SHEPHERD — Shepherd's 3-0 start came to a 35-0 end against a fast, physical Madisonville team on Friday night.
Madisonville arrived at 0-3, and while several preseason predictions and sports outlets had favored the Mustangs in past seasons, the records coming into Friday night left plenty of questions surrounding which team would control the field.
The Pirates fought from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, trying different defensive looks and continuing to battle even as the Mustangs steadily built their lead.
Shepherd won the opening toss and elected to receive, but the Mustang defense quickly forced the Pirates to turn the ball over on downs. The Pirates' defense answered with a strong effort of its own. Early in the game, Shepherd did an excellent job containing the Madisonville running attack. The Mustangs were unable to simply pound the ball between the tackles, forcing them to look for another way to move the football.
They found it through the air.
Madisonville quarterback Malik Kovar proved extremely accurate throughout the night, repeatedly finding open receivers and delivering the ball quickly. The Mustangs had several speedy, athletic receivers who could turn a short completion into a big play, and Kovar took advantage of those opportunities. It wasn't until the second quarter that Madisonville began finding answers for Shepherd's defensive pressure.
Shepherd's Michael Weekes and Brayden White had been creating problems for opposing offenses throughout the season, and Madisonville came prepared. The Mustangs began using double- and triple-team blocking against the two Pirates, slowing down their ability to pressure the quarterback and opening additional opportunities for Kovar and the Madisonville offense.
Madisonville scored twice in the second quarter and carried a 14-0 lead into halftime. The Mustangs received the ball to begin the second half and quickly added another touchdown. Madisonville continued to find success during the third quarter, adding two more touchdowns and pushing the score to 28-0.
As the fourth quarter began, Shepherd made defensive adjustments and managed to slow the Mustang attack considerably, holding Madisonville to just one additional touchdown in the final quarter. On the other side of the ball, the Mustang defense presented problems of its own. Shepherd's Kyler Syracuse, Ben Coyle and Javaris Marsh, who had been important parts of the Pirates' offensive success during the first three games, found running room much harder to come by against a fast and physical Madisonville
Madisonville eventually closed out the night with a 35-0 victory, handing Shepherd its first loss of the season.
After struggling early on, the Trojans came alive and blanked Kountze 28-0 on Friday.
Head Coach Chad Allen said the team played at a high level he hadn’t seen yet.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” he said. “The defense pitching a shut out definitely stood out. Sophomore Reagan Leasman had an interception and guys were flying around making plays.”
Offensively, Allen said Deshawn McKinney carried the offense with 2 rushing touchdowns with the help of the offensive line, and Nicholas Harden, T.J. Minchew, JaQuavian Marsh, and Cam Harrison had great rushing attempts.
Allen said another highlight was Tyler Stuckey adding a punt return touchdown.
