Mustangs improve to 3-0 this season
Madison Academy's defenders extended their record to three games in a row without giving up a point Friday night as they stopped the visiting Rogers Pirates deep in their own territory to preserve a 7-0 victory. The win was sweet revenge for the Mustangs (3-0 overall and 2-0 region) after losing to the Pirates (2-1 overall and 1-1 region) on the road last season.
The Mustangs denied the Pirates a chance to tie or possibly win the game by stopping them six inches short of a first down. The stop was made on a fourth-and-two call with 1:15 left. It came on the 12th play of a drive that started after a fumble recovery and covered 43 yards.
"They're playing their hearts out and leaving everything they've got on the field. They're doing more than we're asking them to do."
Clouser said playing a ranked team was a big deal for his players.
"We talked about this game a lot all week." Clouser stated. "When we played them at their place last year we felt like a win would enable us to turn a corner in our program. That didn't happen and we had to live with the disappointment for a whole year. They're a strong, physical team but we were more physical than they were tonight."
Madison Academy got on the scoreboard with 57 seconds left in the first half on a 4-yard run by sophomore tailback Jeremy Rice. His run capped a 78-yard drive on 15 plays. Shane McLaughlin booted the extra point to make the score 7-0.
The recovery of a Rogers fumble by junior defensive lineman Jackson Chesser set the drive in motion.
The Mustangs limited their opponent to 16 yards rushing and 12 yards passing in the first half.
Rogers benefited from a turnover on the second half kickoff by claiming possession of the ball 25 yards from the goal line. But the Mustangs' defense was equal to the challenge.
Junior linebacker Erich Crowson came up with a touchdown-saving defensive play when he broke up a pass from Rogers quarterback Nick Milton to Kendall Michael in the end zone.
The Mustangs outplayed the Pirates in total yardage. They had 43 yards rushing and 90 yards passing while the Pirates gained 89 yards rushing and 25 passing.
Rice led the Mustangs in rushing with 44 yards on 13 carries.
