MADISON TOWNSHIP — The Battle of Mansfield lived up to the hype.
Juwan Howard scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 12 yard run with 3:41 remaining and the Madison defense came up with a stop in the final seconds as the Rams held on for a thrilling 21-14 win in the 49th meeting of the crosstown rivals at Ram Field at StarTek Stadium.
The win vaulted Madison (7-3, 5-2) into the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The Rams will be on the road in a Division III, Region 8 quarterfinal game against an undetermined opponent on Nov. 7. Playoff pairings will be released Sunday.
“It’s an emotional game to coach in. It’s an emotional game to play in,” Madison coach Sean Conway said. “Winning in the fashion in which we did is as special a victory as I can ever think of.
“I just credit our team. What fighters.”
The Rams had to fight until the final seconds as the Tygers (4-6, 3-4) marched deep into Madison territory with less than a minute remaining. On fourth and nine from the Madison 21 Senior High quarterback Brandon Swindall’s pass fell incomplete near the goal line, but the Rams were flagged for pass interference, giving Mansfield Senior a fresh set of downs from the Madison 11. Swindall was thrown for a 12 yard loss by Madison linebacker Kanyon Tackett on third and 13, setting up a fourth and 25 from the 26. Swindall’s desperation pass thrown in the direction of Asante’ Wilder fell harmlessly in the end zone, sparking a wild celebration along the home sideline.
“It was a fight until the end, the last play,” Madison’s Tyrell Ajian said. “I was just hoping that ball wouldn’t be caught.”
A sophomore and two-way standout, Ajian helped get the Rams on the board late in the third quarter as Madison reached into its bag of tricks. Ajian, a receiver on offense who will occasionally line up as a wildcat quarterback, tossed a 35 yard touchdown pass to Alec Keen with 1:09 left in the third quarter. Curtis French’s PAT gave the Rams a 7-6 lead.
It was just the second passing attempt for Ajian all year.
“We took them out of what they like to do and they had to go in their back pocket and pull out some different stuff,” Senior High coach Chioke Bradley said. “We had a few blown assignments and they capitalized on them.”
Ajian gave the Rams a 14-6 lead midway through the fourth quarter with a 21 yard run, but the Tygers answered when Ricky Minor broke through the center of the Madison defense for a 34 yard touchdown with 4:48 remaining. Marvin Parker’s two-point conversion run tied the game at 14-14.
Madison answered with a three-play, 56 yard drive capped by Howard’s 12 yard run. The senior had a 41 yard bolt on Madison’s first play of the abbreviated march.
Howard, who came in with more than 1,000 yards rushing through the first nine games, was bottled up much of the evening. His final two runs accounted for 53 of his 106 yards on the night.
“You’ve just got to break a team down slowly,” said Howard, who has rushed for 1,405 yards and joined Madison icons Nate Whitcomb (1992) and Steve Whitfield (1990) as the only backs in program history with eight or more 100 yards rushing games in a single season. “I knew I would eventually break one.”
Star Gazing: Former Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowl defensive end Hugh Douglas, a Senior High grad, was on the sidelines Friday night. The AFC’s Defensive Rookie of the Year with the New York Jets in 1995, Douglas came to Senior High practices and addressed the team earlier in the week.
“I basically just told them, ‘This is your last go-around. This is the last time you are going to play together so make the most of it,’ ” Douglas said. “No matter what you do in life, you always come back home and have those high school memories. How do you want it to be remembered?”
After being traded to the Eagles before the 1998 season, Douglas was a three-time Pro Bowl selection (2000-2002) and a two-time All-Pro (2000, 2002). His 54.5 sacks with the Eagles is fourth on the franchise’s career sacks list.
So what did he think of his alma mater?
“They played hard tonight. It was unfortunate that they came up short,” Douglas said. “It was a tough loss, but I think they will learn from it.”
Week 11: While nothing is official until the Ohio High School Athletic Association releases its playoff pairings Sunday, it looks like Madison will play at Clyde in next week’s regional quarterfinals. Clyde lost to Huron 7-6 in overtime Friday. The Rams will likely be the No. 7 seed, although that could change if Orrville were to upset Wooster on Saturday.
“It’s always great to be in the playoffs,” Ajian said.
Added Conway, “Don’t count them out next week.”
