High School Football Preview: Mark Morris maneuvering for high ground
Kings of The Jungle? – Peck's pride of Monarchs ready to hunt a 2A GSHL title
Nick Sisson for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com
High School Football
One of the more intriguing football camps in and around The Blast Zone in the dog days of summer is the one with headquarters at Mark Morris High School.
The Monarchs had an up and down 2024 season that ultimately saw them secure the fourth and final playoff berth in the 2A Greater St. Helens League. That position resulted in a six-hour bus trip to Spokane in the cross-over round against undefeated West Valley (Spokane). On paper it looked like a mismatch in favor of the hometown Eagles, but the Monarchs came ready to play and made their opponent earn every inch right up until the end.
Mark Morris ultimately fell short in a 21-6 loss, but much to the surprise of nearly every supposed expert in the land, the Monarchs went out on their shields. They played arguably the most competitive playoff game of any 2A GSHL contender, with the rest of the league swept away in less fascinating fashion.
Was it a tall-tale sign of a team that was perhaps starting to play their best football of the season? All while learning under a new head coach for the first time in over 20 years.
Sources say yes.
Mike Peck enters his second year as the Monarchs’ head coach, and he’s looking to build on the heels of a strong debut. He’s a champion for his players, tirelessly promoting the hard work his guys have put forth in the weight room, and on the practice field, all offseason. With that in mind, it only makes sense that one of the first things Peck noticed this season was how much his players have improved in one calendar year.
“The first thing that jumped out right away was just how much we have grown as a football team over the offseason, said Peck. “Not only have we done all the work in the weight room that has made us bigger, quicker, and all that stuff, but we’re a lot faster and cleaner getting in and out of where we need to be.”
When preseason camp opened last Wednesday, a total of 75 Monarchs buckled their chinstraps for the first time officially this season. There is a healthy mixture of dynamic returning players and emerging young talent. Each one of them is being challenged this season to embody what it means to be a Monarch today, and tomorrow.
No, not the type of diplomatic Monarch that serves a sovereign head of state. But, rather, the lion. The king of the jungle. And it’s the endless prowling lions pursue in the jungle that Coach Peck is working to get his players to embrace.
“Our motto this year is hunt,” Peck explained. “Lions are kings of the jungle, right? That’s what they live to do. Nobody is going to go do it for them, they have to take what they want and take care of their business.”
And so, here are some of the top “lions” in the ranks of the pride thus far for the Monarchs in 2025.
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