Madisonville’s offense showcased resilience throughout Friday’s 31-28 district loss to Rusk at MHS while battling from behind early and often. It wasn’t until late in the first quarter that the offense took the field for the first time after the team surrendered an early touchdown and field goal after an onside kick.

“They’re fighters,” said head coach Russell Urbantke on his team as a whole Monday. “I love these kids, they play hard for us and they’re resilient. I told them it was going to be a battle all the way to the end of the ball game and we just came up a little short there at the end.”

The Mustangs took advantage of prime field positions on two second quarter drives, including starting points at the Eagle 29-yard line after a Rusk punt and inside the 10 after a fumble. Both drives culminated in Xzavier Whaley touchdown carries, the second of which gave the team the lead at the time.

All told, the Mustangs ran for 164 yards on the night with Blessing Ngene leading all rushers with 55 yards on six carries (9.2 yards per carry). Ngene was followed by Whaley with 47 yards on nine carries (5.2 YPC), Jeramiah Burns and Wheaton also connected on a critical 28-yard catch-and-run up the middle of the field to the end zone to trim Rusk’s lead to three in the fourth quarter, giving the Mustangs a chance late in the game.

Madisonville’s offense committed two turnovers on fumbles in the game, including one to start the second half and one in the waning minutes of the game.

“We were doing exactly what we wanted to do,” said Urbantke. “We wanted to put it in the end zone with very little time left and keep (Rusk quarterback Owen McCown) off the field.”

The offense will look to help the team rebound in a critical matchup at Center Friday, which is set to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Roughrider Stadium.

Center is 1-1 in district play with a 64-18 loss to Carthage and a 60-44 win over Shepherd. They are 1-6 overall on the season.

“(Center) is athletic at the cornerback position and they have some size up front,” said head coach Russell Urbantke when asked about the potential challenges in Center’s defense. “But I like our rushing attack against their front five. That is one thing that has come on the last few games here. We have an assortment of different ways I feel like we can attack a defense with our backfield.”