| Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, TRIB-LIVE
The suddenly explosive Fox Chapel football team, behind the dynamic play of Micah Morris and Nick Gizzo, cruised to a 51-12 homecoming game victory over Chartiers Valley on Friday night.
The Foxes ran out to a 42-12 halftime lead as their win streak reached four games. They are now 4-4 in the Allegheny 9 Conference and 4-5 overall.
Morris came into the game with 874 yards rushing and an 8.6 yards-per-attempt average. He easily topped the 1,000-yard mark and upped his average as he finished with 237 yards on 20 carries and scored on runs of 41 and 1 yards.
Gizzo, who entered the game with 807 yards rushing, will have a chance to top 1,000 yards in the season finale against visiting Plum. Against the Colts, he scored on runs of 25, 6 and 6 yards and hooked up with Conner Romango on a 24-yard touchdown pass.
Perhaps most impressive about the numbers put up by Morris and Gizzo, both juniors, is that neither was in the starting lineup when the season started.
“They’ve both been playing well,” FC coach Tom Loughran said. “Nick is doing a real nice job for us at quarterback, and Micah has been very impressive. It’s so important to establish a running game, and the play of the offensive line has helped tremendously.”
Luke Brown scored the Foxes’ final touchdown on a 16-yard run. Andrew Jeffrey was successful on all seven extra-point attempts.
“The kids are buying into the system and you see the results,” Loughran said. “We’re clicking on all cylinders, and we want to end the season on a five-game winning streak.”
Like Fox Chapel, Plum has been on the upswing with two straight wins. The Mustangs bested Latrobe on Friday, 41-24, as Kevin Brown rushed for 219 yards and scored five touchdowns. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.