Aug. 28—FAIRMOUNT — The weather ultimately delivered the knockout punch Friday night, but before the lightning came it was the Argylls who delivered multiple body blows and ensured victory well before halftime.
Tanner Brooks accounted for three touchdowns, and Madison-Grant scored in all three phases of the game — all in one half of football — as the Argylls routed Southern Wells in their home football opener Friday night.
With lightning in the area and the prospect of a running clock in the second half, all parties decided to end the game early. M-G coach Brady Turner would like to have used the second half to get some valuable experience for his younger players but said his team would get ready for Week 3.
“It’s a tough situation,” he said. “We were trying to get a bunch of younger kids some reps there, so we would have liked to have seen that. These kids have worked hard in practice for the last four weeks.”
M-G hit early and often with the big play.
Just three plays and 21 seconds into the game, the Argylls gave an indication of what the lone half would look like.
Maverick Miller returned the opening kickoff 41 yards, and three plays later Brooks touched the ball for the first time and took it 21 yards into the end zone. Brooks also scored the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
After the Argylls defense forced a three-and-out, it was Seth Lugar who took the punt back 78 yards for a touchdown, and after Derek Eastburn kicked the extra point it was 15-0 with 8:12 to play in the first quarter.
“I thought our offensive line played a lot better today. They were making some holes, and our running backs ran hard,” Turner said.
The holes continued to open up after another brief Southern Wells (0-2) possession. Freshman quarterback Xavier Yeagy found Peyton Southerland for a 15-yard gain that set up Kai Helvey’s 2-yard score for a 21-0 lead.
The Argylls added two more scores late in the first quarter on a 17-yard Trey Vetor run and a Yeagy 56-yard pass play to Brooks out of the backfield, and the Argylls led 34-0 heading into the second quarter.
Brooks finished with 157 yards in total offense.
Vetor added a second short scoring run early in the second quarter, and Brooks ran 66 yards for a score to make it 46-0 with 3:03 left until intermission.
The capper came with 1:23 left when Mavrick Griffin intercepted a Jenson Nusbaumer pass and rumbled 24 yards to make it a 52-0 score. It was the sophomore’s first career touchdown.
“He just intercepted that ball, and there was no one in front of him,” Turner said. “He kind looked like he was stumbling, and I thought he might fall, but he stayed upright and took it in there.”
The M-G defense was suffocating all night. In addition to forcing two turnovers, it held Southern Wells to just 6 yards in total offense and two first downs — one coming as the result of a penalty.
“Freshman Boston Caudell really stood out,” Turner said. “He was tackling upfield before they could hand off the ball.”
The Argylls will go on the road next Friday to open Central Indiana Conference play at Alexandria, where fans can also receive the COVID-19 vaccination at the game. The Argylls dropped a 21-20 decision to the Tigers a year ago.
“The first two weeks we played running teams, but next week we’re going to face a team that likes to spread you out and can throw it around,” Turner said. “They have a very good quarterback. They’ve got some athletes in the backfield.”
Contact Rob Hunt at
rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.