Patrick McMorris has been the offensive star for the Santa Ana Saints since joining the team in the middle of the season. (Photos: Fernando M. Donado, for OC Sports Zone).
Patrick McMorris has made quite an impact since joining the Santa Ana Saints in the middle of the season after transferring from Godinez, where he played the first three seasons.
And the 6-2 senior tailback/safety has been warmly greeted by his new teammates and applauded by his new coach for his work ethic.
To see the slide show, please click on the first photo.
“Honestly, they welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “They were cool. It felt great. It was really a different expectation that I had. It was like (he thought) that they may not like me because I played against them. But at the end of the first week, I was friends with everybody.”
McMorris made a talented Santa Ana team even better on both sides of the ball when he joined the squad for its sixth game of the season. Since then, the team has been unstoppable.
Friday night, he scored six touchdowns to lead the Saints to a 55-12 Orange Coast League victory over Estancia, including a 102-yard pick six return. The victory set the stage for Friday’s Orange Coast League showdown between Santa Ana (7-2, 4-0) and Orange (8-1, 4-0) at Santa Ana Stadium. The winner will be the league champion.
McMorris, who has rushed for 424 yards (a 19.3 per carry average) and hauled in nine catches for 202 yards, is one of the main reasons the Saints are 7-2 overall and 4-0 and tied for first place in the Orange Coast League with Orange.
Most of his offensive yards have come in the first half of the three games he has played since Santa Ana has had big half-time leads and McMorris has been taken out of the offensive lineup while staying in on defense.
HE STARTED CAREER AT GODINEZ HIGH
McMorris started his career at Godinez where he was an all-county player last year rushing for 1,368 yards and 20 touchdowns while wracking up 255 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The league MVP helped Godinez win the Orange Coast League title. He was at Godinez for three years, two on the varsity.
“It was good, it was an eye opener on the varsity level,” McMorris said. “I had a pretty good game in my sophomore year where I ran for 300 yards vs. Costa Mesa.”
Then, McMorris decided to transfer to Santa Ana, “just to get better competition in my opinion. It also helped get me exposure to go to college,” he said.
McMorris said his teammates and coaches at Godinez were supportive of his decision to transfer to Santa Ana.
“I just told them and they’ve always wanted the best for me,” he said.
McMorris came to Santa Ana in the summer, but because of the CIF transfer rules, he had to sit out the first five games. However, he was very much a part of the team as a member of the scout squad during practice.
He made an immediate impression on the Saints’ head coach Charlie TeGantvoort, who was impressed that McMorris was willing and excited to compete on the scout team to help make the Saints better.
“He’s the two-tiime MVP of the league and he came and ran scout for five weeks and didn’t complain and pushed as hard as he could,” TeGantvoort said. “He’s used to being a star and he came in and did everything on scout. He’s the ultimate team player.
“While Patrick is a great player, he’s an even better person. Him just being around and hanging out with our kids and being a part of our family here has meant a lot to not just his teammates, but his coaches and the whole Saint community.”
McMORRIS ADJUSTED WELL TO CHANGE
McMorris has adapted well to his new home, the coach said.
“His mother (a former administrator) used to work here before she passed (away) so everybody kind of knew the family already and he was within walking distance of the school so he was already known,” TeGantvoort said. “He is such a humble person and such a funny, easy going kid that everybody immediately liked him and he fit in perfectly.”
McMorris got to know the players and asked himself what he could to support the team during the first five weeks.
“It was really just a learning experience to get to know the culture of this team and get to know everybody. Everyone is new,” he said. “I helped on the sidelines as much as I could and stayed with the coaches and called out the plays.”
Then in week six, McMorris had a sensational debut scoring four touchdowns in a 79-0 league victory over Costa Mesa. McMorris rushed for 89 yards on nine carries, caught two TD passes, one for a touchdown.
McMorris didn’t play on offense in the second half but it was clear that the future was bright for Santa Ana.
“It was fun; I expected to get the ball that much,” he said. “I was prepared for that. It was fun getting to play with these guys for the first time.”
The addition of McMorris helped add more options to the offense.
“I believe he’s one of the best running backs I’ve ever played with,” said Santa Ana senior quarterback Julian Gomez, who has run the Saints offense superbly all season. “A lot of things opened up because of the fear of Patrick running the ball. Patrick is just a really good guy and multi-talented. He’s like someone you’ve never met before, it’s crazy.”
McMorris followed up his opening game performance by scoring three touchdowns in a 46-7 victory over Calvary Chapel rushing for more than 200 yards. He then scored the Saints’ first 21 points (three touchdowns and three extra points) in a 45-0 victory over Saddleback Saturday.
“I think we’re doing really good so far,” he said. “There is always improvement though, every practice.”
McMorris has played football since the age of 5 and said he benefited by playing youth football with the Irvine Chargers.
“I grew up in a good program and they taught me a lot,” he said. “We did make it to the Super Bowl twice, but we ended up losing twice.”
FOOTBALL A WAY OF LIFE IN FAMILY
Football has been a way of life in his family: his two older brothers also played football and “it’s something we’ve all done,” he said.
McMorris enjoys the bonds football provides and “the brotherhood.” He’s hoping to play football next year in college. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is among the teams showing an interest.
“Hopefully I can get a scholarship to a D1 college and get a good education,” he said.
“He’s going to have his option of a bunch of different scholarships,” TeGantvoort said. “He will have a full Division 1 scholarship somewhere.”
McMorris, who also expects to compete in track in the spring, said he gets plenty of support from his family.
“My family has always pushed me,” he said. “My father is a great guy and he’s always been there for me, he’s gone to every one of my football games and goes to work right after. My aunts and uncles take care of me when my father can’t. I just love them a lot.”
The family members will be rooting McMorris on in the final weeks of the season.
“We’re definitely prepared for Estancia this coming week (Friday, Oct. 19, at Santa Ana Stadium) and then we will worry about Orange after Estancia,” McMorris said.
The Santa Ana vs. Orange game Friday, Oct. 26 at Santa Ana Stadium figures to be for the league title.
“It should be a pretty good game,” McMorris said. “I’ve played them in my sophomore and junior year at Godinez and lost to them twice. I just want to beat them.”
After that, the focus for the players will be on bringing home a CIF title. Santa Ana came close to reaching the CIF DIvision 12 title game last year losing to Big Bear in the semifinals. The Saints are in Division 8 this year and ranked fourth.
“It’s an every day thing,” McMorris said about aiming for a CIF title. “We stress that a lot. If we want to be champions, we have to do what champions got to do: focus and never take a practice off.”
-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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