Columbus North’s Morgan Knapp looks for room to run against Bloomington South’s Rylan Stikeleather Oct. 3 at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For the Republic
Morgan Knapp has stepped into a bigger role for the Columbus North football team this season.
The Bull Dog senior is having a career year and is hoping his time on the gridiron continues beyond Friday when North travels to Franklin Central in the Class 6A sectional semifinals.
Knapp has played football ever since he was in kindergarten and has watched a lot of football on TV growing up. That sparked his interest in giving football a try.
Knapp was a versatile football player and played many positions, even offensive lineman when we has younger. He’s most been mostly been runner back and wide receiver but more notably a receiver for the Bull Dogs.
“With wide receiver, I like it because you have a lot of free rein,” Knapp said. “I have to choose how do I get open and got to go a certain amount of yards every time. Getting there is the easy part. It’s just what I am going to do to get there.”
Morgan Knapp
Knapp is second on the team in receptions (50), receiving yards (597) and touchdowns (6), trailing Parker Elmore in all three categories.
The North offense had to shift in a different direction since Elmore was injured late in a loss at Bloomington North, and Knapp has been the main beneficiary in catches and yards the last two weeks of the regular season. He had double-digit catches and over 100 yards receiving in the past two games, including career-highs of 13 catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-40 loss to Terre Haute South.
“Morgan has certainly emerged this year,” Columbus North coach Logan Haston said. “We’ve had injuries at various points, and especially when Parker got hurt, Morgan stepped up right away in the Bloomington North game with 10 catches, and followed it up with 13 catches (against Terre Haute South). He’s really stepped up huge for us in a time of need as we close out the season. I’m proud of him. I’m excited for him to be able to step up into the spotlight and make plays.”
After Knapp’s production increase the past two weeks, it’s wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Flashes defense leaning to contain him much more on the offensive end. Knapp will have to rely on himself to get open on his routes.
“I try to focus on my hand movement and selling with my eyes because defenders might think the ball is coming, and it throws them off with the movement of my eyes,” he said.
It’s also great for Knapp to have stability at quarterback. Asher Ratliff has been the Bull Dogs starter the past three seasons, and they have been working together a lot in practice and establishing a communication and bond, as well.
“Normally, we would talk pre-play, after the play on the sidelines after drives,” Knapp said. “During the play, he’ll look at me, and I’ll instantly pick it up, and I’ll know what to do, or he’ll just throw me a quick signal and tell me a route to do, and we’ll get it done.”
“He’s been steady. He’s that one guy every day in practice and games you never have to question if he knows the play or knows the right routes,” Haston added. “He’s very knowledgeable with our X’s and O’s and our offense. He’s able to trust you and I think him and Asher have great chemistry. They do a lot of offseason training and routes on errors. They built a good bond, and I think you’re seeing it on the field.”
Knapp is still undecided on his college endeavors, but he hopes to continue with football if the right opportunity comes. Otherwise, he is looking at going into trade school.
“There’s always that thought in the back of my mind that if college is an opportunity, I don’t know if I could pass it up. It would have to be a decision, for sure,” he said.
