Prep Football Opinion: Mark Morris might be on to something

Barbee's World — Monarchs flex newfound confidence in Civil War romp

Mark Morris running back Kenny Mullen Jr. (3) takes a handoff from quarterback Carter Huhta during a 51-7 win over R.A. Long, Thursday, Oct. 31, at Longview Memorial Stadium. Mullen ran for four touchdowns in the win. — Photo by Patrick Durgeloh / Durgeloh Photography

Sam Barbee for Blast Zone Media

After Ryek Perner got shoved out of bounds following an interception, the entire Mark Morris sideline descended upon the junior Monarch. It was a herd of white and red jerseys and helmets yelling, whooping, exalting the joy of a turnover, of a shift in direction.

A small-scale shift, definitely. It was an early death knell in a 51-7 Civil War drubbing by Mark Morris over R.A. Long on a rainy Thursday night. 

But it was a large-scale shift as well. A vibe shift. A shift in culture. A shift in fortunes.

“They stayed together, and they just continued to get better every day,” first-year Mark Morris head coach Mike Peck said. “And it was impressive as heck to see.”

The Mike Peck Era at Mark Morris didn’t start super auspiciously. That is to say, it didn’t match expectations in the stands.

A pair of blowout losses and a shutout defeat at Washougal saw the Monarchs 1-3 after the first month of the season and, of all things, struggling to score. It’s not unreasonable to think if people internally were wondering if this would work.

“We wanted to get challenged like that,” Peck said of the Monarchs early season schedule.

And something interesting happened along the way. 

Perhaps that’s an unfair way to describe it. 

Mark Morris senior Nate Stephens reaches for the end zone on one of his three touchdown runs in a 51-7 win over R.A. Long, Thursday, Oct. 31, at Longview Memorial Stadium. — Photo by Patrick Durgeloh / Durgeloh Photogrpahy