Friday night’s matchup was a tall order for the Madill Wildcats, as the undefeated Ada Cougars came calling. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Cougars drove down the field and topped it off with a 13-yard touchdown run by running back, Xander Rhynes. That would be the first score in a big night for Rhynes.
Madill’s first drive of the game was halted by a fumble by running back #17 Luis Rodriguezthatwasrecovered by Ada and returned to the Wildcat 30-yard line. Madill’s defense stood tall and held the Cougars scoreless on that drive by stopping a 4th down effort and taking over on downs at their own 13. That drive stalled out and Madill was forced to punt, and the return by Ada put them right back in Wildcat territory to start their next drive.
Rhynes carried the ball early and often for the Cougars and finished that drive with a 20-yard touchdown run around the left end. Following the extra point, the Cougars led 14-0 as the 1st quarter wascoming to aclose. The 2nd quarter started with the Cougars taking advantage of a Madill interception that set them up at the 29-yard line. Ada’s offense struck quickly with a screen pass to Deonte Lindsay, who weaved his way through the Wildcat defense to find paydirt from 23 yards out. The Cougars tacked on the extra point to take a commanding 21-0 lead early in the 2nd.
Madill’snextdriveshowed some promise until a fumble, however, they were able to maintain possession on the recovery. An incomplete pass on 4th down ended that drive and they turned the ball over on downs back to the Cougars. This Cougar drive was not as successful, as Sammy Trevino almost picked off a Cougar pass and the defense held to force a rare Ada punt.
Madill found some magic on special teams as Caden McHatton took the Cougar punt and returned it down the sidelines for a 68-yard touchdown, giving the Wildcats a surge of confidence and bringing the crowd to its feet. Uziel Flores added the extra point to cut the Cougar lead to 21-7.
Ada’sensuingdrivemoved the ball near midfield before a pass out to the right was caught by Case Stafford and taken all the way for a 48-yard touchdown after Madill defensive back Miguel Fajardo gambled to break up the pass and just missed knocking it down. The result wasabigplayfortheCougars and added to their lead, making it 28-7.
Things got worse for Madill, as the ensuing kickoff was a pooch kick that landed between two Wildcat return men and took an awkward Cougar bounce and was recovered by Ada at the Madill 30, where they would once again take over on offense.
A few plays into this drive, the Cougars dialed up a long pass and connected for a 29yard gain down to the Madill 1 to set up a 1st and goal situation. As the quarter wound down with under a minute to play, Xander Rhynes found the endzone for the third time in the game with a one-yard touchdown run. This scoring drive put the Cougars up 35-7 and went into the locker rooms with a big halftime lead.
Madill got the ball first in the 2nd half, hoping to chip away at the Cougars’ sizable lead. The Wildcats put together their best drive of the night, which included a well-executed 28-yard pass from Eli Vinson that got his team down to the Cougar 16-yard line. After working the ball inside the 10, Madill capped off the drive with a score. This time a 9-yard dart from Vinson to Miguel Fajardo on the slant to cut the leadto35-14midwaythrough the 3rd quarter.
Ada’s next drive had the Wildcat faithful holding their collective breaths, as the Cougars struck with a dump screen pass that resulted in an apparent 58-yard touchdown play. However, a flag for holding on the Cougars negatedthescoreandpushed them back 10 yards. A penalty that could have aided Madill in thwarting this Cougar drive didn’t hold up, as they committed a costly 15-yard penalty that put the Cougars at the Wildcat 9-yard line. Two plays later, Xander Rhynes scampered for his fourth touchdown of the night from 7 yards out, extending the lead to 42-14 nearing the end of the 3rd quarter.
Madill was unable to get any offense going and had to punt it away back to the Cougars, and as the 4th quarter began, Ada’s offense began their drive at the 48. Mixing in runs and passes, the Cougar offense worked their way down the field and capped this drive off with a 7-yard “floater” pass over the lineofscrimmagetoawaiting Cord Coffee for the score. The Cougar lead was now 49-14, midway through the 4th.
Madill’s next drive ended inafumblebyLuisRodriguez that was recovered by Caron Richardson for a 37-yard touchdown for the Cougars. Ada had taken advantage of another Madill turnover, making the score 56-14.
The Wildcats, now just looking for some silver lining in this game, were unable to find any luck on offense once again. They were forced to punt from deep in their own end, and the Cougars broke through the line and blocked the punt and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown. That made the score 63-14, which was how it finished.
A tough loss for Madill, as they still look for their first win of the season. They will now look ahead to going on the road to play Fort Gibson on Thursday, October 12th. Ada remains unbeaten and will face Stillwell next, also on Thursday night.