The Boone Central defense did a good job corralling Madison’s Drew Wagner for much of Friday’s Class C1 football matchup.
The relentless senior halfback kept hammering away, however, as the Cardinals bent, bent, bent – then broke just enough for Madison to score a key 21-12 District 6 victory on its home turf.
With both teams entering the contest 2-0 in C1-6 play, the winner was assured a leg up in the district race and a state playoff berth.
As it has all season, Madison turned to the legs of Wagner to get the job done. Wagner finished with 215 yards on 38 carries, all three Dragon touchdowns and a key two-point conversion.
It was Wagner’s third consecutive game rushing for more than 200 yards, fourth overall, and raised his season total to 1,315 in six games.
“Our effort, as always, was good,” Boone Central Coach Arnie Johnson commented. “However, when we didn’t get a gap filled against Wagner, he was able to hurt us.
“Our offense just made too many mistakes to be consistent.”
In the end, Madison’s ground advantage was too much for the Cardinals to overcome. The Dragons churned out 261 yards on 53 rushes – passing just three times in the game – and held Boone Central to only 37 yards in 26 attempts.
The Cards had sporadic success through the air – passing for 115 yards – but QB Ryan Shotkoski was often under heavy pressure and BC receivers dropped several passes.
Madison had a 276-152 total yardage advantage in the contest and gained 15 first downs to Boone Central’s 10. Madison was penalized 10 times for 73 yards, BC five for 35, and each team lost two turnovers.
Complete Details in Print Edition of Albion News.
