Discovery Wins Madison Cup Trophy

MADISON- The Madison Cup has returned to Discovery Middle School.

The annual trophy that is awarded to the winner of the yearly football battle between the Discovery Panthers and Liberty Lions is back with the Panthers after their 22-7 eighth grade and 30-0 seventh grade wins over the visiting Lions.

“It’s great to have the trophy back with us and the talent we have for the next couple of years we should be good,” said Mark Drake head coach of the seventh grade Panthers. “I’ve coached several of these players when they played recreational football.”

Liberty won the Madison Cup games a year ago on their home field, but this season, Discovery was determined to have the cup returned to its grasp. The Panthers did so in dominating style.

In the eighth grade contest, wide receiver Quenton Hubbard grabbed two touchdown passes, including one each from quarterback Rashan Hardy and a double-pass play from DaMontrey Johnson, to lead the Panthers’ scoring. Running back Rowan Jones also scored on a 25-yard run to give Discovery its 15-point victory while it posted a 6-1 record on the season.

“We had three touchdowns called back due to penalties,” said Cedric Jackson head coach of the eighth grade team and overall program at Discovery. “We made some overall defensive adjustments at halftime after Liberty scored on a pass play in the second quarter. Our only loss on the season was to Monrovia in a tough, hard-fought contest 43-32.”

The Discovery shutout in the seventh grade contest featured quarterback Braden Booth and wide receiver Joseph Marshall who connected for two scoring strikes, one each in the first and third quarters. Josiah Alexander scored in the third quarter on a run while Tyren Washington closed out the Discovery scoring with a fourth quarter scamper for a TD.

“Our defense came together and played a complete game as Liberty crossed the 50-yard line just twice during the game,” said Drake, as his Panthers completed the season with a 3-2-1 record. “Our strong safety, Mark Drake, Jr. made some good plays and came up with a fumble recovery in a key point in the game.”

Liberty was led by head coach Rip Flippo who took over the program after a recent departure of then head coach Michael Harper. Due to the unexpected departure of Harper, the Lions’ program was slow in getting into high gear for the 2018 season.