Morgan Park opened the season with challenging road trips to Downers Grove North and Edwardsville and a matchup with Notre Dame. The Mustangs emerged with two wins and a five-point, resume-building loss to ranked Downers North.

For coach Chris James, the challenge now is keeping his team’s level high in Public League play.

“I’m not as worried about it as I used to be,” James said. “We do a lot now, as much as we can, to prohibit anything slipping. We used to play bad against teams we should beat, but we are getting better at that.”

Morgan Park knocked off Payton 61-7 on Saturday at Stagg Stadium.

The Mustangs ran the ball well over the first three weeks of the season so the focus against Payton was on junior quarterback Ronald Smith Jr. throwing the ball.

It was a success. Smith was 10-for-13 passing for 221 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

He connected with Jeremiah Harvey for a 42-yard TD, Travezz Jones for a 33-yard TD, and Mark Dossous Jr. on an 11-yard score. Jones had four catches for 94 yards.

“I’m feeling good,” Smith said. “We have been progressing every week. We made a few mistakes the first week and then got better. We still have to improve, though.”

Senior running back William Smith Jr. opened the scoring with a 72-yard TD run, and Kenneth Sims ripped off a 57-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Linebacker Raymond Gilbert junior led the defensive effort for Morgan Park (3-1, 1-0 Red Star) with a couple of sacks and a fumble recovery.

Payton turned the ball over seven times. There were multiple fumbles and several special teams mistakes.

Morgan Park’s Ronald Smith, Jr., (1) throws a pass to convert a two-point conversion against Payton.

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun Times

“You aren’t going to win with seven turnovers,” Grizzlies coach Calvin Clark said. “Miscues on special teams, blocked kicks. I don’t blame things on kids. Those are things we will look at on film and get better and come back next week.”

Payton (3-1, 0-1) scored on an 18-yard pass from Jackson Peters to Zach Hosek late in the first half.

The Grizzlies opened the season with wins against Corliss, Hyde Park and Amundsen.

“This is one game, and it does not define our season,” Clark said. “We have a great chance next week against Taft. We are still in the running to go to the state playoffs and the Prep Bowl and all these other great things we can do and play some solid football.”

Morgan Park’s home base, Gately Stadium, is under construction. Originally, Gately was considered out of commission for the entire season, then there was talk it might reopen halfway through the season.

“Now [CPS] is saying there is a gate they need on back order, so we won’t be able to play there,” James said.

This was the first game James has coached at Stagg Stadium. The Mustangs will also play at Rockne and Eckersall this season.

The long, victorious trip to Edwardsville last week was an eye-opener for the team and excellent preparation for possible road trips in the state playoffs.

“Edwardsville had an amazing campus,” James said. “That is a very nice place and they have a really solid team.”

“It is definitely different having to play after a long bus ride,” Morgan Park senior defensive back Darrell Mattison said. “It’s good that we have that experience now.”

@michaelsobriensports Morgan Park knocked off Payton 61-7. Ronald Smith Jr threw 3 TD passes. #ihsa #football #chicago #morganpark ♬ original sound - michaelsobriensports

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