Lets hope Eric is ok!
By RYAN FELDMAN
For The Trentonian
MORRISVILLE, Pa. — An ugly game turned uglier in the third quarter.
Morrisville’s unlucky woes continued in the third quarter when quarterback Eric Wilcox was taken off the field into an ambulance. Earlier this season, starting QB and Morrisville’s star Matt Cookson separated his shoulder. Now, the Bulldogs are down to their third QB.
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“It was terrible when we lost Matt (Cookson),” said Morrisville wide receiver Julian Walker. “And now losing our backup quarterback, we just gotta hope that he gets better. It’s just bad.”
Wilcox, however, gave the “thumbs-up” sign as he was carried off on the stretcher indicating he would be okay.
Until the game got out of hand, the only offense for Mariana Bracetti was kickoff returns, where it returned two of them back for touchdowns in the first quarter. Other than that, it was all Morrisville, coming away with a 52-22 victory in a battle of the Bulldogs vs. the Bulldogs.
The second half was full of nothing but penalties and injuries, but the game was over by halftime.
“It’s always good to get a W no matter how you get them,” said Morrisville coach Jim Gober.
Morrisville outgained Mariana Bricetti in total yards of offense in the first half, 334-38. It was 13-0 before Mariana Bricetti even touched the ball. Wilcox started the scoring with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Walker on the opening possession of the game. After an onside kick recovery, Wilcox capped a three-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.
There were five touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first quarter. First, Wilcox threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Walker. After a fumble recovery on the next play, Orlando Tirado ran in a 4-yard touchdown on the very next play to put Morrisville up 26-0.
After Mariana Bricetti’s first kickoff return for a touchdown, the team traded fumbles on consecutive plays. On the very next play, Wilcox threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Kevin McClease. Mariana Bricetti added its second kickoff return for a touchdown to cap the first quarter scoring.
“Our kick coverage hasn’t been good all year,” said Gober. “We’re still trying to sure that up. We’ve been struggling with kickoff teams for the better part of the year. We’re putting starters out there. Maybe it’s a combination of us not tackling and other teams having good athletes.”
Matt Beyer and Jimmie Miller each added a touchdown run in the second half for Morrisville.
Miller had 13 carries for 144 rushing yards. Wilcox had 200 total yards in the first half.
Wilcox’s injury occurred on an option play to the left on which he kept the ball and was hit hard in his neck. Gober said taking him off the field on the stretcher was precautionary and is staying optimistic. If Wilcox can’t play next week, Rickey Melendez will fill in at quarterback. After Wilcox went out, Melendez ran the ball twice for eight yards and threw a 39-yard pass to Walker.
“We’ll still points and everything,” said Walker. “There are different formations we can run with different people. Rickey (Melendez) will work out at quarterback and he’ll get better.”
