By Johnny Wheeler
The Salado Eagles closed out the regular season at home Nov. 4, but an opportunistic Madisonville Mustangs team spoiled Senior Night with a 30-14 victory.
Madisonville won the toss and took the strong south wind. On the second offensive play Quarterback Luke Law launched a rainbow to Kase Maedgen for a 40-yard completion to the Mustang 45.
The Eagles drove to the six mixing a Maedgen carry with completions to Seth Reavis and Roman Law.
On second and goal, Luke Law tried to find Reavis in the left corner of the end zone, but DB Jemarcus Holland wrestled the ball away from the intended receiver five yards deep in the end zone. He weaved through heavy traffic and turned on the afterburners enroute to a stunning 105-yard interception return. The point after made it 7-0 Madisonville, a 14 point turnaround with 7:04 to play in the first quarter.
The next Salado drive stalled, with a punt to the Mustang 36. The Eagle defense held, forcing a punt which A.J. Fach blocked, setting the Eagles up at the eleven. It took one play for Law to connect with Reavis on an 11-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 7-7 following Daniel Chtay’s PAT with 2:29 to play in the first quarter.
The Mustangs took 47 seconds to answer on the ensuing drive. A 62-yard strike from Ty Williams to Lorenzo Johnson made it 14-7 with 1:42 left in the opening quarter, a score which lasted until midway through the second quarter.
Following exchanges of punts, Salado took over at its 32 with 9:10 left in the first half. A quarterback sack and two short runs set up 4th and 4 from the Eagle 38. Punter Daniel Chtay lofted a pass to Dusty Rhiddlehoover, and the fake punt set up a first down at Madisonville’s 42. Law hit Morgan Adams for a first down at the 30, and a diving catch in the end zone by Reavis tied it at 14 with 5:53 to play in the second quarter.
Madisonville scored two unanswered touchdowns before halftime, and the teams went to intermission with the Mustangs leading 28-14. First Johnson hauled in a pass and rambled 28 yards for a touchdown, then after recovering an Eagle fumble on the next kickoff, Madisonville scored on a pass to Jeremiah Burns.
The second half opened with a 50-yard Madisonville run being called back. With the drive stalled, a punt set up Salado inside its three yard line, from there the Mustangs sacked Law for a safety, and Madisonville led 30-14 with 8:32 to play in the third quarter.
The remainder of the game featured good defensive play by both teams, and the Mustangs ate up time with the running game and clock management, leaving the final score 30-14, Madisonville. Salado ends the regular season 3-7, with three non-district losses to teams still ranked in the top 10 in their respective polls.
Salado faces another state-ranked power, the Cuero Gobblers, in Bi-District with kick-off at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at Shelton Stadium, 4800 Jack C Hays Trail in Buda. Tickets are available online at https://www.hayscisd.net/boxoffice and they will accept District 11 (yellow) passes and Salado ISD senior passes.
JV Eagles
Salado JV Eagles beat the Madisonville JV Mustangs 15-14 on the road Nov. 3.
Javier Miranda caught a pass from Nathan Rechtfertig for a 30-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The Eagles took the lead in the third quarter on a 5 yard rushing touchdown by Miranda.
The offense was led by Rechtfertig and Miranda. The defense was led by J/J. Adams and Caleb Dockray.
“It was a defensive battle that we were able to pull out in the end,” said Coach Robert Gillen. “All of the coaches are proud of our boys in how they fought all year. They are a hard-working group of young men who will have plenty of success in the future.”
The win improved Salado’s record to 3-7 on the year.
Ninth Grade
Salado ninth grade Eagles beat the Madisonville Mustangs 280-15 to finish their season at 6-2 and 3-1 in district play.
Caine Cruddas scored the first TD for Salado on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. The PAT failed.
Andrew Benavides caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Dildine in the second quarter. The two-point try failed. Levi Ball caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Dildine with no time left on the halftime clock. Damonte Foster ran for the extra point to give Salado a 20-0 halftime lead.
Madisonville scored on a 57 yard touchdown run and converted a two-point attempt to trail 20-8.
Damonte Foster caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Dildine. Dildine connected with Benavides for the two-point conversion and a 28-8 lead.
The Mustangs added a touchdown in the fourth on an 85-yard fumble return.
Salado had 184 yards rushing and 138 yards passing for 322 total yards offense. Madisonville had 101 yard rushing and 48 yards passing.
Damonte Foster had 125 yards rushing on 18 touches and 52 yards receiving on five catches. Brayden Dildine was 8-for-12 for 138 yards passing.
Damonte Foster led the Eagles defense with 9 tackles and a caused fumble. CJ Larremore followed with 7 tackles while Dildine made an interception in the game.
The offense was led by Foster, Dildine and offensive lineman Parker Montgomery.
Foster, Larremore, Michael Edmondson and Luke Bauser led the defense.
The ninth grade Eagles finished the season in second place in district.
8th Graders
The eighth grade A team fell behind early to Madisonville 24-8.
Braeden Naegele scored the Eagle first half touchdown on a 6 yard run. SC Inman added the 2 point conversion.
Daniel Hernandez closed the gap with a 3 yard run early in the fourth quarter. Brennon Heber hit Naegele with a pass for the 2 points to make the score 24-16.
A failed onside kick gave Madisonville a short field and they marched down to score a touchdown and conversion.
Dylan Jiminez took the ensuing kickoff back 70 yards for a touchdown. Heber then found Jackson Tipton for the conversion and the final 32-24 score.
Their final record was 5-3.
The B team won 14-6 over Madisonville. Kaiden Allen scored on a 5 yard pass from Webb White. White connected with Charlie Watkins for the conversion.
Angel Castenera scored on a 12 yard run but the conversion failed.
Their final record was 4-2.