Last-second touchdown pass from Morris lifts No. 11 Allen past Marcus

By Staff Report Oct 21, 2011, 9:11pm

Allen pulls out roller-coaster victory with last minute drive and last-second TD pass from Alec Morris to Oliver Pierce.

Alec Morris
Alec Morris
File photo by Dan Wozniak
A 16-yard touchdown pass from Alec Morris to Oliver Pierce with eight seconds remaining lifted No. 11 Allen (Texas) to a 38-35 come from behind victory at Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) on Friday.

The touchdown capped off an impressive drive for the Eagles that followed a go-ahead touchdown from Marcus with less than two minutes remaining.

Marcus established its offense early. It took a 7-0 lead thanks to a 10-yard touchdown run by Harvey Giddens.

Missouri-bound running back Jonathan Williams answered back for Allen with a 39-yard touchdown to knot the score at 7-7.



With Allen relying on receiver Andrew Rodriguez and Marcus leaning on senior running back Jeff Smiley, the teams went blow-for-blow throughout the first half, before a Cole Erwin 18-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Matheson gave Marcus a 28-21 halftime lead.

To start the third quarter, Rodriguez got behind the Marcus defense yet again, ripping off a 60-yard touchdown catch to tie the game 28-28 with less than seven minutes to play in the third.

A 34-yard field goal from Carlos Arochi pushed Allen ahead 31-28 at the end of the third quarter.

After several failed drives, Marcus finally broke through Allen's defense. It was Smiley again, who darted into the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown with 1:40 left to go up 35-31.

As it has done several times this season, Allen proved resilient down the stretch.

Morris guided the team down the field with little time remaining. He connected with Pierce, a 5-foot-10 junior, for the 16-yard, game-winning touchdown.