James Madison Sports Blog

San Antonio James Madison High School Sports Updates

Blogger Templates by Blogcrowds

Defense Pitches the Shut-out in Rain

Sunday, September 10, 2006
Years from now some may remember the spectacular touchdown run by RB Devin Thomas, or maybe the nail in the coffin touchdown scamper by QB Devin Myler the fourth quarter, or maybe some will just remember the rain (because our yards needed it). But what can not be overlooked is that O’Connor did not put up any points in the four quarters of play.

For the second strait week the defense came out and made a statement to the rest of the area teams, that statement was loud and clear on Friday at Farris Stadium. Most can’t remember the last time the Mavs pitched a shut-out, and some in gold and blue leaving Farris Friday night might blame the weather but the record books will show the Mavs defense dominated on the road for the second strait week.

O’Connor came into the contest with all kinds of enthusiasm and confidence after their victory over Reagan the week before. Madison took all of the punches the Panthers could throw and made the plays to secure the victory. Holding O’Connor starting RB TJ Horney to 54 yards after being a 100+ yard rusher the week before. Madison held stand out O’Connor QB Reno to just 11 completions and picked off 2 passes one week after Reno had three TD passes and no interceptions.

O’Connor only had one real chance to score and that was squashed by an interception deep in the Madison end. O’Connor did try and build some momentum in the 4th quarter but a 4th down reception by Lucky Muhlman came up 4 yards short turning the ball over on downs.

The Mavs offence continues to improve and welcomed starting Rb Devin Thomas back from a shoulder injury. Thomas would not disappoint in his 2006 debut, as he would handle the ball from the backfield 23 times for 177 yards including a 63 yard TD run and a couple more that would come real close to putting points on the board.

The rain would hamper the Qb play but Devin Myler would shine late in the 4th quarter when he broke into the open field and outran the defense for a 55 yard TD run. This score would put the game out of reach as the defense would have no problem closing out the last 3 min of the game.

The Mavs now enter the “Real” season, the district season. With a nine team district the Mavs only had two warm ups before entering the district play season. The Mavs get the opportunities to welcome 26-5A newcomer Wagner to the toughest football district in the state next Friday at Judson stadium.

Go Mavs!

Scout Wagner Thunderbirds: Speed On Display!

Welcome to “The 265”! Its district play and now the games really count. Madison has given up 1 TD and a FG in two games this year and will take that stellar defense on the road to Judson stadium to take on Wagner in the district opener. Wagner will be playing in their first ever 26-5A game and will be sky high coming into the game. What will Wagner bring to the table? Your guess is as good as ours. Being a new program with a first year head coach the one thing you have to expect is the unexpected.

Panther Offence: Unlike O’Connor who tried to overpower the Mavs, Wagner will look a lot like… Well… Madison! Speed will be the key for Wagner as they are young but very fast. The Thunderbirds offence revolves around QB Joshua Rubio. The young signal caller directs an explosive backfield that can break away at anytime. Wagner will use a stable of speedsters in the backfield and will look to get to the corner and put pressure on the Maverick defense. Wagner will be quick but a bit small upfront; they will try to overcome their size issues by running traps and sweeps to isolate one side of the defense. Being a young team and young program don’t look for the Thunderbirds to pull a bunch of trick plays out of their hat but they will be looking to execute in their Home district opener.

Panther Defense: Wagner defense has been attacked on the ground in the first two weeks by Rock-Fulton and then last week by Clemens. The Buffalo’s last week ran the ball very effectively against Wagner and RB JJ Johnson not only ran for 305 yards, and scored 5 TDs but picked up Offensive player of the week by the Express-News. We should see a healthy dose of Devin Thomas running the ball as the Mavs might have the chance to look like the Mavs of old against this defense.

The Thunderbirds like on offence will be quick and their defense will have a chip on their shoulder in their first district contest. Speed will be the key for the defense as they will try and track down the Maverick runners on the field.

Panther Special Teams: Wagner will bring an untested special teams unit to the field. Expect the unexpected with the kick returns and punt returns as the Thunderbirds will be looking for field position with the speed they will bring to the table.

Panther Coaches and Extras: Wagner head coach Pete Gibbens knows the Mavs well as he was the Judson Rockets defensive coordinator before becoming the Wagner Head Coach. Gibbens is a graduate of MacAthur High School and has been with the Judson Rockets for 23 years before going to Wagner last year. He has 6 State Championship rings all from Judson. He knows the Maverick scheme and will have his kids prepared to play against the electric Madison game plan.

GO MAVS!

Cross Country – Franco Cracks The Top 10 at NorthEast Meet

Madison Cross Country made great strides on Saturday at the highly competitive NorthEast Cross Country meet held at Blossom. The Girls Varsity race started at 8:00am and just over 12 min later Nicole Franco had scored her first top 10 finish of the young 2006 season. Franco has been a consistent runner in the Madison Cross Country team and on the Track Squad for the past couple of years. Paced by Franco the Maverick girls squad placed 4th overall beating out District rivals Judson, Wagner and MacArthur.

After the conclusion of Varsity girls 2 mile race, it was the Varsity Boys Turn. Madison’s Jimmy Peterson went out with the leaders and made a great effort, he would finish with the Mavs best time of 17:48 in the 5000 meter race. The Boys team finished a respectable 7th overall.

The Cross Country team will travel next Saturday to Seguin for a meet held at Starke Park.

Go Mavs!

Volleyball Splits the week in District 26-5A Play

Madison basically played .500 ball for the first month of the 2006 season going 8-9. With the endurance challenge that is called the Tournament schedule behind the Lady Mavs they can now hunker down and concentrate on 26-5A Volleyball play. Coach Little had the girls playing in some of the toughest tournaments around in hopes that by playing the best the Mavs will raise their game up a few notches once district gets underway.

The Mavs would have a tough test on Tuesday as they would get the State ranked Reagan Rattlers at Littleton Gym. Reagan was reeling after their loss a few days ago to an Amarillo squad in the Pearland Tournament. That blemish would be the only scare on the Reagan record, and Reagan would take out a bit of frustration on the Mavs. Madison played tough and blocked some of the big Reagan hitters early to put a bit of a scare into the Rattlers, but in the end Reagan would pull out the three set victory sending the Mavs home with a 2-3 district mark.

On Friday Madison would host Judson at Madison. The only Varsity match to be played on the campus of Madison this year and the Mavs would not disappoint the home crowd. Judson would jump on the Mavs early winning the first set 25-21. That would be the last time Judson would be able to celebrate on the evening. Madison would real off three set victories after dropping the first. Judson would not even be close to winning any of the rest of the sets as the Mavs would have at least a 5 point cushion at the conclusion of all three of their victories. The Mavs move to 3-3 in district 26-5A play and 9-10 overall for the season.

This week the Mavs continue the 26-5A gauntlet with a match on Tuesday verses the resurgent Churchill squad, and then a big match against MacArthur on Friday. The Mavs will start their week with a pot luck dinner held by the Booster Club on Monday evening.



GO MAVS!