Yes, it was very cold outside (it was even colder when I left) but I was spoiled and warm in the press-box. Despite the coldness, both teams had a lot of fan support and that just showed how big this game for the Madison and Judson communities.
The last time these teams met in the playoffs was in 2011 and the Madison Mavericks defeated Judson by a score of 25 to 24…yeah, that was a HUGE upset. Byron Daniels was a sophomore for Madison and he scored the 2-point conversion that gave them the lead and also the win.
Madison and Judson both have quick scoring capabilities…because of that, I was expecting a high scoring affair and the the first team to 50 wins!!!
So, when the game ended, the teams combined for 143 plays and 948 yards with 62 points. Five players had over 100 yards of offense. And, OMG, the finish was absolutely thrilling and nail biting and will be talked about for years.
At halftime, the game was tied at 14.
At the end of 3, Judson led 20 to 14.
Holy shit…the 4th quarter is going to be awesome!!!
Madison scored with 11:56 and they led 21 to 20.
Judson scored with 10:21 and they led 26 to 21.
Madison scored again with 7:38 and they led 27 to 26.
Judson kicked a field goal with 5:30 and they led 29 to 26.
Madison scored with 1:18 and they led 33 to 29.
Judson had a 4th and goal at the 3 yard line with :23 left in the game and Andre Wilson ran the ball to the right side and from my view in the press-box, I think he scored…but, the officials called it just short and that was game, set, and match. Man, a tough tough way to lose a game and I feel so bad for the Judson Rockets…so close, but yet so far away.
Final score was Madison Mavericks 33 and Judson Rockets 29.
The Madison Mavericks will play the winner of Pearland and Cy-Fair at 3 pm December 13 at WACO ISD stadium.
I know from the social media thing and also being in the press-box that there were several questionable calls from both sides and I have learned my lesson and won’t complain about it. All I will say is the refs are on the field and they made the calls…we can’t go back and replay the game. Maybe we should we start an Instant Replay for High School Football petition now? LOL!!!
Last year, I complained (in my blog) about the refs from a High School Football game I worked; well, the head official found my comments and emailed me. We communicated back and forth several times and I am happy to say that we are on very good terms.
Funny random side note about that official…his mother was the Vice Principle where I, my brother, and my cousins attended middle school. He was also in the replay booth at UTSA Football games last year and I was doing stats for the spanish radio crew for UTSA Football games and our booths were next to each other and yes, I eventually did meet him a few weeks after our email exchanges.
The Madison Mavericks ran 68 plays for 421 yards. Cody Ennis, the quarterback, was 13 of 26 passing for 139 yards with 1 interception and he also had 17 carries for 66 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dominque Daniels, the running back, had 13 carries for 101 yards and 1 touchdown. Daniels had most of those yards in the first half because in the second half, he was playing defense. Alex Ardoin took his place and he had 12 carries for 115 yards and 1 touchdown.
Ja’Michael Brown, a wide receiver, had 2 receptions for 35 yards and he also played defense in the second half. Byron Daniels had 9 receptions for 87 yards. I really want to catch a Madison basketball game this year cause Ja’Michael Brown is supposedly really good on the court.
The Judson Rockets ran 75 plays for 527 yards but they needed 527 1/2 yards to win!!! Rayjohn Austin-Ramsey, the Judson quarterback, was 11 of 19 passing for 113 yards and 2 interceptions. Ramsey also had 19 carries for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. Rayjohn got hurt late in the 4th quarter…man, I hope he is OK. Andre Wilson, the Judson wide receiver, took over at the quarterback position. Wilson had 10 carries for 40 yards, 4 receptions for 36 yards, and was 2 of 4 passing for 22 yards.
The Rockets had 52 carries for 392 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jo’Von Kyle had 9 carries for 93 yards, Brandon Sanders had 7 carries for 90 yards, Malik Pryor had 6 carries for 42 yards and 1 touchdown, and Cedric Williams had a one yard touchdown run (Ramsey fumbled at the 1 yard line and from our view in the press-box, Williams recovered the fumble in the end zone).
Williams also had 3 receptions for 54 yards, Michael Akai had 3 receptions for 30 yards, Jo’Von Kyle had 2 receptions for 13 yards, and Brandon Sanders had a 2 yard reception.
I want to thank all the Judson Rockets players for a great season and I truly enjoyed being a part of it. I wish all of the seniors good luck.
I also want to thank @JudsonFootball for retweeting my stats tweets and also all the people who favorited and retweeted them and also Judson Football Highlights on Facebook for all the great photos.
Judson fans are extremely passionate for Judson Football and there are lot of them all around the world and I really enjoyed communicating with them on Twitter and Facebook.
Even though I won’t have any more Judson football games this year, I still may have some other High School Football games left in my tank. I am also the “unofficial beat writer” for St. Anthony Yellow Jacket basketball…Judson plays St. Anthony in January and I will be at that game.
Oh, I also will be watching as a fan the US Army All American Bowl on January 4th at the Alamodome and after that game I will be working the San Antonio High School All-Star Football game which will be televised on CW-35.