San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Madison prevails
» Mavericks beat Churchill to stay perfect in 28-6A.
Quick take: Madison did just enough on offense, with most of it coming on a couple of big pass plays. The Mavericks otherwise rode a stellar defense to a win Friday night at Heroes Stadium.
“We feel like we have a chance with the guys we have on defense,” Madison head coach Blaine Pederson said of his unit that held Churchill to -16 yards in the opening quarter and 40 in the first half. “They’ve been playing well all year. We got off to a fast start on defense. We struggled at the end of the second and in the third, but I’m happy with how they finished the game.”
Offensively, Madison got big plays from Caden Mata to Brayden Campbell to set up all the scoring the Mavericks would need.
The win keeps Madison (3-1, 2-0) unbeaten in District 28-6A.
Churchill (0-1, 0-3) is still looking for its first win of the season
Highlights: The offensive fireworks started for Madison on the first play of the second quarter when Mata found Campbell down the left sideline for a 53yard score. It was set up when offsetting penalties wiped out a 69-yard Churchill punt. On the ensuing punt, Churchill was called for interference after the Madison returner signaled fair catch at the end of the first quarter.
The Chargers tried to answer after a short kickoff set them up at their own 41. On the second play of the drive, Tre’Mone
Moore broke free for a 15-yard run through the middle of the Madison defensive line. It was the first first down of the game for Churchill.
Ultimately, the Mavericks’ defense forced another Churchill punt.
Two Madison defensive penalties helped the Chargers on their next drive. First a face mask penalty hurt the Mavericks when it appeared they had Moore stopped behind the line of scrimmage. The penalty ignited Churchill, which finally reached the red zone near the end of the first half.
The Chargers’ best scoring chance came when Merric Manwaring tried to find Ty Webb in the corner of the end zone before Demetreon Delane broke up the pass.
Churchill tried a 38-yard field goal but came up short.
Churchill cut into Madison’s lead with 5:22 left in the third quarter when Pierce Burns made a 42-yard field goal.
The score capped a 5-play drive highlighted by a Moore run through the heart of Madison’s defense.
The Chargers looked like they were poised to score again early in the fourth quarter, but a 37yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
That gave the ball back to Madison’s offense at their own 20. This time, Madison got another long pass play from Mata to Campbell. On second-and-1 from the Mavs’ 40, Campbell
took a pass over the middle and raced to the 8 before being brought down on a touchdownsaving tackle by Webb. Two plays later, Mata found the end zone on a 2-yard run behind linemen Brady Rabel, Parker Duarte and Hunter Gallagher to give Madison a 14-3 lead with 7:50 left in the game.
The Chargers found the end zone for the first time with 2:37 to play behind a hurry-up offense. Manwaring completed 4 of 5 passes on the drive, with Nick Karam catching three for 39 yards before Moore rumbled into the end zone from 14 yards out. A 2-point conversion attempt
failed when Delane broke up a Mata pass that would have brought Churchill within a field goal.
The Chargers tried an onside kick, but Madison recovered and advanced the ball to the Churchill 22. Ke’Shaun Rodgers put the game away with a scoring run for the final margin.
Game balls: Campbell was the offensive stalwart for the Mavericks, catching three passes for
114 yards with a touchdown. Rodgers rushed for 72 yards with a touchdown.
Defensively, Madison harassed Manwaring relentlessly in the first half, with Donovan Erdich recording two sacks.
Moore paced the Chargers’ offense with 104 rushing yards and a touchdown..
Up next: Madison has a week off before playing Reagan at Heroes Stadium on Oct. 1. Churchill will host Clark at 7 p.m. Thursday at Heroes Stadium in the annual Gucci Bowl.