Morse’s Backfield Works Three Ways

SAN DIEGO — Forget prime time, front page and all that rot. Morse’s backfield isn’t going to steal any publicity from the guys who carry the ball for miles and miles at Rancho Buena Vista.

But Teddy Lawrence, Ututofo Faime and Jesse Campbell don’t mind. In case anybody has forgotten, they’re playing in the stadium Saturday night, too.

“We don’t slouch,” Morse Coach John Shacklett said. “We wouldn’t be here if we did.”

On Nov. 9, Morse (11-2) defeated Point Loma, 42-35, to win the City Eastern League title. Since then, the Tigers have playoff victories over Bonita Vista, San Dieguito and Mira Mesa. They will defend their 3-A championship against Rancho Buena Vista Saturday night at 8.

Taking credit away from the rest of the Morse football team and giving it all to the backfield would be unfair. David Dunn has been steady and sometimes spectacular, playing both receiver and defensive back. Another defensive back, Chris Jones, made crucial interceptions against Mira Mesa and Point Loma during the regular season.

But there is something special about the way quarterback Lawrence and running backs Faime and Campbell have blended to run Morse’s option. Morse doesn’t have the dominating offensive line it did last season, when the Tigers defeated Orange Glen in the stadium to win the section championship. So they’ve gotten by with a little bit of juke, a little bit of jitterbug and a lot of imagination.

While the ball is often in the hands of any one of the three, Shacklett has placed the responsibility and leadership in the hands of Lawrence, a 5-11, 177-pound junior. That’s a lot to ask. But Lawrence, who started at defensive back last season, is comfortable with his role. He isn’t afraid to tell seniors what he thinks.

“I can tell them ‘You’re doing this wrong’ and not feel bad about it,” said Lawrence, who has completed 73 of 144 for 1,527 yards and rushed for 505 yards in 65 carries. “And then not think ‘Oh, they’ll beat me up later.’ ”

To fully understand Lawrence, you should know this. He picks things up quickly. His mother, Kathryn, said he was riding a bike at age 3. In the 3-A championship game last year, it was Lawrence who picked off a Cree Morris’ pass in the end zone and took it 106 yards for a touchdown.

When he made the team as a sophomore, people said to him: “You won’t start in 10th grade.”

Kathryn didn’t think he would either.

Teddy came home at the beginning of last season and told her he made the team.

She said: “Baby, you know you’re going to ride the bench.”

He said: “Mom, I’m not going to ride the bench.”

She said: “Yeah, Ted. OK.”

Sure enough, he started. The more he started, the more confident he became. At the beginning of this season, he didn’t like it when Shacklett called for a pass play.

“I would kind of get mad,” he said.

Ever since the Point Loma game, when he threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns, he has come to enjoy using his arm almost as much as he enjoys using his feet.

If it is Lawrence’s talent that makes him Morse’s leader, it is perhaps his sense of humor that makes it easy for the seniors to accept him.

“He’s one of those guys that smiles all the time,” Campbell said.

Just the other day, Kathryn was telling him she was going to send him far away to college. His response was this: “Then instead of saying ‘Hi, Mom’ on television, I’ll say ‘Hi, sister.’ ”

THE SHORT-YARDAGE GUY Let’s clear the name thing up first.

Ututofo Faime.

Pronunciation: Ooh-TOO-to-foh Fee-AH-may.

Roll call during the first week of class is always interesting. No one ever gets it right.

Faime (5-11, 180) doesn’t run with the elegance of Campbell or Lawrence. It’s easier for him to just plow over people. He did that 144 times this season for 803 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He also plowed over a number of people to make room for Campbell. Lawrence thinks he’ll be hard to replace next season.

“It’s going to be hard to find somebody with his size, speed and power,” Lawrence said. “He’s just devastating.”

Two weeks ago, in Morse’s 42-21 playoff victory over San Dieguito, Faime showed everybody he can run around people once in a while, too, taking a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown.

“Actually,” he says, smiling, “I wasn’t touched.”

“He juked them,” Campbell says, laughing.

Very unusual.

“The team knows me for my power,” he said. “I have the reputation of going through people.”

THE ALL-PURPOSE GUY And now ladies and gentlemen . . .

The president.

Jessie Campbell’s day starts with study hall at 7 a.m., continues on through his daily classes, through football practice and then he has his meetings to attend. Then he goes home and does his homework.

Campbell is Morse’s student body president. He is also a representative for the Parent-Teacher Assn. and president of the Good Quality Leadership Club. Nice resume for a high school student.

“I’m pretty busy,” he says.

He keeps defenders busy, too.

Campbell, a 5-8, 175-pound senior, rushed 166 times this season for 1,347 yards and nine touchdowns. He was also the guy who went 54 yards in the stadium last year to score the winning touchdown against Orange Glen.

Campbell’s father, Jessie Sr., says he learned a few tricks while playing running back at South Carolina State and has passed them along to his son. But he says that being a member of a football team is probably the best teacher.

“It’s a good experience,” Jessie Sr. says. “You have to manage your time.”

Which is certainly useful for someone with Campbell’s schedule.