With its 33-0 win at Hermon on Friday, the Madison Area Memorial High School did something the Bulldogs haven’t done in a generation. Madison is going to the playoffs for the first time since 1994.
“It’s been a long time coming, that’s for sure,” Madison coach Scott Franzose said.
In 1994, Madison beat Stearns for the Class C state title. Over the last decade, the Bulldogs have had a series of losing season, with two wins at the most in a season. The win over Hermon was the third in a row for the Bulldogs, who are 4-3 going into Friday’s regular season finale at home against Waterville.
Madison knew it had one of the six playoff spots in Eastern Class C wrapped up after Friday’s win.
“It was kind of a shock, because it’s the first time in a long time. But at the same time, it wasn’t, because I had high hopes coming in to the season that we were going to be a pretty good team. We were going to change the program here, make it better,” senior co-captain Cody Soucier said. “Everyone’s working hard in practice. We have many guys who can do big things. Our line is doing a great job.”
“The kids hear it every day, how this was a football town, how the tradition went back 30 or 40 years,” Franzose said. “We tell them this is their chance to build their own tradition.”
The Bulldogs are in fourth place in the region right now. The top two teams get byes out of the quarterfinals, where No. 3 hosts No. 6 and No. 4 hosts No. 5. Madison is currently two points ahead of Belfast (4-3) and three points ahead of Mt. Desert Island (3-4) in the Crabtree Point standings. A win over Waterville or a Belfast loss to Old Town (2-5) will clinch a home game in the first round for Madison. MDI hosts Foxcroft Academy (5-2) on Friday.
“We’ll wait and see how it all plays out,” Franzose said. “There’s a lot of football left.”
Soucier said he’s noticed the team getting more support around the community.
“You can tell everyone has a different perspective on our team now, and they believe in us. It means a lot,” Soucier said.
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One of the side effects of Mt. Blue’s amazing 37-36 last-second win over Brewer on Saturday was running back/linebacker JT Williams injuring his left knee late in the third quarter. It’s the same knee injury that has been bothering Williams throughout the year. Before the injury, Williams led the Cougar offense with 258 yards rushing on 24 carries, scoring four touchdowns.
Williams loss was also felt on the defensive side of the ball, as Brewer running back Dylan Severance scored two late touchdowns. Both runs started up the middle of Mt. Blue’s defense, where Williams would have been had he not been injured.
Williams was seen on crutches after the game. Mt. Blue head coach Jim Aylward said Williams is questionable heading into this week’s game against Skowhegan.
“We can’t rule him out,” Aylward said. “When we’ve had JT this year, we’ve been a good football team. When we don’t, we look inexperienced. I think JT is one of the premier backs in this league, if not the premier back. He’s a kid, if you get him enough (blocking) up front, he has the speed to take it to the house. Hopefully he’s healthy, but the rest of us have to step up, too.”
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Skowhegan linebacker Gus Benson had surgery last Thursday to repair a torn miniscus. The Indians’ senior captain was the leading tackler in the Pine Tree Conference Class B when he injured the knee against Brewer on Oct. 10, is done for the season.
With Benson on the sidelines on crutches on Friday, the Indians shut out Gardiner, 32-0, to keep their playoff hopes alive. Skowhegan held the Tigers to 187 yards of offense and forced two turnovers.
“Losing Gus is a huge hole, obviously. The boys that we’ve got out there really stepped up,” Skowhegan coach Matt Friedman said. “We had some younger kids that got their first varsity time of this season, of their life, and really came and played well.”
Skowhegan plays rival Mt. Blue on Friday. The Indians need a win, a Brewer loss against Hampden, and some help in the Crabtree Standings to earn a spot in the playoffs.
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Around the state: First place in Western Class B is at stake this week, when undefeated Marshwood (7-0) hosts undefeated York (7-0)… Another game with first place on the line is in Western Class C, where Spruce Mountain (7-0) plays at Leavitt (6-1)… Five of the six conference finish regular season play this weekend. The lone league with two weeks left in the regular season is the Little Ten Conference. MCI (7-0) and Bucksport (5-1) appear to have playoff spots wrapped up. Four teams — Orono (4-3), John Bapst (4-2), Mattanawcook (3-3) and Stearns (4-2) — are fighting for the final two playoff spots in Eastern Class D.
Staff Writer Dave Dyer contributed to this report.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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