Old rivals reunite as Minooka hosts Morris in joint practice

Although the two towns are only separated by 10 miles, the last time Minooka and Morris met on the football field was in 2014, which produced a 28-21 Minooka win.

The two schools’ enrollments – Minooka is in Class 8A for football, and Morris is usually on the 4A/5A border – have kept the two neighborhood rivals from playing since then.

That changed Thursday morning as Minooka hosted Morris for a joint practice, which has become popular over the past two seasons. It was the first time that Morris had been involved in a joint practice.

After going through their pre-game warm-ups, the teams ran six offensive plays with their first-string offenses against the other team’s first-string defenses. The second teams then went against each other for six plays, and a mix of second- and third-stringers entered the game for the next six plays before the offenses and defenses switched sides.

After a few rounds of this, the first-team offense started at the 40-yard line and attempted to move the ball and score. If it did not pick up a first down after three downs, the ball went to the other team. This was done with the second and third strings as well.

The teams practiced in helmets and shoulder pads, but plays were whistled dead on first contact in order to minimize any injury risk.

“This is the first time we have had a joint practice,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “I thought about it last year, but I was hesitant and a little worried about injuries. As I talked to a lot of different coaches, I figured it would be a good idea if we could find the right fit.

“I think [Minooka coach] Matt [Harding] and I worked well together and set an example for the kids to have a good practice. I would absolutely do this again. Minooka was a great fit for us. Getting on the bus for a short 15-minute ride to go up against a really good program like Minooka is great. I am very happy with how our team competed. We got better today and we came away injury-free, which is the biggest thing.”

Harding and the Indians have hosted joint practices before, and they enjoy the concept. The Minooka staff had hot dogs, watermelon and drinks for the players of both teams following the practice.

“We like doing these joint practices,” Harding said. “It’s fun to do it with Morris. They are a very good program, and they are right down the road. Some of our guys go to GAVC [Grundy Area Vocational Center] with some of their guys, and they have grown up playing different sports against each other.

“Also, in practices like these you see things that you don’t see when practicing by ourselves. We have to condense 25 contact days down to 20, and in practices like these you might see some things you haven’t prepared for. That will help us when we look at the film and see how to adjust to those things.”

When Minooka had the ball in the moving-the-chains portion of the scrimmage, the Zane Caves-to-Jackson Miranda connection was quite effective. The 6-4, 240-pound Miranda is a matchup nightmare at tight end, and it’s something the Indians plan to exploit whenever possible.

“Jackson has come a long way,” Harding said. “The first time he played tight end was last year, so he is still getting better. As it is, he is kind of a cheat code for us.”

Morris was able to move the ball successfully both through the air and on the ground, even with starting center Aiden Swan sitting out with an injury he suffered off the field last week. The first-string offensive line opened several big holes for running backs Caeden Curran and Mick Smith to run through, as well as quarterback Brady Varner.

“I thought our offense looked good,” Thorson said. “Especially without us having our starting center. I was happy with how the whole team was excited and encouraging each other. Even if a play went bad, the guys were picking each other up and stayed confident.”