BY CECE THOMAS
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
In recent years, it seems like the Union County and Madison County high school football teams fight each other for the right to play on in the postseason.
Only one can come out on top.
This year, it was the host Cowboys, who defeated the Tigers 34-8 in a Rural Class state semifinal game on Nov. 29.
Second seed Madison, which will now play top seed Hawthorne for the state championship on Friday, Dec. 6, has now won seven of eight playoff matchups against the Tigers.
“They were a really good football team and just better than us tonight,” Union Head Coach Andrew Thomas said. “They jumped on us early, and we didn’t tackle well in the first half. There were some missed opportunities for us. They had a good defense.”
In the first half, the Cowboys (9-3) had 301 yards rushing and 329 total yards in building a 34-8 lead. A scoreless second half saw them gain just 82 yards.
It was the second time in three years that the third seed Tigers (10-2) played a state-semifinal game and the sixth straight year they advanced to at least the region-final round.
“Our boys played their heart out the second half,” Thomas said. “We had a really good season and made it to the Final Four. I am really proud of them.”
The Cowboys received a short kick from Gavin Jenkins to start the game, with a fair catch giving them the ball at their own 36. A running back was met in the backfield and dropped for a loss on first down, while quarterback L.J. Crumity kept the ball on second down, picking up a few yards to bring up third-and-10. An incomplete pass then had Madison lining up to punt, but a fake turned into a 64-yard touchdown run with 10:34 to go in the first quarter. The extra point was good for a 7-0 Madison lead.
Alec McClellon returned the following kickoff to the Union 34-yard line. Two runs by Drew Simmons brought up third-and-9. Ibn Williams made a beautiful catch on the third-down play, but he was ruled out of bounds, resulting in a punt on fourth down.
Madison, starting a drive at its own 21, had a huge pass play that took the Cowboys down to the Union 27. It was third-and-5 after two run plays when Crumity kept the ball and picked up enough yardage for a first down. A flag for holding backed the Cowboys up.
It looked as if the Tigers had made a stop on the next play, but the running back emerged from the pile and scored a touchdown with 1:29 left in the first quarter. The Cowboys’ two-point conversion was no good, which put the score at 13-0.
A pass from Trenton Klein to Bryan Tyson and a quarterback keeper by Klein brought up third-and-1 for the Tigers heading into the second quarter. A carry by C.J. Ivey picked up enough yardage for a first down at the Union 36. A pass to Gavin Jenkins was good for a touchdown with 11:09 to go in the second quarter. Klein kept the ball on the two-point conversion and made it into the end zone, making the score 13-8.
A great kick by Jenkins, with the Madison returner stumbling, set the Cowboys up at their own 21. A first-down handoff picked up about 5 yards. A handoff on the next play saw the back taking it all the way for a touchdown with 10:32 left in the second quarter. An offsides penalty on Union on the extra-point attempt was declined, but the Tigers were penalized for being offsides again. Madison accepted the second penalty and successfully went for two, making the score 21-8.
The Tigers began their next series at their own 20. A keeper by Klein picked up a few yards before a fumble occurred. Madison recovered at the 25-yard line.
A run around left end by the Cowboys was good for a first down at the 12-yard line. Three more run attempts left Madison facing a fourth down. Another run was good for a touchdown and a 27-8 Cowboys lead with 9:05 left in the second quarter. The extra point was no good.
Madison was penalized on the kickoff and had to re-kick. Ivey received the low kick, which put the Union offense at its own 40-yard line. Simmons carried the ball and picked up enough for a first down at the Madison 47. Klein threw two incomplete passes before completing one to Tyson for another first down at the 28-yard line.
After a false-start penalty, Klein picked up a couple of yards on a keeper. A double-pass play on third down resulted in an incompletion from Tyson to Jenkins in the end zone. Klein’s pass on fourth down was incomplete, which had Madison taking over at its own 31-yard line.
Madison picked up a whole lot of yards on a run play to the Union 32. After a run for 4 yards, another run saw the back break about three tackles on the way to another touchdown with 4:03 to go in the half. The extra point was good, making the score 34-8.
The second half began with Simmons returning Madison’s kickoff to the Union 37. A Klein pass to Tyson picked up 5 yards. After Simmons was held to a 1-yard gain, a third-down pass went over Jenkins’ head. Klein the completed a pass to Simmons on fourth down, but it left the Tigers short of a first down.
Madison took over at the Union 44 and was penalized twice, with the result being the Cowboys had a first-and-25 at their own 41. They got 8 of those yards back on a run play, but a running back was stopped at the line of scrimmage on second down. Another handoff resulted in the back being dropped for a loss. Madison punted, with Simmons making a fair catch at his own 25-yard line.
Tyson caught a pass, but was tackled as soon as he caught it, bringing up second-and-7. After Klein was met at the line of scrimmage on a keeper, he completed a pass on third down to Tyson, who picked up more than enough for a first down at the 46. Three straight incompletions brought up fourth-and-10. The Cowboys intercepted a fourth-down pass attempt, which set their offense up at midfield.
The Cowboys were penalized on the first play following the turnover and backed up 5 yards. Three run plays brought up fourth-and-3. Madison received another 5-yard penalty and punted. The ball rolled to a stop at the Union 16.
Simmons had a carry for 4 yards on first down, while Klein’s pass to Jenkins on second down was batted away by Madison. Another incompletion on third down forced the Tigers to punt.
Madison again began a drive with a penalty, with the false-start call making it first-and-15. Crumity then kept the ball, but was stopped immediately by Jaden McCray. The Tigers’ Williams intercepted a pass on second down, but it was ruled he was out of bounds, bringing up a third-down play for the Cowboys. An incomplete pass brought up fourth down and a punt. Union took over at its own 41-yard line.
Simmons picked up about 3 yards on a run. Ivey then got the carry and was met at the line of scrimmage. Klein completed a pass to Ashton Newsom, which brought up fourth-and-4 as the third quarter ended. The Tigers picked up the first down on a Newsom catch. Newsom then caught another pass for a first down at the Madison 23. A pass into the end zone for Tyson was intercepted.
The Cowboys had a run of 4 yards before a Crumity carry picked up enough for a first down. Madison picked up another two first downs on runs, moving across midfield to the Union 45. Another handoff resulted in an 8-yard gain, but a flag for holding had the Cowboys facing first-and-18. Madison kept the ball on the ground for three more plays, but couldn’t pick up enough for a first down. The Cowboys punted, with Simmons making a fair catch at his own 20-yard line.
Simmons then got the carry on first down, taking the ball out to the 36 for a first down. McClellon caught a pass past midfield for a first down at the Madison 49. McClellon caught another pass, but was met immediately by the Madison defense. Simmons picked up a couple of yards on a carry, bringing up third-and-6. A pass intended for Williams was intercepted at the 11-yard line.
