YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea – Seoul American freshman quarterback Brandon Morton was asked by his father, coach Alan Morton, if he could still play after waking up suffering from flu-like symptoms.
By the end of the game, Morton had done his best to make his father forget the question.
The freshman quarterback passed for 150 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Falcons to their first win of the year as they rallied past the Osan American Cougars 14-10 Friday at Falcon Field.
“I wasn’t sure if he was going to play,” Alan Morton said. “But he told me not to worry about a thing and that he was going to play.”
By doing so, Morton and son staved off a Cougars team that could have buried the Falcons for good in the DODEA-Korea football title chase.
Paul Snead put the Cougars ahead 6-0 with a short quarterback sneak in the first quarter. After the extra point was successful, it looked like Osan would beat the Falcons for the second time this year; the Cougars beat Seoul 12-0 in their home opener Sept. 12.
“They are trying to focus on improving their offensive game plan,” Cougars coach Mike Miano said. “They are learning from a first year coach and it takes time to get in synch.”
The Falcons (1-2) fell further behind when Osan kicker Daniel Plourde booted a 28-yard field for a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
That’s when Brandon began to feel – and play – better.
Brandon Morton fired a floater into wide receiver Adrian Thomas hands and he sprinted 95 yards to the end zone to trim the lead to 10-6 before halftime.
“I knew we were getting better as the game progressed,” Alan Morton said. “I told them we were losing to a team that wasn’t better than us.”
“We were coming around,” Miano said. “Our defense and offense both made mistakes. That touchdown pass was the result of blown coverage and we will fix that.”
Thomas continued to take advantage of the secondary for the rest of the night, finishing with three catches for 156 yards and a touchdown, including a 62-yard reception in the third quarter that set up the go-ahead score.
Running back Demetrius Johnson ran in for a four-yard touchdown to put the Falcons ahead 12-10.
“They are a good team.” Miano said. “We just couldn’t hold our positions.”
The Cougars seemed out of synch the entire second half as Snead was continuously chased into bad throws by Seoul linebacker Malcolm Horne, who had seven solo tackles, three assisted tackles and a sack.
Linebacker Jamal James added seven solo tackles, three assisted tackles, and free safety Allan Brewster added two interceptions and a safety in the third quarter to cap the scoring.
With the win, Seoul ties Osan (1-2) in the standings. Both trail Daegu (2—0) in the hunt for the DODEA-Korea title.
“This is special for our team,” Alan said. “It shows us we can win a game.”
