Oak Hill’s Gabriel Bergeron gets brought down in a crush of Madison players during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.
WALES — Madison has an offense that can score points aplenty. The more chances they get, the more the Bulldogs can score.
So Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette decided to dust off the double-wing offense, hoping to limit those chances for Madison. It worked to a degree, but the Bulldogs got their points eventually and held the Raiders’ offense quiet long enough to get away from Oak Hill High School with a 28-13 win in a Class D South football game Saturday afternoon.
“They came with a good game plan,” Madison coach Scott Franzose said. “I think a big part of it was keeping our offense off the field, slowing things down, and it took us a while to adjust to that.”
The Raiders’ (2-4) power-running, misdirection attack out of the double-wing limited the Bulldogs (5-1) to just two possessions in the first quarter, thanks to an 18-8 advantage in offensive plays. But that was enough plays for the Bulldogs to take a 7-0 lead, thanks to a 51-yard touchdown pass from Evan Bess to Jacob Meader. That was Madison’s last offensive play of the quarter, and it came directly after two penalties on the same play put the Bulldogs in a second-and-26 at their own 49-yard line.
“I just wanted to show them what I could do because I just didn’t like how I got a couple penalties thrown on me,” Meader said. “I wanted to help out the team because I took away from the team.”
Meader, who made up roughly half of the touchdown’s yardage on a run after the catch, also wanted to make amends for how the Bulldogs’ first drive ended. Bess’s deep pass intended for Meader was intercepted by Gavin Rawstron.
“I just wanted to pull it in because a couple of plays before that there was a pick, and I was too deep, and needed to run back,” Meader said. “I wanted to make sure I hauled that one in.”
The Raiders stuck to the ground for most of the first quarter, save for punts and a pass on the final play of the period. But those rushes out of the double-wing yielded just 49 yards.
“We were trying to get first downs and keep the clock moving. We were hoping to do that,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “We got to get a little more consistent. We’d go 6 (yards), and then minus-2, minus-2, 6.”
Madison was more efficient running the ball on its first drive of the second quarter, gaining 75 yards in six plays. The Bulldogs went to the ground — literally — to cap off the drive with a touchdown. Sean Whalen was on his way to the end zone to finish off a 19-yard run, but fumbled short of the goal line. Meader was there, however, to pounce on the loose ball in the end zone.
“I didn’t have any idea, so I just jumped on it, hoped for the best,” Meader said. “Because I saw another guy running at it.”
The Bulldogs drove deep on their next drive, but Bess was once again picked off to end it. Darryn Bailey intercepted the pass in the end zone.
“We practiced that, we expected them to throw the ball,” Doucette said. “We have some athletes back there as well.”
The third quarter saw the Bulldogs take a page out of the Raiders’ book, allowing Oak Hill just one drive. Madison couldn’t score either, however, punting for the only time in the game on the opening drive of the period before their second possession spanned into the fourth quarter. Whalen finished off the drive three plays into the fourth, running in from 4 yards out for a 21-0 lead.
Whalen then ended the ensuing Oak Hill drive by intercepting Rawstron in Madison territory.
Bess made it 28-0 four plays later on a 41-yard touchdown scramble.
“One thing with Evan is, the pass game wasn’t there … but he always does a good job pulling it down, making decisions with his feet,” Franzose said.
Bess ran the ball 10 times for 116 yards, with two of those attempts coming on a sack and a game-ending kneel-down. He was 4-of-10 passing through the air for 104 yards.
Oak Hill finished the game strong, converting on a fourth down to keep a last-ditch drive going. Reid Cote completed the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Raiders were successful on the ensuing onside kick, with Bailey landing on a loose ball that bounced through Meader’s hands.
“We decided to go onside kick to practice it because you never know when you’re going to need it,” Doucette said.
Oak Hill scored one play later, with Rawstron connecting with Bailey for a 29-yard catch-and-run.
“End of the game it got a little leaky, and they did a good job,” Franzose said. “That’s a hell of a team and they don’t give up.”
Another onside attempt went out of bounds, and Bess just needed to kneel once to secure the win.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
Oak Hill’s Caleb Treadwell blasts through a hole between Madison’s Lucas Murray and Jacob Meade during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.Oak Hill’s Darryn Bailey looks for a clear path during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.Oak Hill’s DJ Pushard protects Reid Cote as they approach Madison’s Evan Bess during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.Oak Hill’s Cruz Poirier and DJ Pushard try to hold off Madison during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.Oak Hill’s Gavin Rawstron tries to hold off Madison’s Matt Oliver during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.Oak Hill’s Cruz Poirier sprints down the field as Madison’s Christian Cabera and Max Shibley close in during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.
Oak Hill’s Darryn Bailey gets taken down by Madison’s Zachary Belanger during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.
Madison’s Sean Walen sprints down the field during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.Madison’s Sean Whalen looks for a path between Oak Hill’s Colin French and Darryn Bailey during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.
Madison’s Sean Whalen tries to evade Oak Hill’s Gavin Rawstron during Saturday afternoon’s football game at Oak Hill High School.
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