MADISON TOWNSHIP — Friday night’s football game at Madison High School took three hours and 36 minutes to play. There were six lead changes, 19 penalties, 118 passes thrown and a combined 48 points scored in the second half alone.
Madison quarterback Cameron Kuhn fired 31 of his 74 passes in the fourth quarter, both marks are almost certainly school records, although no one knew for certain at the time of publication.
When the dust settled, River Valley overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to hand the Rams a tough, 44-28 decision in a wild contest in which neither team seemed the least bit interested in running the football.
When told his foe attempted an incredible 74 passes, Vikings coach Doug Green said simply, “We threw it our share, too.”
Indeed, River Valley quarterback Cayden Shidone was 17-of-44 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 113 yards rushing and three more scores. The third-year starter compiled 349 yards of total offense and six touchdowns.
“Cayden is a real good player,” Green said. “He’s a three-year starter and he’s like a coach on the field for us. He made some big plays, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Madison owned a 28-24 lead when Shidone took off on a 44-yard TD run to move RV back on top. He then added a 20-yard touchdown pass to Grant Butler, and a 70-yard scoring strike to junior Keyan Shidone to finish a furious fourth period. Keyan Shidone caught 10 passes for 212 yards and two scores.
Much like last week, when Madison lost to Shelby on a field goal at the gun, coach Scott Valentine’s team hung tough.
“We battled. We didn’t have our heads down,” Valentine said. “I think we took a big jump from week to week.”
Kuhn probably had to ice his shoulder Saturday morning. The sophomore gunslinger finished 33-of-74 for 348 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior Peyton Myers caught 16 passes for 160 yards and collected two touchdowns, one on a reception and another in the second period when Noah Finley blocked a field goal attempt and Myers scooped it up and scooted 68 yards for a TD.
That gave Madison a 16-10 halftime lead, but the Rams just couldn’t stop the Shidone onslaught.
“We knew all about their quarterback coming in, but he made some plays for them,” Valentine said.
Green noted the pass-happy, free-wheeling atmosphere that surrounded the contest.
“It’s fun for the fans, it’s fun for the kids,” Green said. “I’ve got a couple of coaches that have been with me for more than 20 years, and we’re Wing-T guys.
“But at a school our size, you have to recruit the hallways. We’ve got track and basketball kids that probably wouldn’t be interested in playing if we were running the Wing-T. That doesn’t do anything for them. So we’ve had to convert.
“It’s a sign of the times.”
