Madison capitalizes on 6 Clifton-Clyde turnovers as Bulldogs upset Eagles, 32-20, to take Regional crown
Ken Easthouse
Monday, November 6, 2006
MADISON — Madison capitalized on numerous Clifton-Clyde turnovers Saturday to upset the Eagles, 32-20, for the 8-Man Division I Regional championship.
Clifton-Clyde threw two interceptions and lost four fumbles, directly leading to 14 points for Madison and, more importantly, stopping several deep drives by the Eagles. Madison, meanwhile, only lost one fumble.
“You got to take care of the football if you want to win,” Madison coach Fred McClain said.
Despite the turnover ratio, the Eagles controlled the tempo of the game. Clifton-Clyde had 13 more plays than Madison, and doubled Madison’s first-down production.
Madison didn’t put the game out of reach until Jacob Stewart made a diving, 12-yard touchdown catch from Caleb Hamilton, who received a backwards pass from quarterback Jordan Stout 0n a set up gadget play.
“We never ran that play; we just put it in a day before (Saturday),” Stout said.
McClain said the catch was among the most memorable of the season, as it put Madison up, 32-20, late in the fourth quarter, and effectively deflated the Eagles.
“That’s classic Madison high school history right there,” McClain said. “That’ll be around here for awhile.”
In defeating one of the top-ranked teams in the tournament, the Bulldogs earned their second upset of the playoffs.
“We’ve never been the underdogs before,” Stout said. “Coming in today, we really wanted to show people we belonged here.”
The game could have been much different.
Late in the first quarter, Clifton-Clyde was driving deep into Bulldog territory. Eagle running back Dustin Cyr had run an 11-yard touchdown run, but it was negated on a holding penalty. After a quarterback sack, Stout intercepted a pass at the 5-yard line, ending a long drive that would have put Madison behind.
“If they scored, they would have got up on us,” Stout said. “When I took it down the sidelines and my teammates all came up beside me, I knew we were going to be in it all day.”
Penalties hurt the Eagles all day long, as they committed seven for a total of 65 yards.
Also, early in the third quarter, Bulldog running back Michael Luthi left the game and went to the locker room with an injury, and sat out the rest of the third quarter. Luthi is the leading rusher for the Bulldogs, and had scored three touchdowns and had several key stops on defense.
McClain, however, said he wasn’t worried about losing Luthi’s offensive production.
“I didn’t get too nervous, because I had (backup fullback) Josh Barker ready to go, and he’d give us great effort,” McClain said. “I knew we would lose a little bit more on defense.”
Luthi returned in the fourth quarter, playing mostly defense and leaving most of the remaining offensive production to Stout and the other backs.
Madison will play host to Lyon County League-rival Waverly in the next round, giving the Bulldogs a shot at avenging their only loss of the season. Earlier this year, Madison fell to Waverly, 38-12, at Waverly.
“This is a great thing for the Lyon County League, to have two teams win Sub-State,” McClain said.
Meanwhile, Stout said his team is up to the challenge that Waverly (11-0) presents.
“We know they’re a good team and capable of beating us, but we know we can beat them if we play good,” Stout said. “Right now, we’re playing pretty good.”