MADISON TOWNSHIP — The Madison football team grabbed momentum, perhaps for the first time in the second half of a game all season on Friday night.

But no sooner did senior Shawn Roper complete a 60-yard pick-six to give the Rams a 13-10 edge with 7:08 remaining in the third period than that slippery element slipped away.

After that play, Columbus St. Charles ripped off five consecutive touchdowns to pocket a 45-13 victory at Ram Field.

“Shawn’s pick was a huge play for us, I thought our kids rallied and were looking good,” Madison coach Jami Masi said. “But we lost two offensive linemen to injury during the game and had another player ejected. With only 35 guys to begin with, we don’t have the depth to overcome that.”

Cardinals’ quarterback Brooks McCann answered Roper’s bolt with a shot of his own, a 59-yard touchdown pass to Peter Griffith that seemed to jumpstart the visitors.

“I think our quarterback was a little flustered,” St. Charles coach Bob Jacoby said. “Their coach did a good job mixing up their defenses.

“Hitting that long pass really seemed to help our quarterback and then we found a formation that helped him get into a comfort zone.”

Taylor Bryant added a 19-yard TD run with 15 seconds showing in the third period to make it 24-13. In the fourth quarter, St. Charles (1-6) was unstoppable.

McCann added TD runs of 4 yards and 1 yards, while Nate Jaminet finished it on a 52-yard dash, breaking several tackles on an impressive scoring play.

“It was tough, two teams fighting like crazy to get that first win,” Jacoby said.

Madison (0-7) opened a 6-0 lead when senior quarterback Mason Campbell scored on a 9-yard run to cap a 6-play, 76-yard drive. Campbell finished with 115 yards on 20 carries, but the Rams struggled to establish anything else.

“We’re not turning the ball over, and at times we play decent defense,” Masi said. “But we keep making mistakes, penalties … boy it’s frustrating.

“As a coach you think to yourself, ‘what can we do during the week to help our kids keep their composure?'”

The Rams return to action next week at Mount Vernon.