A-K Valley football Q&A with Fox Chapel’s Micah Morris

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 | 7:15 PM

The Fox Chapel offense has been wearing out opposing defenses with the running game all season long. If defenders aren't winded after chasing around speedy quarterback Nick Gizzo, their taking it square on the chin from 6-foot-2, 230-pound bruiser Micah Morris.

“When Micah is running the ball, you can physically see the other team getting beat down. Sometimes kids even try to get out of his way when he's running,” said Gizzo, who has 1,239 rushing yards to his credit.

“Having Micah in the backfield with me is great.He adds so much to the offense.”

Morris will take team-high 1,246 rushing yards into Friday night's WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal matchup between No. 8 Fox Chapel (6-4) and top-seeded Penn-Trafford (9-1). Morris has rushed for 959 yards and 12 touchdowns during the Foxes' five-game win streak to close out the regular season.

“When Micah and I are running the ball well, it creates something that's very hard to stop,” Gizzo said. “Other teams have to worry about both of us at all times.”

Morris is this week's A-K Valley Q&A:

When did you begin playing football?

I started with flag football in third or fourth grade.

How would you describe your running style?

I'm a mixture of Jerome Bettis and Le'Veon Bell. I got vision, and I'm a bigger back and hit people and keep on going.

Fox Chapel closed out the regular season with five straight wins. Are the Foxes playing their best football?

We haven't played our best football yet. We still have a ways to go. Right now, we're playing pretty good football. We're hitting our stride right now.

Do you get the sense that defenses are tired of tackling you late in games?

Gizzo takes over in the first half, and after that, defenses are tired of chasing him around. I guess they're tired or maybe annoyed at tackling me.

What do you know about Penn-Trafford?

Word on the street is that they have a really good running back. They have good wide receivers, and the quarterback is a pretty good runner.

What do the Foxes need to do to get the win over the Warriors this Friday?

We need to, first off, eliminate the stupid mistakes like penalties. Also, we just need to know our assignments.

Are you more of a running back or linebacker?

I'm more of a running back, for sure.

You're a big running back. What's the hardest hit you've taken?

I don't know his name, but, we were at Woodland Hills and I lowered my shoulder, and he lowered his.

Why do you wear the No. 36?

I wanted to wear No. 22. It's my lucky number, but No. 22 was a medium-sized jersey, and it wouldn't fit on me. No. 36 was the last one on the floor that I could pick up that was a running back number.

Who is your favorite football player?

My favorite football player of all time is Jerome Bettis, but right now I really like JuJu Smith-Schuster

Who are your favorite college and pro teams?

Right now, I guess Penn State and the Steelers.

What's your nickname?

“Bubby Bus” is what the student section calls me. My basketball coach back in my sophomore year gave me the name.

Who has the best nickname on the team?

It has to got to “Scooter,” Scott Hastings. He's our right tackle. Seth Bowman is “Boomin” Bowman. He's our left tackle.

Are you receiving any attention from schools?

I received my first offer from Brown last week.

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Fox Chapel