Madison Academy playoff run comes to end
The win leaves Colbert County tied for the region championship with Elkmont and West Morgan. All three schools have identical 6-1 region marks. The Indians are 7-2 overall.
Madison Academy dropped to 3-4 in the region with the loss. The Mustangs, now 5-4 overall, tied for the fourth and final playoff spot with Sheffield, but the Mustangs will miss the playoffs because Sheffield beat Madison Academy 35-21 earlier in the season.
Madison Academy, who has reached the playoffs every season since 2003, has made four straight post-season appearances under head coach Matt Clouser.
Romrelle Rice scored both of Madison Academy's touchdowns against Colbert County. He finished with 62 yards rushing in place of starting tailback KK Horton, who missed the game with an injury.
Rice scored on a 7-yard run with just 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7. He added an 8-yard scoring run with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.
Madison Academy’s defense came up with a key stop late in the fourth quarter on a fourth down play at the Mustangs' 22 to set up the possible winning drive. Jordan Kerr stopped the Indians for an 8-yard loss to get the ball back with 2:38 remaining in the game.
The Mustangs drove to Colbert County’s 35-yard line, but a fourth-down pass with 36 seconds remaining fell incomplete in the end zone to end Madison Academy’s comeback hopes.
The loss was the second straight loss for the Mustangs. Madison Academy lost to West Morgan and Colbert County - both playoff bound - by a total of 10 points. Three of the four Madison Academy losses this season came by eight points or less.
The Friday loss to Colbert County marked the third straight loss for Madison Academy to the Indians. Colbert County shutout Madison Academy in the only other two meetings between the schools.
