TURNER – Alex Kee did his homework this week. On Friday night, he aced the test.

With the Leavitt Hornets driving for the potential game-tying score in the final seconds, Kee stepped in front of an Eric Theiss pass at his own 3 and raced 85 yards downfield to ice Morse’s 19-12 upset victory in an Eastern Maine Class B football tilt.

Theiss (10 of 21, 96 yards passing) had quickly led the Hornets (5-1) downfield following a Drake McBrearity interception at the Morse 38 with less than two minutes remaining. An 8-yard toss to tight end Nick Urquhart gave the Hornets a first down at the 26. Theiss then hit Jon Letourneau over the middle for a 17-yard gain down to the Morse 9.

A spike to the ground by Theiss on first down stopped the clock with 24 seconds left on the clock.

“They were keying hard on Josh (Strickland) and Letourneau,” said Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway, “We were looking for Urquhart. We really thought we could sneak him in between.”

Kee knew exactly what was coming.

“We were well prepared for that play,” said the senior cornerback. “We knew where they were going. We’d seen it a million times. I read the quarterback’s eyes and when he took his hand off the ball, I undercut the receiver.”

Kee picked off the pass and raced his way down the right sideline before being taken down from behind at the Leavitt 12.

“Eric didn’t make a good pass,” said Hathaway, “but he didn’t have any time.”

The Shipbuilders (3-2) came up big defensively throughout the second half, stopping the Hornets twice on fourth down. They limited Strickland to 29 yards on 16 carries, while Tyler Green was held to 69 yards on the ground. Time after time, the Hornets were thwarted trying to run outside.

“We just played our fannies off,” Morse coach Jason Libby said. “We had a good game plan of playing good fundamental defense, but it was just a matter of our 11 guys believing in each other.”

Morse led 13-12 at the half and put up an important insurance score on its third possession of the third quarter. Junior tailback Pat Wolfe (26 carries for 207 yards) was instrumental on the 10-play, 78-yard drive. His 50-yard burst around the right end to the Hornets 2 set up his 1-yard touchdown run four plays later. Wolfe had four runs of more than 25 yards, including a 49-yard scoring run in the first quarter that tied the game at 6-6.

Theiss hit Strickland for a 14-yard scoring strike to open scoring midway through the first quarter. After the ensuing kick off, Wolfe zipped around right end for his 49-yard touchdown.

Quarterback Michael Walton hooked up with Kee on fourth down for a 2-yard scoring pass in the second quarter to give the Shipbuilders the lead for good.

A Theiss 10-yard run pulled the Hornets to within one point late in the first half.

The upset isn’t a first for Morse. Last season the Shipbuilders knocked off the unbeaten and eventual state champion Gardiner Tigers late in the season.

“This feeling never gets old,” said Kee. “It’s priceless.”