Huntsville / Madison County's Winningest High School Football Program (2000 - 2011)
MUSTANGS EARN SPOT IN STATE TOP 25
In the first ASWA statewide Super 25 post-season football poll, Madison Academy came in ranked #18. No other school in Huntsville/Madison County was ranked.
This Super 25 poll ranked the top 25 high school football teams in Alabama regardless of classification. Prattville, the 6-A champion, was ranked #1.
GO MUSTANGS!
Five Mustangs Honored as All-State
Selected by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, Madison Academy placed five on the All-State Honorable Mention list for Class 3-A:
Khyle Jackson Defensive Back, Sr.
Hunter Olive Athlete, Sr.
Marcus Sease Linebacker, Sr.
Chandler Trach Kicker, Jr.
Frank Williams Offensive Lineman, So.
Congratulations to these Mustangs, and to the entire team who supported them!
2011 Huntsville Times Elite Team honors Mustangs
Congratulations to the following Mustangs, who were named to the HT Elite Team for 2011:
First-Team Defense: Hunter Olive – Defensive back
Marcus Sease – Linebacker
Second-Team Offense: Kerryon Johnson – Athlete
Frank Williams – Offensive Line
Second-Team Defense: Khyle Jackson – Athlete
Honorable Mention: Logan Hamlett
Nick Haas
Chandler Trach
And, congratulations to the Huntsville Times Coach of the Year, our own Dr. Eric Cohu!
Mustangs Play Title Game to the Hilt
Huntsville Times, December 2, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- A foot. A hop. A couple of ticks of the clock.
Sometimes it's only one of those things that stand between winning and losing, between triumph and tears, between chest-bumps and bodies strewn about in exhaustive shock.
For Madison Academy early this afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium, it was all of the above.
And that made losing 20-14 to Handley in the Class 3A state championship game that much tougher to swallow.
"We were one bounce away," Mustangs coach Eric Cohu said, "from winning this thing."
It would have been a first for a Huntsville school. No team from the city, or Madison County for that matter, has ever won a state title in football. But for one pointed end of the ball itself, Madison Academy, in all likelihood, would have done it.
That, and perhaps one split-second decision, too.
At the last moment before the onside kick that flipped the opening chapter of the Super Six script, Tigers coach Mike Battles changed his mind. Rather than the typical corner kick off of a tee, he opted for the middle kick without one.
About nine yards after Trae Kyles touched it, the ball -- in a scene lifted straight out of "Flubber" -- inexplicably bounded over a Madison Academy player and into the waiting arms of Handley's Dejuan Clark.
Asked if he'd ever seen a better onside kick, Battles, a 27-year coaching veteran, replied, "Not in my life, and I've been here 63 years."
It took the Tigers about three minutes to go from trailing by one to going up by six. That left the Mustangs only 42 seconds to go 55 yards.
On play No. 1, a 9-yard pass from Hunter Olive to Marcus Sease. The same Sease who had 10 tackles at linebacker against the Tigers' relentless rushing attack.
On No. 2, a 29-yard pass to Nick Haas, who beat double coverage to get inside the Handley 20.
On No. 3, a 10-yarder to Kerryon Johnson -- channeling Larry Munson here ... a freshman! -- who hurdled a Tiger to get to the 12. All Johnson did was score a pair of touchdowns, intercept a pass and register nine tackles.
On No. 4, the final one with five seconds to go, Olive rolled left, received heavy pressure and floated a pass that barely reached the end zone. There, a leaping Johnson made the catch, touched down with half his foot in the end zone... but the other half out. Ballgame.
Good luck to those playing in the remaining five championship games living up to it.
The underdog did just about everything it was supposed to do to make history. Unranked Madison Academy took the opening kickoff, drove 12 plays, ate up clock and scored. It absorbed the inevitable statement touchdown by the undefeated, No. 2 team, and wound up outplaying Handley for the better part of the second half.
"The game plan worked perfectly, except we didn't come out on top," Cohu said.
The Mustangs didn't let the moment, or the 100,000 seats surrounding them, ever get to them.
"I can't say enough about our guys," Cohu said. "They played the game the way it was supposed to be played today. It was about as close as you can come."
Close, they say, isn't supposed to count.
But on this day, in this environment, it should count for something.
Congratulations, Mustangs, on a statement season!
GO MUSTANGS!
Madison Academy 34, Rogers 7
The Huntsville Times, November 26, 2011
GREENHILL – Kerryon Johnson was looking to put some “juice’’ into Madison Academy.
The 6-foot, 170-pound freshman did just that the first time he touched the football Friday night in a Class 3A state playoff semifinal against Rogers.
Johnson took a handoff straight into the Pirates’ defensive line, jumped over a pile and then headed for the end zone 74 yards away.
There would be more big plays for the Mustangs, but that lightning strike on the third possession of the game set off a 34-7 victory that landed the program in the championship round for the first time.
“It was just a great feeling to get us off to a fast start,’’ Johnson said after finishing with 138 yards on 16 carries. “There were some big men down there and I had to get over them, get past the rest and get to the end zone.’’
Madison Academy (12-2) plays second-ranked Handley (14-0) for the championship at 11 a.m. Thursday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Mustangs seek to make history for not only the school but for all local programs. No school within Madison County borders has ever won a state football championship.
“Since out freshman year we’ve been dreaming about it,’’ senior kicker/defensive back/receiver Chandler Trach said. “Hopefully, we won’t be disappointed.’’
Madison Academy led 7-0 at halftime and 14-0 when Johnson scored from the 5-yard line on the first drive of the second half.
Rogers pulled to within 14-7 with its only drive of the night, a 2-yard run by Austin Kerr set up by a 49-yard pass, with 1:03 left in the third quarter.
The Mustangs went back ahead by 14 points at 21-7 with 5:52 left to play in the game on a 1-yard run by Marcus Sease. The drive was keyed by a 59-yard pass reception from a scrambling Hunter Olive to Chandler Trach on third-and-3 at their 40.
“It was a huge play, obviously,’’ Madison Academy coach Eric Cohu said. “Good throw, good catch. I’m glad Hunter showed some patience and didn’t take off when he was chased out of the pocket.’’
Olive said the receivers have been working on finding space when he’s flushed from the pocket.
“We just kept doing our jobs and it paid off,’’ he said.
Madison Academy added touchdowns on a 19-yard run by Olive and a 40-yard interception return by Trach.
Madison Academy rushed 39 times for 218 yards and completed 4-of-9 passes for 59 yards with one interception. The Mustangs had 11 first downs lost one of three fumbles.
“It wasn’t always pretty,’’ Cohu said, “but we made the plays we had to make.’’
Madison Academy held Rogers to just six first downs. The Pirates had 110 yards on 33 rushes, but had only 75 until the last possession of the game. They completed 3-of-11 passes for 60 yards with two interceptions.
“In rounds two, three and four our defense has controlled the game,’’ Cohu said.
Now, the Mustangs begin preparing to head to Tuscaloosa in search of history.
“This is very exciting,’’ said Johnson, who also had an interception. “My freshman year. Coach has said we could do it. It’s a great feeling to be playing at Bryant-Denny Stadium.’’
GO MUSTANGS!
3-A Quarterfinals:
Madison Academy 35,
Lauderdale County 14
Madison Academy is headed for the Class 3A football semifinals for the first time in school history, as the host Mustangs throttled No. 8 Lauderdale County 35-14 tonight.
That earns the Mustangs (11-2) a road date with Rogers (11-2) next Friday for the right to play at the Super Six in Tuscaloosa the weekend of Dec. 2-3.
The Mustangs may very well be headed that way after their thorough handling of Lauderdale County (11-2). They limited a team averaging close to 350 yards rushing per game to only 216 on the ground, and they forced five turnovers.
“The big thing is that we won the turnover battle,” Madison Academy coach Eric Cohu said. “We made some adjustments on defense, and didn’t hesitate to do so.”
The Mustangs struck first by capitalizing on the Tigers’ first turnover, which came after a botched punt return. Two plays after Justin Wimberly’s fumble recovery, Kyle Jackson stutter-stepped his way to a 20-yard touchdown run.
Lauderdale responded two possessions later, gashing Madison Academy for 74 yards on six plays, culminating with Jacob Newton’s 4-yard scoring run with 54.1 seconds to go in the first quarter.
From there, though, the Mustangs took control. Hunter Olive hit Nick Haas in stride for a 43-yard TD 9:32 to go before the half. Then, after the defense forced its second straight three-and-out, Kerryon Johnson was off and running for his 70-yarder.
He later added a 36-yard score, and he finished with 144 yards on five carries.
“Not bad for a freshman,” Cohu said.
The win sends Madison Academy, unranked throughout the season because of two early losses, into uncharted territory. It is now just four quarters away from the state final.
“I don’t even know how to explain the feeling,” sophomore linebacker Taylor Ziak said.
GO MUSTANGS!
Round 2: Madison Academy 42,
Elkmont 0
The Huntsville Times, November 11, 2011
ELKMONT, Alabama -- Madison Academy made sure it wouldn't be Elkmont's second playoff upset victim in as many rounds.
The Mustangs scored on its first possession and went on to rout the Red Devils 42-0 Friday night in Class 3A action.
Madison Academy (10-2) advances to the quarterfinals for the third straight season and will host No. 8 Lauderdale County (12-1). Elkmont (7-5) finished one week after knocking off third-ranked Hanceville inthe first round.
"I felt like we came out of the gate better than we have in several weeks,” Madison Academy coach Eric Cohu said. “At playoff time, that’s awesome. But you also have to play four quarters.
"Hats off to Elkmont. They came out early in the second half and got in the red zone a couple of times and our defense rose up and kept them out of the end zone.”
The Mustangs opening drive of the game went 10 plays and 69 yards, capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by quarterback Hunter Olive.
The first of six Chandler Trach extra points gave Madison Academy a 7-0 lead.
On Elkmont’s first possession, the Mustangs recovered a fumble deep in Red Devils’ territory. Three plays later, with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter, Marcus Sease scored from the 2-yard line.
In the first minute of the second quarter, Olive connected on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Haas.
With 1:40 remaining in the first half, Olive scored on another 7-yard run.
The Mustangs led 28-0 at halftime.
Olive found Haas once again in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Logan Hamlett scored the Mustangs final touchdown on a
7-yard run.
GO MUSTANGS!
Madison Academy 27, Weaver 26 OT
Mike Easterling/The Huntsville Times, November 04, 2011 11:18 p.m.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Chandler Trach felt a little uneasy as he prepared for his second field-goal attempt Friday night.
All that was at stake was Madison Academy’s postseason life.
“The last one started to get to me but I thought a kick is a kick, right?” said the junior. “I just focused in.”
Trach kicked a 39-yarder with 1:04 left to tie the game, and Weaver’s kicking game in turn let it down as the Mustangs took a 27-26 overtime thriller in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
The Mustangs (9-2) visit Elkmont (7-4) in the second round. Weaver finished 7-4.
Madison Academy scored first in OT on quarterback Hunter Olive’s 9-yard run to take a 27-20 lead, then celebrated wildly after Weaver’s Cody Morrison kicked an extra-point attempt into the line of scrimmage following a touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, Morrison also sent a PAT into the line to leave the Bearcats with a 20-17 lead before Trach tied a game Weaver once led 14-0.
“Our kids showed perseverance and resiliency to come back and win tonight,’’ Mustangs coach Eric Cohu.
Aside from Trach’s game-tying kick, the biggest play happened only moments before.
Madison Academy, trailing 20-17, faced fourth-and-10 at the Mustangs’ 41-yard line with 4:28 left in to play. With Weaver chewing up clock behind its ground game, Cohu decided to go for it instead of punt and Olive passed for 14 yards and a first down to Nick Haas.
“Great play call,’’ Olive said. “It was perfect execution. Right play at the right time.’’
Weaver took a 7-0 lead when Brandell Massey went in from the 1, and Morrison added the first of two extra points with 51 seconds left in the first half.
Madison Academy then drove to the Bearcats’ 3 but lost the ball on a fumbled handoff.
Weaver later went ahead 14-0 on a 39-yard reverse pass from Timothy Hawkins to Brennan Ledbetter with 3:49 left in the half.
The Mustangs quickly made it 14-7 when Olive ran 54 yards on the next play from scrimmage to Weaver’s 8, from where he threw a TD pass to Haas.
Weaver controlled the line of scrimmage in the opening quarter and much of the second.
“We challenged them in the locker room,’’ Cohu said. “In the second quarter, I felt we competed well and controlled the line of scrimmage more. Then we got the gash.”
That gash was a lightning bolt in the form of Logan Hamlett’s 76-yard scoring run off left tackle on the first play of the third quarter
The play put air into the Mustangs, and on their next possession Trach made a 28-yard field goal to put them ahead 17-14 with 4:39 left in the third.
“We knew we had to come out in the second half and fight hard and finish,’’ Madison Academy linebacker/fullback Marcus Sease said.
Weaver regained the lead when Massey scored on another 1-yard run with 7:58 left in the third quarter. The extra-point failed.
The Mustangs took possession following the kickoff at its 30 and drove to Trach’s dramatic kick.
“We didn’t play to our abilities at all,’’ said Olive, who had to fall on four mishandled snaps. “We’ve got to get that cleaned up.’’
GO MUSTANGS!