Morgan Park’s football players are not interested in discussing up-and-coming King as any kind of real threat.
“We weren’t really worried about this team,” Mustangs quarterback Ronald Smith Jr. said after Morgan Park knocked off the Jaguars 22-13 on Saturday at Lane Stadium.
“I didn’t really see them as a challenge,” Morgan Park running back William Smith Jr. said. “They are just another obstacle in the way.”
But the Mustangs were clinging to a 16-13 lead in the final minutes of the game. William Smith’s two-yard touchdown run with 1:47 left sealed the win for Morgan Park (7-1, 5-0 Red Star), which was shut out for most of the game after scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter.
“King is the program that is up and coming, and they want to beat us,” Morgan Park coach Chris James said. “They have good coaches. You just have to play cleaner football. We have injuries, but that happens at this time of year. Kudos to them; they have a good team.”
King (6-2, 5-1) knocked off Simeon earlier this season, a win which loudly announced the Jaguars’ arrival as a top Public League football program.
Running back Herman Yancey was the star of the Simeon win, and was excellent against Morgan Park. The senior ripped off a 68-yard TD run on the first play of the second half, cutting the Mustangs’ lead to 16-13.
Yancey had 19 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
“There were opportunities that we had in certain instances where we had to execute, and we didn’t,” King coach Abdullah Asad said. “Whether it is blocking a certain guy, getting a certain look. It is just focus.”
Morgan Park scored twice in the first quarter. Ronald Smith had a five-yard TD run and Kenneth Sims a 13-yard TD run.
Smith was 12-for-19 passing for 164 yards. He often faced pressure from King’s talented defensive line and had seven carries for -2 yards. But he never made a costly mistake. Jeremiah Harvey was Smith’s favorite receiver. The junior had four catches for 104 yards.
“[Smith] is doing good,” James said. “He has to make more plays, though. He makes plays, but he can make more. I just have high expectations for him. There is another level there. Last year he played better at the end of the year. And I think he will do that again.”
William Smith finished with 10 carries for 54 yards for the Mustangs. Sims, Amir Smothers, Travezz Jones and Jayden McKnight all chipped in with runs of eight yards or more for Morgan Park.
“We are exactly where we should be, and we are progressing smoothly, but we need to pick it up a little more to get to where we want,” Ronald Smith said.
The Mustangs clinched the Red Star title with the victory and will face Kenwood, the Red Shield champs, in a Public League championship game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Lane.
King’s running game was rolling, but junior quarterback Tremaine Ford completed just three passes.
“We knew we had something, but we just couldn’t get on the same page in the first half,” Asad said. “We were able to get to some stuff in the second half, which was good. When it mattered, we couldn’t execute.”
It is all Morgan Park. King keeps shooting itself in the foot with penalties.
Kenneth Sims with a 13-yard TD. Mustangs lead 16-0, 1Q. pic.twitter.com/kv2W037IaR
— Michael O’Brien (@michaelsobrien) October 10, 2026
