MA eyes first region football clash; Jets and Patriots open with wins
FLORENCE – The Madison Academy football team was young last season. They are young this year. But there is a difference.
For the second time in two straight season openers, the Mustangs lost to Mars Hill Bible School, this time by the score of 51-27 Friday night at Mars Hill Stadium. The final, however, could be deceiving.
Many of the young players for Madison Academy played last year, and the way Mustangs head coach Bob Godsey saw it his team put up a better fight against the defending Class 3A state champions than it did in losing 28-27 to start 2024.
“Believe it or not, I think we’re a little better than we were last year,’’ Godsey said. “We’re still a young team, but we’re not as young as we were last year. We’ve got some guys with experience but, you know, when you rely on seven sophomores, you’re gonna do some stupid stuff.
“You don’t ever know until you get them back together (each season). But, I think we’re in a better place. We were much more competitive regardless of the score (Friday night) with Mars Hill than we were last year and so we’ll go from there.’’
For Mars Hill (1-0), Troy commit Jaxon Penn ran the ball for 170 yards and five touchdowns, and UAB commit Hudson Higgins ran for 120 yards and a touchdown.
The Mustangs (0-1) are on the road again this week, visiting Randolph (0-1) for the 4A, Region 8 opener for both teams. The Raiders were also on the road to start the season, falling 41-14 to West Morgan.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at SportsMed Field.
Madison Academy holds a 14-2 advantage in the series, but Randolph won last year’s meeting at the Mustangs’ Bill Washington Stadium 32-31.
In that game, the Raiders led 2513 at halftime and by as much as 32-13 early in the third quarter. The Mustangs charged back and pulled within one point in the fourth quarter, but a two-point run fell short.
Madison Academy didn’t have much choice in going for the win with both the snapper and kicker sidelined with injuries.
The Mustangs, which turned things around after an 0-2 start last season and finished 7-5 after advancing to the second round of the playoffs, will try to avoid another 0-2 in 2025.
“We’re gonna be fine,’’ Godsey said. “Like I said, we’ve got a. bunch of young guys. The good part of it is they’ve been through it because so many of them played last year. I hope we can play on that experience. We just gotta grow up a little bit and get a little tougher, see if we can get this thing rolling.’’
Bob Jones 28, Cullman 3
Bob Jones traveled to Cullman for their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. Everything went their way against the Cullman Bearcats on Friday as they made off with a 28-3 victory.
The Patriots pulled away in the second quarter with two scoring drives to lead 14-0 at halftime and then extended their lead in the second half. The Patriots led 28-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bearcats cut but never quite recovered from.
Looking ahead, Bob Jones will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against Lee at 7 p.m. on Friday. This will be The Madison Record’s game of the week. You can read game coverage and photos from the matchup at www.themadisonrecord. com.
James Clemens 35, Gardendale 21
James Clemens had to feel good about kicking off the Juan Johnson era with a win. The Jets notched a 35-21 road-trip victory over Gardendale on Friday.
James Clemens will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they’ll take on Bob Jones at 7 p.m. on Sept. 5 at Madison City Stadium. The Madison Bowl is the annual rivalry contest between the two sister- schools.
