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The Madill Wildcats football team participate in Fist Bump Friday on October 27. Courtesy photo -
The Wildcats give high fives and fist bumps to elementary students. Courtesy photo
The Madill Wildcats hosted the Sallisaw Black Diamonds in their district finale on November 3. Madill failed to get on the scoreboard as Sallisaw shut out the Wildcats 27-0 on that fateful Friday night.
The game remained scoreless through the first quarter, as both teams struggled to get anything going offensively. That drought ended quickly, as Sallisaw hit paydirt early in the second quarter with a 16-yard touchdown strike from Brock Streun to Cooper Cox. After the successful PAT, the score was 7-0, Black Diamonds.
The Wildcats followed with a promising drive that stalled out at the Sallisaw 40-yard line, after going for it on fourth down and failing to move the chains to turn the ball over on downs. That was a common theme for Madill in this game, as they found themselves going for it a few more times on fourth down and again turning it over on downs to end drives.
Sallisaw put together an impressive drive, as Streun broke off a 19-yard run and then firing a 49-yard pass to Brodi Nickell to make it first and goal from the nineyard line. Two plays later, Streun found Braxton Lamb in the endzone for a four-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 after the extra point with 6:52 remaining in the first half.
Sallisaw had an opportunity to add to their lead with time winding down in the half, but missed a field goal as time expired, leaving the score at halftime 14-0, Black Diamonds.
The third quarter was another offensive struggle for both teams to put points on the board. Madill had success between the twenties all night long but struggled to penetrate the red zone without turning it over on downs or falling victim to the fumble.
Late in the third quarter, Sallisaw’s Nickell broke off a 49-yard run and was dragged down at the Madill 26. Shortly after, quarterback Streun popped a keeper run to the outside and galloped for a 20-yard touchdown to extend the Black Diamond lead to 21-0 after the PAT.
The fourth quarter was riddled with turnovers, as each team turned the ball over in successive possessions. Madill gave up the ball with an interception and a fumble, bookending a Sallisaw fumble that gave the ball back to the Wildcats. It was a night that Madill would like to forget with all the turnovers that squashed scoring opportunities.
Sallisaw finally broke the fourth quarter scoring silence with a 13-yard touchdown run from Cole Stephens with 10:48 remaining in the game. The extra point was missed, leaving the score 27-0. That’s how this one ended, as Madill endstheircampaignwiththis shutout loss bringing their record to 2-8 on the season and 2-5 in district play.