Renewed hope: MA dominates New Hope

Chris Clouser fights for extra yards in the second half of the Mustangs’ 38-7 Class 3A, Region 7 victory over New Hope.

After falling to Class 4A North Jackson 42-7 in the opening week, Madison Academy head coach Eric Cohu challenged his team to put the game behind them and become better offensively and defensively.

The Mustangs have done just that, as Madison Academy (3-1, 3-0) rolled off its third win in a row Sept. 17 with a dominating victory over New Hope, 38-7.

“We’ve been talking about becoming balanced on offense and defense and that’s the best offense we’ve played in four games,” Cohu said. “The defense has really played very good, and that’s awesome because when the offense hits its stride, we’re going to be a good football team.”

Although the Mustang offense sputtered out of the box, failing to move the chains on a fourth-down run, the Madison Academy defense came out firing, holding New Hope on a fourth-down run on the ensuing possession.

Mustang running back Jake Hamlett got Madison Academy on the board first in the opening quarter on a 2-yard run before Marcus Sease padded the lead on a 2-yard touchdown run of his own on the opening play of the second quarter to put the Mustangs up 14-0.

The Madison Academy defense went right back to work on the next possession, as they held New Hope on another fourth-down run to give the Mustangs the ball around midfield.

After the second 30-plus-yard run by Madison Academy quarterback Joe Dobson set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Khyle Jackson, the Mustangs got the ball right back on a bad New Hope punt snap and Dobson took the ball in on a quarterback keeper to increase the lead to 28-0 at the half.

“(Dobson) has played smarter each week, and he played an outstanding game for us tonight,” Cohu said.

In the second half, Hamlett added his second rushing touchdown of the game to put the Mustangs up 35-0 in the third quarter, but New Hope cut into the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 8-yard touchdown pass.

Replacement kicker Chandler Trach, who filled in for the injured Bennett Smith, made it 5-for-5 on kicks on the night when he nailed a 25-yard field goal to close out the scoring.

The Mustangs will return to action Sept. 24 as they travel to Plainview.