In a playoff caliber game that saw the offenses of both teams come up with big plays and both defenses hard hitting, the difference came down to three major areas:
1. Westfield turned the ball over three times, once on the goal line, to only once for Madison.
2. Madison's defense stopped Westfield from the Madison one yard line on three consecutive plays to get a huge goal line stand in the 3rd quarter.
3. Yates and Knicely hooked up for two hugely successful 4th quarter passes - both occurred while Yates was scrambling for his life in the back field. On the first pass Knicely came down with a go ahead TD (20-14, MAD). After WF went back in front 21-20, Yates and Knicely hooked up again with a catch at the WF 6 yard line to set up the winning TD late in the 4th quarter.
MAD started the game on their own 45 yard line but gained no yards and lined up to punt-the snap sailed over the punter's head and was downed at the MAD 13 yard line. WF advanced to the one, but WF's Duda fumbled at the goal line and MAD's Salvosa (I think that is who it was) recovered the ball for a touchback. MAD went three and out on their next possession but a 59 yard punt pinned WF at their own 13 yard line, where WF went three and out to give MAD the ball at the WF 49 yard line. MAD advanced to the WF 29 yard line where Knicely converted a 4th and five to keep the MAD drive alive, then Knicely scored from 15 yards out to put MAD ahead 7-0 (Hopewell XP) with 9:35 to go in the second quarter. WF's next possession ended when Carlson's pass to a WR was popped into the air and MAD's Salvosa got an INT at the MAD 43 yard line. MAD's offense failed to move the ball and they punted again to WF on the WF 20 yard line. WF then went 80 yards to tie the sore at 7-7 when Lee caught an 8 yard pass from Carlson (Wiemann XP) with 56 seconds remaining in the half.
WF received the ball to start the second half and used two plays to go 69 yards when Duda scored on a 65 yard run to put WF in front 14-7 (Wiemann XP) with 11:00 remaining in the third quarter. MAD wasted no time responding, as Knicely to the KO 95 yards down the home sideline for a score and it was again tied, 14 all (Hopewell XP) with 10:44 to go in the third quarter. WF's next possession ended in a punt that pinned MAD at their own 12 yard line. Nearing midfield, Yates fumbled at the MAD 43 yard line and WF recovered the ball. This next WF drive quickly advanced to the MAD five yard line where WF had a first and goal, but the MAD defense stopped WF on three consecutive runs from the one to keep the score tied. MAD's next possession only netted nine yards and they punted from their own 10 yard line to give WF good field position at midfield. On the second play of the drive WF's Carlson was hit as he went to pass and fumbled, with MAD's Vojta recovering the ball at the WF 41 yard line. MAD then scored when a scrambling Yates found Knicely in the back of the endzone for a 40 yard TD pass, but Hopewell's XP attempt was tipped and missed to make the score 20-14 with 8:13 remaining in the game. WF's Duda returned the ensuing KO 93 yards for a TD, but offsetting penalties negated the score. After MAD kicked off again WF started their drive at their own 30 yard line. WF reached the WF 49 yard line where they faced a 4th and two, with WF's Lee gaining three yards for a first down; Duda would score later in this drive on a one yard run and after the Wiemann XP WF took the lead, 21-20, with 4:06 remaining in the game. On the ensuing KO, Knicely decided to field the ball as it neared the sideline around the MAD 12 yard line but he was ruled out of bounds as he touched the ball. MAD now needed to go 88 yards for what could be a game winning drive, so they went into their hurry up offense. On this drive Yates converted a 4th and 1 at the MAD 39 yard line, Yates converted a 4th and 4 at the WF 46 yard line on a QB draw, and then Yates had to scramble under heavy pressure but found Knicely who out leaped the WF defender at the WF six yard line with about 1:45 to play. After a holding penalty pushed MAD back to their 15 yard line Yates scored on a 15 yard run to give MAD a 26-21 lead with 1:22 to play (Knicely's 2XP run attempt was stopped short). WF had one final chance to go 70 yards for a winning score, but an INC pass, a sack, and another INC pass resulted in a 4th down and WF needing about 28 yards to get a first down. The pass to Duda came up two yards short and MAD took over and went into victory formation.
1. Westfield turned the ball over three times, once on the goal line, to only once for Madison.
2. Madison's defense stopped Westfield from the Madison one yard line on three consecutive plays to get a huge goal line stand in the 3rd quarter.
3. Yates and Knicely hooked up for two hugely successful 4th quarter passes - both occurred while Yates was scrambling for his life in the back field. On the first pass Knicely came down with a go ahead TD (20-14, MAD). After WF went back in front 21-20, Yates and Knicely hooked up again with a catch at the WF 6 yard line to set up the winning TD late in the 4th quarter.
MAD started the game on their own 45 yard line but gained no yards and lined up to punt-the snap sailed over the punter's head and was downed at the MAD 13 yard line. WF advanced to the one, but WF's Duda fumbled at the goal line and MAD's Salvosa (I think that is who it was) recovered the ball for a touchback. MAD went three and out on their next possession but a 59 yard punt pinned WF at their own 13 yard line, where WF went three and out to give MAD the ball at the WF 49 yard line. MAD advanced to the WF 29 yard line where Knicely converted a 4th and five to keep the MAD drive alive, then Knicely scored from 15 yards out to put MAD ahead 7-0 (Hopewell XP) with 9:35 to go in the second quarter. WF's next possession ended when Carlson's pass to a WR was popped into the air and MAD's Salvosa got an INT at the MAD 43 yard line. MAD's offense failed to move the ball and they punted again to WF on the WF 20 yard line. WF then went 80 yards to tie the sore at 7-7 when Lee caught an 8 yard pass from Carlson (Wiemann XP) with 56 seconds remaining in the half.
WF received the ball to start the second half and used two plays to go 69 yards when Duda scored on a 65 yard run to put WF in front 14-7 (Wiemann XP) with 11:00 remaining in the third quarter. MAD wasted no time responding, as Knicely to the KO 95 yards down the home sideline for a score and it was again tied, 14 all (Hopewell XP) with 10:44 to go in the third quarter. WF's next possession ended in a punt that pinned MAD at their own 12 yard line. Nearing midfield, Yates fumbled at the MAD 43 yard line and WF recovered the ball. This next WF drive quickly advanced to the MAD five yard line where WF had a first and goal, but the MAD defense stopped WF on three consecutive runs from the one to keep the score tied. MAD's next possession only netted nine yards and they punted from their own 10 yard line to give WF good field position at midfield. On the second play of the drive WF's Carlson was hit as he went to pass and fumbled, with MAD's Vojta recovering the ball at the WF 41 yard line. MAD then scored when a scrambling Yates found Knicely in the back of the endzone for a 40 yard TD pass, but Hopewell's XP attempt was tipped and missed to make the score 20-14 with 8:13 remaining in the game. WF's Duda returned the ensuing KO 93 yards for a TD, but offsetting penalties negated the score. After MAD kicked off again WF started their drive at their own 30 yard line. WF reached the WF 49 yard line where they faced a 4th and two, with WF's Lee gaining three yards for a first down; Duda would score later in this drive on a one yard run and after the Wiemann XP WF took the lead, 21-20, with 4:06 remaining in the game. On the ensuing KO, Knicely decided to field the ball as it neared the sideline around the MAD 12 yard line but he was ruled out of bounds as he touched the ball. MAD now needed to go 88 yards for what could be a game winning drive, so they went into their hurry up offense. On this drive Yates converted a 4th and 1 at the MAD 39 yard line, Yates converted a 4th and 4 at the WF 46 yard line on a QB draw, and then Yates had to scramble under heavy pressure but found Knicely who out leaped the WF defender at the WF six yard line with about 1:45 to play. After a holding penalty pushed MAD back to their 15 yard line Yates scored on a 15 yard run to give MAD a 26-21 lead with 1:22 to play (Knicely's 2XP run attempt was stopped short). WF had one final chance to go 70 yards for a winning score, but an INC pass, a sack, and another INC pass resulted in a 4th down and WF needing about 28 yards to get a first down. The pass to Duda came up two yards short and MAD took over and went into victory formation.
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