Govs shaky in opening loss

By Laura Clark

Published: September 3, 2008

In the opening two minutes, Madison established its dominance against visiting Nelson with a 5-yard touchdown run by running back Logan Terrell. Mountaineer A.J. Butler had retuned the kickoff 48 yards to give his team prime field position.

It wouldn’t get much prettier for the Governors, as they lost 28-8 in the first game of the season Aug. 29.

By halftime, the Govs were down 21-0, and had gotten 10 yards from scoring once in four possessions. Meanwhile, an efficient Madison team scored on a 56-yard pass from Will Taylor to Ryan Banks (another series around two minutes), and used just one play to score when Sam Utz caught a 24-yard pass after Nelson turned over on downs.

Gov coach Tim Crawford said overall he felt his veterans didn’t play well, and the rookies showed they were playing in their first varsity game.

“We had our chances, and we didn’t get it done,” he said. “Right now we’re a football team with a lot of talent and a lot of real young kids. Before it’s all said and done, we’re going to be a team to be reckoned with.”

The Govs were missing a key player on both sides of the ball, Trevor Martin. Martin, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound running back and defensive back, bruised his knee in practice last week. He is expected to return this week.

“Trevor is one of the best football players on the team and not having him hurt us a great deal,” Crawford said.

Quarterback M.J. Wells and running backs Trey Barnett and Quincy Murphy did the bulk of the work, combining for 78 rushing yards. Gov Jordan Wooten, a sophomore, showed promise as a wide receiver. Wooten caught three passes for 21 yards.

“He has great hands. He runs great routes,” Crawford said.

Defense picked up in the second half, and Nelson got on the board with a safety when Madison snapped the ball over punter Dylan Shifflette’s head. On offense, Barnett returned the kickoff to Madison’s 32-yard line. In this series, Wells completed two passes to Wooten, and then ran in a 5-yard touchdown.

Still, the Govs couldn’t establish a rhythm. Nathan Bird intercepted a Taylor pass, but Madison’s blitzing defense forced it right back into their hands. Mountaineer Bradley Meadows intercepted a pass, which set up Madison’s next score. Devon Boone, who had 84 rushing yards against Nelson, ran in an 18-yard touchdown with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter.

“We blew a couple coverages, gave up a couple of touchdown passes. We did not play well in the defensive backfield,” Crawford said.

On offense, Crawford said many of his best players are on the offensive line, but they did not play like it at Madison. He’s confident that once this team calms down, they will show their talent.

Sept. 5, Nelson heads to Buckingham, who is coming off a 26-6 loss to Appomattox.

“They looked a lot like we did – first game jitters and stuff,” Crawford said. “It should be a really good football game.”