Wayne Morgan didn’t even see DeWitt Clinton’s field when his blood began boiling. Just the turn onto Mosholu Parkway South and the site of The Bronx school began riling him up as teammates started yelling in anticipation.
“We hate this field,” the All-American quarterback/safety said.
That venom sprouted after a humilating loss two weeks ago at Clinton. E-Hall wasn’t back for a rematch with the Governors – that will have to wait until the playoffs – but Lehman plays its home games at Clinton, which was good enough for the Dutchmen.
E-Hall took out all its anger on Lehman on Sunday afternoon, scoring the game’s first 28 points in a dizzying 50-8 rout in PSAL City Championship division football, the Dutchmen’s second straight victory.
Last week’s one-point win over Tottenville was an emotional one, considering the Tots had eliminated Erasmus (3-2) in the city semifinals two years ago. The rout of Lehman stamped it — the Dutchmen finally looking like the explosive speed-burners many expected to see at the season’s outset, turning the matchup of 2-2 teams into what seemed like a video game, one long scoring play after another.
“As a team, we found out who we are,” senior running back Shaquell Jackson said. “At the beginning of the year, we were worrying about individual stats. Now we’re playing together as a team.”
Morgan (144 yards) scored on touchdown runs of 54 and 90 yards, teammate Shaquell Jackson (166 yards, five carries) found pay dirt from 60 and 83 yards out and sophomore Curtis Samuel (97 yards) got the onslaught started, taking an inside handoff and going 57 yards on the second play from scrimmage, just 1:04 in.
“That’s how our offense is supposed to look,” Morgan said. “Nobody in the city has speed like us.”
Not to be outdone, the underrated defense shined, containing dynamic Lehman (2-3) running back David White to just a single 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He finished far under his season average – White came in averaging over 250 yards per game and had scored 11 times already but was held to 133 on 26 carries– and had to earn every yard he gained.
“We looked up the stats and realized he’s like 90 percent of their offense,” E-Hall coach Danny Landberg said. “We made that the priority of our game plan. I was very, very happy. I thought we did a good job against him. He’s a hard runner.”
By the end of the hot afternoon, the Dutchmen didn’t want to leave The Bronx.
“I love it here,” Morgan said, smiling. “We put up 50.”
