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Crockett Uber • Courtesy Photo Wildcat Ryan Shahan #2 sets to out maneuver the Comet defender.
The Madill Wildcats took advantage of another chance to get win number one of the 2019 season as they handled the visiting Dickson Comets by the score of 55-27 on Sept. 20 at Blake Smiley Field.
Although the Wildcats claimed the win, the evening started 80 minutes late due to recurring
lighting strikes near the stadium.
Madill struck first after forcing an interception by Dickson quarterback Rusty Beard. Madill linebacker/fullback John Venable snagged the bass and initially scored a touchdown.
However, it was called back due to chop block penalty against Madill. The ball went back to Madill’s 47-yard line due to the penalty.
It wasn’t long before the Wildcats broke through. The score came when senior running back Ryan Shahan ran 34 yards for a touchdown. A good extra kick by Francisco Perez moved the score Madill 7, Dickson 0.
What may have been the Wildcats only other costly mistake of the night came on the next Madill possession.
Madill started with the ball at their own 18 after a short drive by the visiting Comets. However, the Wildcats fumbled on the first play of the drive and turned over the ball at Dickson at their 21-yard line.
Dickson quickly took advantage of the short field and scored a threeyard run by Beard. A successful extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 4:18 left in 1st quarter.
Dickson then sneaks an onside kick which gifted Madill with the ball at the Dickson 49. On the second play of the drive, Venable
broke free for a 49-yard touchdown run down the right side of the field. Madill went up 14-7 after another good kick by Perez.
The visitors were back on offense midway through the second quarter when Dickson running back Brian Jennings ran into a pile of players at the Madill one-yard line. However, a late push by a teammate got Jennings across the line and into the endzone. Jennings also kicked the extra point to tie the game at 14-14.
Madill scored again a little more than two minutes later. First, Venable gained 38 yards on a dash down the south side of the field.
Senior running back Mateo Fajardo ran 28 yards around the left side of the Madill offensive line for a touchdown. With 5:18 to go in the second quarter, a Perez kick put Madill up 21-14 over Dickson.
The Wildcat train kept rolling two minutes later and Venable found a hole, cut back to his left and scored a touchdown on a 36-yard run. The extra point was no good, so the score stayed 27-14 in Madill’s favor.
Dickson clawed back into the game just before halftime as Beard scored on a 17-yard run. Madill’s defense swarmed to the ball and block the extra point attempt to leave the score at 27-20 in Madill’s favor.
Dickson again attempted an onside. This time, it was recovered by Shahan at the Madill 40. Two plays later,
Fajardo made the visitors pay when took the ball 61 yards for a touchdown. Perez tacked on an extra point to make it 34-20.
The second half
Following the 2019 homecoming ceremony, the second half began.
Beard and the Comet offense were able to get its last shot at keeping the game close.
With 6:51 to go in the third quarter, Beard scored from nine yards out. A successful kick by Jennings cut Dickson’s deficit to seven points. However, that was a close as it would get. Madill would go on to score 21 straight points to close out their Week 3 matchup.
After recovering yet another onside kick, Madill made the most of their good field position. On first play of the subsequent drive, Venable powered past the Comet defense and legged out a 60-yard touchdown run. Perez knocked another kick through the goalposts to make it 41-27 in favor of the Wildcats.
On their next drive, Madill initially stuck to the run game and saw big gains by Venable, Fajardo and senior quarterback Asa Robertson get them into Dickson territory.
When the Comet defense finally looked to stop their hosts, the Wildcats threw a curveball.
Robertson went out as a wide receiver along the south sideline while his brother, Kendall Robertson, came in at quarterback. Facing a fourth and seven, the brothers connected for 32-yard touchdown score. Perez’s kick pushed the score to 48-27.
Madill finished the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run by Asa Robertson a few minutes later. Perez completed a perfect game with his eighth completed kick of the night to make the score 55-27 for Madill.