TURNER – The Morse Shipbuilders so enjoyed stunning a huge homecoming crowd at Leavitt High School the first time they had the ball that they decided to do it again the last time.

Jamie Dunning connected with Ryan Chaney on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:08 left to lift Morse to a 32-26 upset over the Hornets Saturday night.

Facing 4th-and-6, Dunning spotted the 6-foot-5 Chaney in one-on-one coverage near the right corner of the end zone and lofted a rainbow to the receiver, who turned and beat Leavitt’s Tyler Green for the catch.

“I can’t take the credit for any of that. It was great blocking and a great catch,” Dunning said. “That’s what happens when you have a receiver who’s 6-5 and can go up and get the ball.”

“We just got Chaney back from a bum leg this week, so we kind of put our ‘twins’ package in hoping for that kind of play,” Morse coach Jason Libby said. “We watched their adjustments through the game and kind of went for the home run.”

Morse’s Darrus Grate ran for 203 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries, including a 64-yard scamper on the Shipbuilders’ first play that set Leavitt back on its heels.

“That woke everyone up,” Grate said. “When I got the ball, my lineman said, ‘Go off my back side,’ so what I did was just cut up, go off his back side, stiff arm a kid and go up the field.”

“We didn’t play very well in the first half, particularly on (the defensive) side of the ball,” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said. “I don’t think (Grate’s touchdown) really stunned us. Obviously, it didn’t help, but I think that was a good picture of what the first half looked like for us on defense – not tackling.”

Grate added a 3-yard TD run on Morse’s second possession for a 13-0 lead. Leavitt responded with a 2-yard TD pass from Evan Barker to Craig McCann and a 3-yard scoring run by Barker to pull within 13-12, but Grate struck again, and again from 3 yards out, to give the Shipbuilders a 19-12 lead going into halftime.

Leavitt (1-2) came out fired up for the third quarter and chewed up huge chunks of yardage with Barker (22 carries, 141 yards) working play-action fakes and then running through huge holes up the middle. The quarterback scored a 5-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to tie the game. Green (21 carries, 143 yards) put the Hornets ahead with a 65-yard run down the left sideline with 3:39 left in the third quarter.

Grate went up the middle and high-stepped through the Leavitt secondary on his way to his second 64-yard touchdown run to pull Morse (1-2) within one with 8:20 to go, but the Shipbuilders still trailed after Barker stuffed Grate on the 2-point try.

The Hornets seemed poise to run out the clock after that, converting a fourth down to maintain an 11-play drive down to Morse’s 36. But Barker fumbled on another fourth-down try and Jesse Cassidy recovered for Morse at their own 40 yard line to set up the game-winning drive with 2:34 to go.

“When (Barker) pulled it out of (the play fake) the ball just kind of caught on the back’s hip a little bit. They were coming hard up the middle,” Hathaway said. “I don’t fault him on that. He played a great game.”

“I would say that’s the biggest win Morse had in a while,” said Grate, who had two big sacks of Barker to help thwart Leavitt’s final desperate drive. “I think we all showed heart, and that’s what we have to keep doing through the season. That’s only step one to the playoffs.”