On Friday night, Madison County hosted William Monroe in a rivalry that dates back to 1969. A year ago, the Mountaineers ended a seven-game losing streak to the Greene Dragons. So far in 2022, the Madison County program appears to be headed in an upward direction under third year head coach Larry Helmick while the Greene Dragons appear to be searching for answers under second year coach Mitchell Morris.
In this contest, the night started out as a defensive struggle for both teams but it was the Mountaineers behind the leadership of Class of 2023 quarterback Wade Fox and four turnovers created by the defense that propelled the Mountaineers to a 23-7 victory as they improved to 2-1 on the season.
Here we’ll take a closer look the action from yesterday and later we will take a look at analysis and top performers from the area slate on VirginiaPreps.com. STAY TUNED…
KEYS TO VICTORY
Creating Momentum
Early in the first quarter, the game seemed as if it were going to be a defensive battle and one team had to find a way to create its’ own luck. William Monroe didn’t manage a 1st down on their first two offensive possessions of the game and although the Madison County offense was able to move the chains, crushing blows by Tanner Williams and Mason Bunyea made sure the Mountaineers players know where they had been.
On their first drive, the Madison County offense had a field goal attempt blocked and a goalline stand by the Greene Dragons defense on their second possession seemed to be inevitable. Starting with a short field, following an interception by Wade Fox, Madison County quickly moved into a goal-to-go situation. On first down, Madison County moved to the five yard line on a pass from Fox to William Acton Jr, then Demetrius Walker carried the ball to the one yard line.
Fox was stifled by the William Monroe defense on a quarterback keeper on third down leaving the Mountaineers head coach with a decision. That decision was to bring out the field goal unit which had their first attempt blocked or go for the score on fourth and goal from the one yard line. Head Coach Larry Helmick decided to go for the endzone and it appeared that Fox was held once again by the defense but on second effort, the Mountaineers quarterback emerged from traffic to the right side of the line and barely reached over the goalline to record his first of three scores on the night.
The decision to go for the score and the result would set the tone for the Mountaineers mindset throughout the night.
Win at the Point of Attack
Through three and half quarters, the Madison County defense all but completely shut down the Green Dragons offense. William Monroe had eight rushing attempts for a total of 19 yards during that period. Down by 16, the Greene Dragons attempted to reignite their rushing attack and had the most success they had all night but still ended up with 65 total rushing yards on the night, a mere 3.5 yards per attempt.
In addition, William Monroe quarterback Davien Griffieth felt the pressure all night from the Mountaineers defensive front when he dropped back to pass completing just eight of 22 pass attempts.
While the defense held their opponents from gaining traction on offense, the Madison County offense relied on it’s group up front to pave the way for the rushing attack. Although Fox managed to record all three of the rushing touchdowns for the team on the night, Aiden Foster and Demetrius Walker factored heavily into the running game that carried the rock 46 times on the night compared to just 11 pass attempts.
Solid Defense
In a contest that resembled an old western bar scene, Madison County’s defense dominated their rivals and helped the offense take advantage of solid field position to score in this one-sided contest. The Mountaineers allowed just over 100 yards of total offense on the night with more than half of that yardage coming on the Greene Dragons final offensive possession after the outcome had all but been decided.
The unit held William Monroe’s offense scoreless with the only points for the Greene Dragons coming on special teams in the opening quarter when Jackson Wood returned a kickoff 88 yards to the endzone. In addition, the team produced four turnovers on the night including two forced fumbles, with Rashad Fortune and Jayden Jenkins knocking the ball lose from the opposition.
William Dickey and Morgan Tompkins had the fortune of pouncing on the pigskin to give Madison County’s offense possession and while Dickey and Cameron Myers both notched interceptions in the contest.
SCORING SUMMARY
William Monroe--7 0 0 0--7
Madison County--7 6 10 0--23
1st Quarter
MC--Wade Fox 1 yard run (Bryce Breeden kick), 3:04
WM--Jackson Wood 88 yard kickoff return (Preston Hollingsworth-Rush kick), 2:47
2nd Quarter
MC--Wade Fox 4 yard run (kick failed), 2:59
3rd Quarter
MC--Wade Fox 46 yard run (Bryce Breeden kick), 8:32
MC--Bryce Breeden 25 yard field goal, 1:42
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Wade Fox, Madison County…The senior quarterback provided phenomenal leadership to his Mountaineers team as they took notched their second win of the season. Fox scored all three touchdowns for his team and showed his toughness during the first of that trilogy when it appeared that the William Monroe defense had stopped the Mountaineers but Fox emerged out of the pile and stretched over the goalline to begin the nights’ scoring. Then, with his team holding a six point advantage following intermission, Fox barreled around the right side of his offensive line and rushed for a 46 yard score that ultimately sealed the teams’ victory.
William Dickey, Madison County…Making his first varsity start at cornerback, the super sophomore recorded two of the four turnovers the Mountaineers forced. Dickey recovered a fumble for his team as halftime approached and then snatched an errant pass from the sky just as it appeared William Monroe was setting up to answer the Madison County score to begin the third quarter. The interception almost immediately led to a touchdown that the Mountaineers used to separate themselves on the scoreboard and all but deflated the Greene Dragons offense.
LOOKING AHEAD
William Monroe will face Skyline next week in Northwestern District action in Stanardsville, VA. The Greene Dragons hope to get back in the win column against the Hawks, a team that narrowly defeated William Monroe a year ago 29-20. Thus far in 2022, the Greene Dragons have struggled allowing an average of 28 points per contest while their offense is scoring just 10 points per game. Skyline is 1-2 but there two losses have come at the hands of Clarke County and Handley respectively, both top teams in the area. With three straight victories against William Monroe, Skyline enters this contest as the favorite.
Madison County looks to extend their win streak when they host Page County next week. The Mountaineers had to forfeit their contest against the Panthers following the fallout of their win against William Monroe in 2021. Including that loss, Page County has defeated the Mountaineers in three consecutive head-to-head matchups. The Panthers enter this contest at 1-3 coming off 35-12 loss to Luray. While recent history is against Madison County, this year appears the year that the Mountaineers earn a victory against their Bull Run District foe.
Robert lives in Charlottesville and has been contributing to VirginiaPreps.com since 2013. He began working in the sports media in 2006 and now covers public and private schools throughout Virginia with a focus in the Piedmont area. His goal is to tell the players stories and provide top notch coverage to the community for area teams.
If you have suggestions or comments, please let us know. Information can be emailed to bigrob2523@gmail.com and you can find him on twitter @bigrob2523
