BATH

When the schedule for a sport is released, all a team can do is prepare for those opponents.

A knock against the Morse High School football team this season was its schedule. Riding a five-game winning streak heading into Friday night’s Class C South contest with 4-2 Lake Region, the Shipbuilders had beaten up on a soft schedule, with those five wins coming against teams with a combined 3-27 record.

However, after a dominating offensive 56-38 performance against the Lakers, Morse now sits with a 6-1 mark and visits talented Leavitt (6-1) this upcoming Friday at 7 p.m.

“It is a bunch of guys that want to work hard every day and get better,” said Morse coach Jason Darling. “We are blessed to have good players that are selfless. There are guys that don’t get their name in the paper a lot that just work hard.”

Against Lake Region, both defenses struggled to stop the offenses. The Shipbuilders racked up 481 yards on the ground, 537 in all, while the Lakers (4-3) threw for more than 200 yards and rushed for another 160.

In the end, it was Morse’s bruising running game that won out, led by senior Parker Onorato and junior Austin Baltazar. Onorato rushed for 300 yards, hauled in two touchdown passes for another 56 yards, and intercepted Lake Region quarterback Derek Mondville (9-of- 16, 204 yards, five TDs) twice. Meanwhile, Baltazar shook off an injured ankle, gaining 145 yards and finding the end zone three times. Morse possessed the ball for nearly 33 minutes.

“This was a big Senior Night,” said an exhausted Onorato. “This showed that we can come out and play against the better teams. We beat teams that weren’t the greatest. But, we came out here tonight and played hard. We got the big win. This is a big win. We want to get a home-field spot, which would be big for us.”

Strong starts

Both offenses began well. Morse opened on offense and drove 61 yards on nine plays, with quarterback Corey Larmon diving into the end zone, then throwing to tight end Lukas Osterhout for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

The Lakers answered quickly, with Mondville finding True Meyers down the middle of the field for a 33- yard touchdown pass. The conversion run failed as the Shipbuilders held an 8-6 lead.

The defenses took over for a bit. Onorato was stopped three yards short of a first down to turn the ball over on downs, and the Morse defense forced a Lake Region punt as the game shifted into the second quarter. On the punt, the ball struck a Shipbuilder blocker, with Brent Massey diving on the ball to give the Lakers possession at the Mo-40.

Six plays later, Mondville hooked up with Hunter McDaniel for a 22-yard strike and a 12-8 Lake Region lead.

Now it was Morse’s turn to answer. The Shipbuilders held the ball for over six-and-a-half minutes, with Sebastien Tibbetts lofting a 31-yard pass to the end zone to Onorato. Tibbetts ran in the conversion for a 16-12 Morse lead.

The Morse offense didn’t have long to wait to get back on the field, as Onorato intercepted a Mondville pass, and soon Baltazar was into the end zone on an 18- yard jaunt and a 22-12 Shipbuilder lead with 38 seconds left until halftime.

Lake Region didn’t sit on the ball, as Mondville completed three passes, including an 8-yard TD strike to McDaniel as the clock ticked down to zero. Meyers hauled in a Mondville pass for the 2- point conversion, drawing the Lakers to 22-20 at the intermission.

Lake Region began the second half with the ball, but a 15-yard penalty and six-yard punt gave Morse the ball at the LR-26. It took nine plays from there, with Baltazar diving into the end zone on a 1-yard run for a 28- 20 lead.

The Lakers wasted little time in striking back, with running back Andrew Douglass (22 rushes, 142 yards, TD) going up the middle untouched for 67 yards. Again Lake Region missed the conversion, keeping Morse ahead, 28-26.

Onorato took over from there. His 47-yard run was followed by an 11-yard TD run by Baltazar. Onorato was just getting warmed up. After a 10-yard run on Morse’s next possession, he took a pitch, weaved through Laker defenders and scampered 51 yards to pay-dirt, giving the Shipbuilders a 42- 26 lead.

“That was incredible. Parker is a fantastic young man, a hard worker and gives you everything that he has,” said Darling.

“Tonight, me outside and Austin inside really worked for us,” Onorato added.

Lake Region pushed back again, with Eric Milton hauling in a 52-yard TD pass from Mondville with 29 seconds left in the third quarter, getting the Lakers to 42- 32 heading to the fourth.

But, Onorato again zigzagged his way down the Lake Region sideline for 70 yards, then finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown scamper. After McDaniel (four receptions, 68 yards, 3 TDs) hauled in a TD pass from Mondville, Onorato finished off the Lakers by taking a short pass from Larmon and turning it into a 25-yard touchdown reception. He capped his big day by intercepting Mondville to close things out.

Baltazar, Ihsan Myers, Hunter Raedel, Alex Martin and Onorato each had five tackles to pace the Morse defense, while McDaniel made six stops for the Lakers.

Darling feels the schedule Morse has played has not been something his squad has thought much about.

“We don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that, and we say to the kids that it’s not about our opponent, it is about us,” said Darling. “These kids want to go out and get better every day. We won’t shy away from a good team.”

The Shipbuilders will get their chance to test themselves at Leavitt on Friday (7 p.m.). The Hornets, coming off their first loss at Mt. Desert Island on Friday, is the favorite in Class C South.

“It is fun to play in big games at the end of the year, but neither team will judge their team by this one game. If you go there and you win, and it is the last time you win, you’re disappointed. If you go over there and lose, and it is the last time you lose, you’ll take it,” Darling said.

Morse 56, Lake Region 38

Friday at McMann Field in Bath
Lake Region — 6 14 12 6 — 38
Morse — 8 14 20 14 — 56
First quarter
Mo — Corey Larmon 1 run (Lukas
Osterhout pass from Corey Larmon),
7:34.
LR — True Meyers 33 pass from Derek
Mondville (run failed), 5:28.
Second quarter
LR — Hunter McDaniel 22 pass from
Derek Mondville (kick failed), 7:43.
Mo — Parker Onorato 31 pass from
Sebastien Tibbetts (Sebastien Tibbetts
run), 1:15.
Mo — Austin Baltazar 18 run (pass
failed), :38.
LR — Hunter McDaniel 8 pass from
Derek Mondville (True Meyers pass
from Derek Mondville), :00.
Third quarter

Mo — Austin Baltazar 1 run (run failed),
6:00.
LR — Andrew Douglass 67 run (run
failed), 5:41.
Mo — Austin Baltazar 11 run (run
failed), 5:12.
Mo — Parker Onorato 51 run (Corey
Larmon run), 1:32.
LR — Eric Milton 52 pass from Derek
Mondville (pass failed), :29.
Fourth quarter
Mo — Parker Onorato 12 run (run
failed), 11:16.
LR — Hunter McDaniel 11 pass from
Derek Mondville (pass failed), 8:07.
Mo — Parker Onorato 25 pass from
Corey Larmon (Corey Larmon run),
1:50.
Records — Morse 6-1, Lake Region 4-
3.
Up next for the Shipbuilders — This
upcoming Friday at Leavitt, 7 p.m.