While the end result wasn’t ideally what you would hope for in Madill’s 62-7 gridiron setback at Ardmore last week to close out non-district action, the Wildcats did see some positives against the Top 10 ranked Tigers.
Those solid marks included the club’s first touchdown of the season when Steven Moreno scored on a short run to cap an eight-play fourth quarter drive.
“We were able to move the ball a little and get some good things out of it in the second half,”headcoachWadeCouch said. “We tried a few passes early that weren’t successful so we had to rely a lot on the running game. Ardmore is a Top 10 team for a reason. We just couldn’t get much going offensively in the first half and we gave up a bunch of big plays. We weren’t able to handle their speed and athleticism. The second half was better though. Moreno ran the ball hard and our offensive line had some bright spots. Our pass protection was a lot cleaner, and our snaps were much more consistent. Although it didn’t show it much on the scoreboard, we saw improvement offensively from the first two weeks.
“We didn’t tackle very well defensively. We had a few people out for various reasons and that hurt us on that side of the ball. Moreno played a much bigger role on defense. Juan Narvaez was around the ball a lot and had a good night. Kevin Garcia had to play a lot more on defense and did a good job. We allowed some big plays but the attitude and effort was there all night.”
Heading into district play this week, things don’t get any easier in Friday’s 7 p.m. Homecoming tilt with twotime Class 3A state finalist Sulphur coming to town with another multi-talented unit.
The Top 10 ranked Bulldogs opened the season with impressive wins over powerhouse programs in WashingtonandDavisbefore suffering their first loss on the road last week at Texas juggernaut Gunter.
CouchknowstheWildcats will once again have their work cut out for them.
“This week’s opponent is justaspowerfulaslastweek,” the Madill head coach added. “I really think they and Ardmore are very comparable. It would probably be a great game if they played. Sulphur is tradition-rich and has 20 seniors. If they didn’t turn the ball over last week in the secondhalfIthinktheywould have had a great chance to be undefeated. They are a great club. Very physical. It’s a tall challenge ahead.
“I expect a heavy dose of their run game. They run the counter very well. We haven’t seen anything like that yet. They are not as big up front as Ardmore, but they move well and are consistent. They have played a gauntlet up to this point and have had a lot of success.”