When the ball's in the air, Morley is going to win that battle more often than not. Photo courtesy CUA Athletics

Catholic senior Lucas Morley has all the physical attributes you could ever want in a wide receiver. Size, speed, agility, hands -- it's all there.

But his biggest strength, the trait that has pushed Morley into the upper echelon of pass catchers across the Division III football landscape, is less tangible than his height or 40-yard dash time. Catholic interim head coach Bill Bachman calls it the "compete gene."

"When God sprinkled pixie dust on his head, the pixie dust was his ability to compete, to win at the point of attack," Bachman said. "When four hands go up and two of them are Lucas's, he comes down with the ball."

Morley came down with a lot of balls last season. Correction -- Morley came down with a record-setting number of balls last season. The 6-foot-3, 203-pound Olney, Md., native finished with 100 receptions for 967 yards and 14 touchdowns, all three of which led the Cardinals by a wide margin. Morley's average of 10 receptions per game led the nation.

While Morley shined as an individual, the team struggled. Catholic finished 3-7 for the second straight season in 2015, leading to Morley's numbers feeling a bit hollow.

"When you look back on it, almost a year after, it's pretty cool to look at the numbers," Morley said. "But when it's going on and the team isn't succeeding as a unit, it's frustrating. There's really no other word to describe it."

Through three games in 2016, Morley's prolific pace has continued -- he has 20 receptions for 207 yards and a Division III-leading seven touchdowns -- but the Cardinals have already matched last season's win total. In a 37-35 win against Coast Guard this past Saturday, Morley finished with six catches for 113 yards and four touchdowns, en route to ODAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

It's been a stellar two years for Morley, a converted tight end who didn't begin playing organized football until his senior year at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, a decorated program that has produced some notable players, including Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Morley saw limited playing time at tight end, but quickly turned heads upon arriving at Catholic.

"We knew he was special," Bachman said. "We'd play JV games and he'd have 12 catches."

Morley appeared in three varsity games as a freshman, playing exclusively on special teams. The Cardinals had an established tight end in Alex Evans, but there was a growing sense that the team needed to find a spot on offense for Morley. That spot, as it turned out, was on the outside as a wide receiver, where Morley's height could create mismatches against smaller cornerbacks. Morley began the transition to full-time receiver in the spring semester of his freshman year.

Bachman, who was promoted to interim head coach this past June, served as the Cardinals' tight ends coach in 2013 and 2014, and has worked closely with Morley over his collegiate career. Bachman has seen Morley make countless highlight-reel plays over the last four years, but one in particular stands above the rest.

Morley hauled in the game-winning 49-yard touchdown pass from former standout quarterback T.J. Tutone to cap Catholic's 34-33, come-from-behind win against McDaniel in last season's opener. That, in and of itself, isn't shocking, but it's how Morley scored that's forever etched in Bachman's mind.

With less than 30 seconds remaining, Morley caught a pass from Tutone near the far sideline with a McDaniel defensive back all over him. Morley shook off the defender, stayed inbounds, juked past another defender and raced down the sideline for the go-ahead score.

"It's a play in D-III that very few teams across the country, including the top 20 programs, have a player that could make," Bachman said. "It's just an incredible play."

Morley, a finance major, is the younger brother of Will Morley, a standout on Catholic's men's basketball national championship team in 2001. Lucas's half-sister rowed crew at the University of Mary Washington, his uncle played point guard at Maryland alongside Len Bias, and his father was a three-sport athlete in high school, so athletics certainly run in the Morley family.

Catholic offensive coordinator Joe Dougherty said Morley "might be the best receiver in the country," but in his mind, a more balanced offensive attack will lead to more success for the Cardinals.

"I talked to him and I said, 'Listen, my goal is not to have you be the leading receiver in the country,'" Dougherty said.

Morley still primarily lines up on the outside, but the Cardinals have moved him around more in formations this season in an effort to keep defenses from constantly double-teaming him. The backfield, the slot, stack sets in the slot -- Dougherty affectionately calls it his version of "Where's Waldo?"

Morley said is he happy to sacrifice individual achievements if it means greater team success. That kind of selflessness helped Morley become an overwhelming choice as one of the Cardinals' captains this season.

"One hundred catches and the yards and the touchdowns, there's no goal there, per se," Morley said. "I want to come out and play to the best of my ability, prepare myself to allow myself to do that."

Don't expect Morley to suddenly become a non-factor -- he's still the main weapon for junior quarterback Jorge Pola, who assumed the starting role after the departure of Tutone. As each week passes, Pola continues to rely on Morley for key conversions and big plays, as Tutone did.

"My son, who is in high school, coined the phrase while watching in the stands, 'Third-and-Lucas,'" Bachman said. "When we were 'third-and-Lucas,' T.J. knew what to do with the football. ... If you have a 50-50 shot, it's really not 50-50 if Lucas is involved."

Bell stays hot in Guilford's win

Junior running back De'Eric Bell rushed for 146 yards, his third game with at least 125 yards in as many tries this season, as Guilford held off Averett 30-28 to improve to 3-0.

Bell rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against Greensboro, and he exploded for 295 yards and four touchdowns last week against Methodist. His 566 combined yards rank No. 1 nationally in D-III, and his 188.7 yards per game average ranks third. Bell, who also returns kicks and punts for the Quakers, ranks second nationally in all-purpose yards per game (236).

Bell finished second nationally in all-purpose yards last season with 2,235, which set new Guilford and ODAC single-season records. He's on pace to break that mark again in 2016.

N.C. Wesleyan continues 9/11-inspired tradition

It was a great weekend on the field for the N.C. Wesleyan football team. The Battling Bishops defeated Shenandoah 31-13 to pick up their first win of the season.

Nathan Gardner passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns, Gerrel Patton rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown, and Bobby Tucker (10 tackles) spearheaded a defensive effort that held the Hornets in check.

Off the field, N.C. Wesleyan accomplished something special as well. For the 14th season, N.C. Wesleyan student-athletes honored local policemen and firefighters with season passes for all sporting events at the school. The passes are good for up to four people, and have been distributed every year since September 11, 2001.

It's always nice to hear about traditions like this, and kudos to N.C. Wesleyan for keeping it going for 14 years.

Quick hits

Bradley Munday caught 16 passes for 100 yards, Jonathan Germano threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, Jamie Sullivan kicked a 50-yard field goal, and Michael Curry had two of Johns Hopkins' four interceptions in the Blue Jays' 29-21 win against Moravian. ... Tre Frederick rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown, and Marcus Mitchell tallied 11 tackles and one sack as Randolph-Macon improved to 3-0 with a 34-16 non-conference win over Methodist. ... Brian Mann rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns, Harvey Taylor rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns, and Montel Lee tallied four of Ferrum's seven sacks in a 42-20 victory against Hampden-Sydney, which fell to 0-3 overall. ... Nick Palladino passed for 243 yards and five touchdowns, including three to Nick Lamb, as Muhlenberg stayed unbeaten with a 42-13 win against McDaniel. ... Luke Bailey passed for 338 yards and four touchdowns, John Iwaniec rushed for 119 yards and two TDs, and Huntingdon's defense piled up five sacks in a lopsided 65-21 win against Belhaven. ... Tanner Erisman rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns, and Luke Foukas notched three of the team's six sacks in Franklin and Marshall's 34-12 victory over Ursinus. ... Connor Blair passed for 520 yards and six touchdowns, both new school records, and Quentin Dixon returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown in LaGrange's 54-17 win against Ave Maria. ... Nick Myers tossed a pair of touchdowns, Ethan Williams returned an interception 91 yards for a score, and Pierre Chadwick returned a fumble 48 yards for another score as Maryville defeated Emory and Henry 43-36. Kevin Saxton passed for 342 yards and three TDs in the loss for the Wasps. ... Quarterbacks Bobby Grigas and Matt Thies both accounted for two touchdowns apiece as Susquehanna held off Dickinson 31-24 for its first win of the season. ... Kenneth Purvis rushed for 108 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, and Herbert Bridges returned a fumble 57 yards for a score in Greensboro's 21-6 win over Gallaudet. ... David Vidovic rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns, and Hank Coyne threw for 282 yards and two TDs as Juniata remained undefeated with a 41-35 victory against Gettysburg.

Top 25: Huntingdon continues climb

Huntingdon's move up the D3football.com Top 25 rankings continued this week, after the Hawks improved to 3-0 this season.

Huntington moved up to No. 17, the second straight week it climbed two spots in the poll. Johns Hopkins held steady at No. 11 for another week.

Guilford, Washington and Lee, and Muhlenberg each received votes in this week's poll.

Looking ahead

Franklin and Marshall (2-1, 1-1) at Juniata (3-0, 2-0), 1 p.m., Saturday: The Eagles have been one of the biggest early-season surprises, having already matched their conference win total (two) and overall win total (three) from 2015. They'll face their stiffest test of the season, however, when they square off against the Diplomats on Saturday.

No. 11 Johns Hopkins (3-0, 2-0) at Muhlenberg (3-0, 2-0), 2 p.m., Saturday: Will this matchup determine the Centennial Conference champion? There's a high probability it will. Johns Hopkins won last season's meeting 49-28, but Muhlenberg has looked impressive through three games this season.

Other games of note: Dickinson (0-3, 0-2) at Moravian (2-1, 1-1), 1 p.m., Saturday

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