MADISON TOWNSHIP — Tyrell Ajian and his Madison teammates christened Ram Field at STARTEK Stadium in style on Friday.
Madison’s super sophomore hauled in a 22 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, recovered the ensuing pooch kick that resulted in another score and returned an interception 57 yards for a TD in the third quarter as the Rams improved to 2-0 with a 37-3 win over Galion in front of a standing room only crowd.
“There weren’t 11 guys on this field. There were a lot of ghosts from before. A lot of people who played for (former head coaches) Dana Woodring and Matt Godsil and Al Pease were out here helping us,” Madison coach Sean Conway said. “I’ve got to tell you it meant the world to this team to represent the community like this tonight.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Galion (1-1) took a 3-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter when Conner Moreton booted a 22 yard field goal.
After that, it was all Madison.
Ajian ignited Madison’s scoring spree, outjumping a pair of Galion defenders to haul in a 22 yard scoring strike from quarterback Austin Finley on third and 17 midway through the second quarter for a 7-3 Madison lead.
“It was a great play,” Galion coach Chris Hawkins said. “We had the wrong coverage, but the kid made a great play.”
On the ensuing kickoff, Logan Childers chipped the ball over the front line of Galion defenders. The ball hit the artificial surface and bounced in the air. Ajian snatched the ball out of the air to give the Rams possession at the Galion 34 yard line. Eleven plays later, Logan Pack bulled in from 2 yards out to give the Rams a 14-3 lead.
“We didn’t field the kick. If we come up and fair catch it, we have the ball at the 40 and it’s 7-3,” Hawkins said. “That game was not lost in the second half. That game was lost in the first half.”
Galion ran just three plays in the entire second quarter. The Tigers didn’t gain a single yard.
“I went in at halftime and said, ‘I’ve never coached a game where we ran three plays in a quarter,’ ” Hawkins said. “When you’re facing a smash-mouth team and your defense is out there for 90 percent of the first half, they just wore us down.”
Ajian had a 75 punt return for a touchdown negated by penalty early in the third quarter, but the Rams padded their lead when Kyle Galco scored on a 1 yard plunge. Ajian iced it when he stepped in front of a Jacob Fryer pass and raced 57 yards for a 30-3 Madison lead late in the third.
“I was just reading the receiver,” Ajian said. “I thought he was going to catch the ball. I just looked up and there it was.”
Oh Captain, my captain: Madison’s three honorary captains for the game were Grant Milliron, Obie Stillwell and Mike Godsil. Milliron starred at Madison in the early 1950s and was a major contributor to the stadium project. Stillwell was an All-Ohioan at Madison in the early 1990s before playing at Ohio State. Godsil, the son of former head coach Matt Godsil, was an All-Ohioan in the mid-2000s before playing at Liberty.
“This is just fantastic,” said Mike Godsil, who coached five years of college football at William and Mary. “The facility is beautiful, but what is even greater is the way the community supports the program and the kids.”
Stillwell agreed.
“The community has made an investment in the football program and in the youth,” Stillwell said. “It is great to see all the support.”
Standing on the sidelines before kickoff brought back plenty of fond memories for Stillwell.
“It all started here,” Stillwell said. “Being a part of this football program helped me build my character to become the man I am today.”
As beautiful as the new facility is, Stillwell said he missed the crown in the middle of the field.
“I needed that crown to gain some speed,” he said. “I was always running downhill.”
Not again: Galion coach Chris Hawkins has seen enough stadium openers in Richland County to last a lifetime.
Hawkins and the Tigers came to Arlin Field in Week 1 of the 2011 season to play Mansfield Senior. It was the first game for the artificial surface at Arlin Field.
“I’m a karma person. I really believe in karma,” Hawkins said. “I hated doing all this stuff.
“Madison was the better team. I’m not saying they won because they were opening a new field and had karma but I’m saying that hurt us.”
Madison coach Sean Conway agreed.
“It was the spirit of Madison. This is what makes high school football special,” Conway said. “Galion is a good football team. If we play them 10 times, it might be 5-5.
“But tonight was our night.”
