MADISON TOWNSHIP — It’s easy for high school football teams to see Madison fill the air with passes, and dabble in their own pyrotechnics.
Ontario coach Aaron Eckert noted his team might have gotten away from its identity while battling the Rams on Friday night. But the Warriors rediscovered the formula that has led to their 3-0 start, flexed their muscle and controlled the second half to dismiss Madison 28-14 at Ram Field.
“I think we got a little loose, for us, in the first half,” Eckert said. “We tried to establish running the football in the second half, lean on our backs, lean on our line.”
That mindset helped the Warriors pull away from a 14-14 halftime tie.
“They went to their power running game,” Madison coach Scott Valentine said. “They ran the clock and shortened the game on us.”
Indeed, last week Madison threw 74 passes in a 3-hour, 37-minute marathon. This week the Warriors sent everyone home in 2 hours and 20 minutes — and it was an entertaining contest.
The two teams swapped touchdowns throughout the first half.
Chad Studer’s 5-yard touchdown run finished a 61-yard drive off the opening kick to push Ontario to a 7-0 edge.
But Madison (0-3) came back when Cameron Kuhn tossed a 44-yard scoring pass to Zane Wynn to tie it late in the first quarter.
Ontario’s Quinton Frankhouse returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown to put the Warriors back on top 14-7 midway through the second period.
Yet Kuhn and Wynn hooked up again, this time on a 17-yard TD pass to tie the game with 1:43 showing in the half.
“Our kids keep fighting, they keep battling,” Valentine said. “They’re working hard. Now it’s up to the coaches to figure out how to get them over the top.”
For the Warriors, that meant turning back to their backfield. Studer and Drew Yetter dominated the ground game and effectively played keep-away from Madison’s offense. Ontario’s defense turned in a fine effort, too.
Wynn ripped off a kick return to midfield to start the third quarter, but the Warriors didn’t allow a first down. When the ensuing punt buried Eckert’s squad at its own 4, the power attack came to the fore.
“We have a couple of good backs and we needed to give them the ball,” Eckert said.
Ontario slowly moved to midfield before Peyton Dzugan rifled a 52-yard touchdown aerial to Braxton Hall on a double-pass. That capped a 14-play, 96-yard march and made it 21-14 with 4:00 to play in the third quarter.
That alone was enough as Madison was limited to three first downs and 21 yards of total offense in the second half.
“We made a couple of adjustments on things they hurt us with in the first half,” Eckert said of his defense. “They go 5-wide, and they can hurt you anyplace on the field. If you’re vulnerable, coach Valentine is going to make you pay.”
The Warriors put the game away when Yetter darted for a 31-yard score midway through the fourth quarter.
“We continue to get better and are learning to overcome adversity,” Eckert said. “We’ve got a gritty bunch of kids and they play hard.”
Ontario won the line of scrimmage convincingly, earning the advantage in first downs (21-9), yards rushing (181-15), passing yards (175-139) and total yards (356-154).
Yetter ran for 73 yards, Studer collected 64, and quarterback Bodpegn Miller hit 13-of-20 passes for 123 yards.
For Madison, Cameron Kuhn completed 9-of-20 passes for 139 yards and two scores, both to Zane Wynn. For his part, Wynn caught 4 passes for 82 yards, but the Rams struggled for offense beyond those two.
“We had our opportunities, but we couldn’t get a first down to keep it going, or build momentum,” Valentine said.
Ontario returns home to play Highland on Friday night. Madison is home to Wooster next week.
