Thanksgiving Day Pigskin Preview

Don't forget some pigskin with your turkey on Thursday. The Bulldogs will host Bristol at Robert Morris Field at 10:30 A.M.

THANKSGIVING DAY RIVALRY
Cookson spreading out success

The Morrisville sophomore has thrown for 1,161 yards in the Bulldogs’ spread offense. He said his team needs to be more consistent to defeat archrival Bristol Thursday.
By TOM WARING

Matt Cookson loves quarterbacking in the spread offense.

The Morrisville sophomore rarely lines up under center, almost always taking the ball from the shotgun. The Bulldogs have a single back and up to four wide receivers.

“The defense has to stay on their heels,” Cookson said. “We can run or pass.”

Cookson, a 6-foot-1, 175-pounder who played mostly special teams as a freshman, has had a pretty good season. The 10th-grader has thrown for 1,161 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Bulldogs, though, have mostly struggled. Cookson blames the team’s 2-8 record (0-3 in the Bicentennial Athletic League) on inconsistency.

“Football is four quarters, not just one or two,” he said.

Morrisville has a final chance to prove it can play four solid quarters of football Thursday against archrival Bristol. The teams will meet for the 80th time at 10:30 a.m. at Robert Morris Field.

A backup quarterback a year ago, Cookson will be playing in the most highly anticipated game of his young career. The Thanksgiving game brings out plenty of partisans on both sides.

“We should get a pretty big crowd, and we hope to please them,” he said.

Morrisville coach Jim Gober likes his quarterback’s athleticism, size and willingness to learn the spread offense that was implanted in the offseason.

“He has a nice mix of running ability and throwing ability, smarts and toughness,” the coach said.

Cookson plays some outside linebacker and safety, but Gober will limit his snaps on defense to keep him fresh and healthy for when the Bulldogs have the ball.

The 16-year-old quarterback knows his team is the underdog. Bristol owns a 41-35-3 advantage in the series, including eight wins in a row. The Warriors have earned shutouts the last three games.

Still, Morrisville is coming off a victory over St. George’s Tech (Del.). That game was played on Nov. 1, and Cookson acknowledges that the team hasn’t experienced much hard hitting in practice since then. Coaches have introduced new plays and made practice fun in the last three-plus weeks of game inactivity.

The quarterback is confident that running back Kyle Schnee, a speedy senior, will have a big game in his career finale. He added that the offensive line has improved during the season. Based on watching film of Bristol’s game against Academy of the New Church, he expects the Warriors to blitz a lot.

The Bulldogs can’t wait to get back on the football field.

“We’re all hyped up,” Cookson said. “It’s been cold, but we’re all pumped and excited for Bristol. It’s our rival.”