MADISON – Just based on the first half, nothing about the game between Madison County and Fluvanna County screamed shoot out. But after the Mountaineers tied the game on a 17-yard Stephen Dixon field goal in the game’s final minutes, a shoot out ensued.
It took three overtimes, two fourth down conversions hauled in for scores by a sophomore, a gusty touchdown run from another sophomore, and countless grinding plays scattered throughout, but when the dust settled, Madison was celebrating with a hard fought 26-20 victory over the Flucos.
“That right there is what builds teams,” said Mountaineer coach Stuart Dean. “To fight through that, we’re awfully proud of our kids for that.”
Madison looked like they had the game won twice in the first and second overtimes by forcing the Flyin’ Flucos into fourth and very long. However, on both occasions senior quarterback Ryan Foster threw a deep pass to the right side of the endzone, and sophomore YaYa Anderson hauled in both.
“I saw those passes, the (second one was) wobbling a little bit and I thought for sure that one of our guys was going to get it,” said Madison running back and linebacker Logan Terrell. “It was just a crazy game. I never played in a game like that.”
Terrell and Jerod Williams scored the first two overtime touchdowns for the Mountaineers, with Williams picking up his on a 10-yard run where he flattened three Fluvanna defenders.
After finally stopping Ryan Foster from completing his third straight fourth down conversion, all the Mountaineers needed was a field goal for their portion of the third overtime. Instead they picked up a two-yard touchdown run from Terrell to wrap up the hard fought win.
Before the overtime bonanza, Madison dominated the first half while the Flucos controlled the second half. Fluvanna scored the only touchdown in regulation, but failed to convert the extra point, which wound up setting the table for Dixon’s late field goal attempt.
The win could pay big dividends for Madison down the road, as they missed the playoffs last year by a slim margin, and when a Group A squad takes down a Group AA opponent, extra points are awarded.
“That’s a big boost,” Dean said. “Fluvanna’s a team that’s going to win a lot of games and pile up some points too. That’s something we always keep in the back of our head after last year.”
For Fluvanna, the loss is obviously tough to stomach, but Flucos coach Rodney Redd knows that the season doesn’t end after the second game, but also knows you never win in a loss.
“We don’t want to get caught up in moral victories,” Redd said. “But also, we know that a season is never made or destroyed by just one game early in the season.”
Foster and Williams were the game’s leading rushers with 65 yards each. For a game that had three overtimes, the total offense for both squads was surprisingly low as neither defense gave up big time runs or passes. The Mountaineers put together 250 yards of total offense, Fluvanna put together 215.
