plays later in what turned out to be a close game. After the 3rd game, I started strictly on offense. We had some key injuries, and I changed to offensive guard after the 4th game; I remained at the position for the rest of the season. This was not a new position for me, as I played offensive guard in 9th grade.
My Senior year we played 10 games and had a winning percentage of .55 (decimal). We were pleased that we turned things around at Mark Morris and learned how to win again. We finished 5th (out of 11 teams) in league play. Reference 12 stated that “Defensively, Mark Morris was Number Two in the league with only 87 points scored against them. This set a new school record for least number of points scored against a Monarch defense in one season.” At the end of my Senior year I made plans to turn out for football during my Freshman year at a NCAA Division 3 college...
References:
1. “Almonarch '73", The Mark Morris year book, printed Spring of 1973
2. “Kelso Hilanders vs Mark Morris” Game Program, Oct 13, 1972
3. “Monarchs tougher for 1973 opener", The Longview Daily News, week of Sept 7, 1973
4. “Morris Hoquiam Battle to tie", The Longview Daily News, week of Sept 7, 1973
5. “Talley unveils Monarchs to home crowd Saturday", The Longview Daily News, week of Sept 15, 1973
6. “Mark Morris Monarchs vs Cleveland Indians” Game Program, Sept 15, 1973
7. “Sleeping Monarchs awaken 25-0 rout", The Longview Daily News, week of Sept 15, 1973
8. “Mark Morris Monarchs vs Olympia Bears" Game Program, Sept 21, 1973
9. “Monarchs zap Bears", The Longview Daily News, Sept 22, 1973
10. “Stunning Monarchs defense checks River in 25-7 win", The Longview Daily News, Oct 6, 1973
11. “Mark Morris Monarchs vs Evergreen” Game Program, Nov 2, 1973
12. “Almonarch '74", The Mark Morris year book, printed Spring of 1974
Note 1: The “Sport of Football" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->Sport of Football from menu bar at top.
Note 2: The “My Junior/Senior High Football Photos [Part 1]" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->Sport of Football->My Junior/Senior High Football Photos from menu bar at top.
Note 3: The “My College Football Photos [Part 1]" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->States (US)->illinois->My College Football Photos from menu bar at top.
