MORTON — Jaiduan Cranford cut, juked and sprinted through the Morton defense.
The Metamora senior accounted for 276 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns while helping the Redbirds knock off the previously unbeaten and Class 5A fourth-ranked Potters, 43-40, on Friday night at Carper Field.
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But all the 5-foot-9, 190-pound running back could do was give credit to those big guys up front.
“I can give it all up to my offensive line,” the Northern Illinois commit said. “We had adjustments coming into this game and executed them right. … They helped me get in the position I am right now.”
Cranford ran behind left tackles Jeffery Reyes and Tyler Gray to go with left guard Evan Grove, center Owen Cabell, right guard Riley Blue, right tackle Logan Grap and tight end Elijah Edwards, accounting for three first-half TDs.
The Metamora Redbirds celebrate their 43-40 victory over Morton in a Week 4 high school football game Friday, Sept. 19, 2025 in Morton.
This included a stretch where back-to-back drives resulted in consecutive Cranford scores – a 53-yard and 61-yard scampers to the endzone. He finished with 206 rushing yards on 15 carries, including a 38-yard TD to give the Redbirds a 28-21 lead at halftime.
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“Offensively, I thought we had a real good flow in the first half,” Metamora coach Nick Delinski said, “and Jaiduan is pretty special. (We) kind of mixed it up a little bit to give him a little bit different look than it was last week and obviously, he took advantage of that in the first half.”
Cranford shook off last week’s 24-0 loss to Washington where he was held to no yards on six carries.
This week, Cranford was part of an exciting 43-point second quarter during which Morton (3-1, 1-1) answered nearly every Redbirds score. Potters running back Keenan Smith (16-yard TD run), Brody Watson (73-yard kickoff return TD) and quarterback Isaac Davis (12-yard TD run) accounted for the Morton scoring before halftime.
“I saw a lot of fight,” Morton junior Soren Fifer said of what his takeaway from the defeat. “I didn’t see anything necessarily bad. … Obviously, we lost the game, but I think we really picked up it up together and this is just a really big learning moment.”
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How Metamora won the game
After Morton went ahead 33-28 in the fourth, Cranford atoned for a muffed punt that set up Smith’s 5-yard TD. Metamora QB Stephen Petri hit Cranford on a screen pass and watched him race 70 untouched for the go-ahead score.
Winning the Mid-Illini Conference is still a goal for the Class 4A 10th-ranked Redbirds (3-1, 1-1).
“Knowing that we got to get after it,” Cranford said of his team’s refocus after the Week 3 loss, “if want a have chance to win conference, so that was very big for us.”
Morton’s QB Davis didn’t play the second half and was seen on the sideline with ice wrapped around his left wrist. This forced Brody Fritz into action. Fritz, a 6-0, 170-pound sophomore, finished 7-of-10 passing with 173 yards and threw a pair of TDs. His 59-yard strike to Brody Pinter set the final score.
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Petri, who threw for 195 yards and rushed for 51 with three TDs, intercepted Fritz midway through the final period.
“We got some mistakes that we can clean up,” said Morton coach Adam O’Neill, whose team had 100 yards of penalties. “Just fundamentals. I think we’ll be better for this. … Everything’s still in front of us.”
Morton wideout Matt Sander caught six passes for 101 yards including a 45-yard score. Smith added 75 on the ground to go with two scores, helping the Potters posted 241 passing yards and 158 rushing yards.
Jayson Pickles posted 50 receiving yards on four catches, adding a 9-yard, fourth-quarter insurance TD for the Redbirds, who had 454 yards of total offense.
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Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football: Metamora wins offensive showcase at Morton
