Oak Hill’s Samuel Lindsay carries the ball while being taken down by Madison’s defense in a Class D South semifinal game Friday in Madison. (Jennifer Bechard photo)
MADISON — Two teams. One play. With a regional final appearance on the line.
And in the end, it is the Oak Hill football team that is moving on.
The Raiders edged Madison 34-33 in overtime of a Class D South semifinal on a misty, muddy Friday night at Rudman Field.
No. 7 Oak Hill will travel next week to face No. 1 Wells at Warrior Memorial Field. The Raiders are now 5-5. The No. 6 Bulldogs end their season at 5-5.
“It feels great,” Oak Hill quarterback Gavin Rawstron said. “Conference championship coming up, one win away from states. It’s what we dream for.”
Tied 27-27 at the end of regulation, Rawstron scored on a 1-yard run on the first drive of overtime. Following an extra point from Liam Rodrigue, the Raiders held a 34-27 lead.
Madison responded on the first play of the next series, as Josh Savage scored on a 10-yard sweep, bringing the score to 34-33.
Instead of kicking the extra point, Madison head coach Scott Franzose decided to go for a 2-point conversion — and the win. Bulldogs quarterback Eric Wescott tried to run a bootleg to his left, but he slipped in the muddy conditions, hitting his knees, immediately stopping the play and the game.
Franzose had no regrets with the decision to go for the win.
“(Madison) played this season with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. They were told that they maybe weren’t going to be that (championship-contending) team,” Franzose said. “We’ve had our ups and downs in a very competitive conference. I told them (after the game) that I would do that again in a heartbeat. I would make that same call with that same kid, because they have heart.”
Oak Hill pulled out to a 13-0 halftime lead thanks to Rawstron, who ran for 144 yards in the first half alone, rushing and passing for touchdowns to give the Raiders the advantage.
Rawstron finished with 201 yards on the ground on 35 carries, with four touchdowns. He was also 6 of 12 passing for 104 yards and a score.
He gave credit to his offensive line, a group that had great push up the middle of the Madison defense for much of the evening.
“In this weather, to have the offensive line push them back 3 yards on every run, that’s huge. It sets the tone,” Rawstron said.
“We rotated a lot of kids (throughout the game) on the offensive line,” Oak Hill head coach Stacen Doucette said. “It’s not five (players), it’s seven or eight. We have depth, we expect them to play well and we knew that would be a position of strength this year. We’ve done a very good job up front.”
Despite being down, the Bulldogs never gave up, scoring on consecutive drives to tie the game 13-13 to start the second half, before both teams battled back and forth for the rest of the contest.
Wescott had a superb game for Madison, running for 137 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. He was also 10 of 14 passing for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring receptions went to Jacob Meader, who had three catches for 64 yards.
Savage added 65 yards on seven carries for the Bulldogs, scoring two touchdowns. He also had a 55-yard punt return for a score in the second half.
Madison’s Eric Wescott carries the ball while being tackled by Oak Hill’s Gabriel Bergeron in a Class D South semifinal game Friday in Madison. (Jennifer Bechard photo)
Madison’s Josh Savage is tackled by Oak Hill’s Gabriel Bergeron in a Class D South semifinal game Friday in Madison. (Jennifer Bechard photo)
Oak Hill’s Caleb Treadwell runs the ball in for a touchdown in a Class D South semifinal game Friday in Madison. (Jennifer Bechard photo)
Oak Hill’s teammates celebrates with Caleb Treadwell after Treadwell scores a touchdown in a Class D South semifinal game Friday in Madison. (Jennifer Bechard photo)
Send questions/comments to the editors.
