Madisonville’s defense helped keep the Mustangs in the game Friday with a pair of fumble recoveries in the first half and a late stop that gave the ball back to their offense down three. They went up against Colorado University commit Owen McCown and a relentless passing attack in the 31-28 defeat.

“I am super proud of the defense and the game plan that (MHS Defensive Coordinator Heath Brittain) and our staff came up with,” said head coach Russell Urbantke Monday. “We showed many different coverages against (McCown), as you can see throughout the game.”

Urbantke was also pleased with the fact that Rusk, a pass-heavy offense, was much more balanced in their Friday offensive efforts, meaning they went to the run because Madisonville’s secondary made it difficult to find consistency over the top.

All told, McCown was 15-for-27 with 181 yards and three passing touchdowns (and one rushing). Rusk ran the ball 37 times for 112 yards, an average of just three yards per carry.

Rusk’s J.D. Thompson also completed a pass on a double-reverse trick play in the first quarter to McCown for 33 yards, giving the Eagles 214 total passing yards on the night. Madisonville forced fumbles on Rusk’s Trey Devereaux and Heston Kelly on consecutive possessions in the second quarter to set the offense up for scores after starting the game down 10-0. The fumbles were recovered by Keyvunt Simpson and Tyler George.

The swarming Madisonville defense forced 11 tackles for the loss with Cameron Thrower and Cody Borgfeld each recording three and Xzavier Whaley, Jeramiah Burns, Tyreke Hastings, Simpson and George recording one apiece.

Thrower also led the team in pure tackles with 11 and recorded a sack. He was followed by Conner Swonke with 10 tackles, Jermal Holland with nine and Burns with eight. The Mustangs did not waste time dwelling on their tough loss from Friday but rather got back to work immediately Saturday and Monday.

“The way I approached (Monday) was we had to have the best practice of the year,” said Urbantke Monday. “They responded well. The guys overall were as attentive and willing to learn as we had been all year. Everyone showed up in good spirits and they responded well to a very adverse situation Friday night. They know what we have to do this week.”

Madisonville’s defense will face another pass-heavy attack as they gear up for the critical matchup in Center. The Roughriders are fresh off of a 60-point performance in their first victory of the season over Shepherd on the road.

Center’s sophomore quarterback Emonte Cross completed 16 of his 21 passes for 261 yards and found the end zone three times Friday.

“(Cross) is a very athletic young man and they like to chuck it deep,” said Urbantke. “They like to throw the deep ball to their two very talented outside wide receivers. If they feel like you’re playing man coverage they are probably going to take a shot. If they feel like you’re playing a zone and they fill the box, they are going to run the ball.”

Junior Timothy Davis carried the ball 15 times against Shepherd Friday for 120 yards, equating to eight yards per carry. He also found the end zone in the team’s win. Last season, Center defeated Madisonville 48-10 at MHS.