Madison Academy asserts dominance
Logan Hamlett gets taken down by Central-Clay County on Friday night. (Record photo by Anna Durrett)
By Scott Wright / For the Record
The Mustangs have dominated 3A competition.
Outside of 3A competition, the Mustangs have been able to put up a good fight, but had been unable to finish one of their tough, non-region games with a victory.
That changed Friday night as Madison Academy not only defeated a 4A opponent, they dominated the number one team in 4A, Central of Clay County, 33-7.
The Volunteers of Central were hoping to finish their inaugural season with an undefeated record of 10-0, but were dominated from the outset by the 3A Mustangs.
At the half, Madison Academy had run thirty plays while Central had only run sixteen. The Mustangs would out-gain the Volunteers by nearly one hundred yards by game’s end and would end the game with three interceptions and four fourth down stops of Central’s offense.
The Mustangs were lead by Kerryon Johnson and senior Nick Haas on offense, which has become the norm, but Friday night they were given a spark by LaMarkus Martin who scampered into the end zone from 64 yards out on one run and gained nearly 60 yards again on a run late in the fourth quarter.
Touchdowns were scored by five different players for Madison Academy, with four coming on the ground and the final score coming on a beautiful slant and go route from Nick Haas.
Running back Malik Miller said last week the Mustangs were looking to “shock the state” by beating this dominant 4A team, but many around the state saw it as immature, “bulletin board” talk from a young player. After Madison Academy completed the 33-7 decimation of this previously unbeaten team, many around the state are going to have to finally give this 3A program the respect it deserves.
As playoff season begins, the Mustangs are seemingly coming together at the perfect time. The Madison Academy team will look for their good fortune to continue next Friday night as they host the first round playoff game against Winston County.
