Morgan Park clinches Prairie State title

With the Prairie State conference championship hanging in the balance Morgan Park controlled their destiny on Thursday at Gately Stadium.

A win against Hubbard would give the Mustangs an outright championship. A loss would mean a three-way tie with the Greyhounds and North Lawndale. The Mustangs avoided the tie with a 28-14 victory.

It didn’t take Morgan Park (5-3, 5-0) long to set the tone for the game as Kendall Joyner returned the opening kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown.

Hubbard (4-4, 3-2) answered when Jaqualle Smith threw 18-yard touchdown to Ray Abraham to tie the score at 6-6. From that point on it was all Morgan Park as it scored the next three touchdowns – a 26-yard touchdown reception by Romello Burrell from quarterback William James; a 13-yard run by Jarred Edwards; and a 34-yard run by Darius Burse as the Mustangs built a 28-6 lead in the fourth quarter.

Hubbard got a late score as Abraham and Smith connected again on a nine-yard touchdown pass.

Morgan Park coach Terry Atkins said he was pleased with the way his team hung in their. “We scheduled some tough games early for a reason,’’ Atkins said. ‘‘With each game we got better and this is the result of the work the kids put in.’’

Senior linebacker Kyren Moore, who had 12 tackles, was especially happy. ‘‘We’ve had four coaches in four years and to leave with a conference championship, it has all been worth it.”

Hubbard coach Elton Harris said his team has nothing to hang their heads about. “We have a very young team,” Harris said. “We gave ourselves a chance and have a lot to look forward to.”