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It’s hard to beat a crisp fall evening and some under the lights high school football action. The Madison Blue Streaks traveled to Eastlake North Friday night in search of their first win of the season. But, the Rangers had different plans, as they got back in the win column with a 28-7 victory.
If these past three games for North have shown anything, it’s that sluggish starts have been their kryptonite. The beginning of this matchup was no exception as they muffed the first half kickoff and began their drive at about the 14 yard line. Matters got worse as running back Reon’tae Lowery broke free for a huge 61 yard dash, but it was negated by a holding call.
Furthermore, Zach Rummel, who has struggled mightily this season as a young sophomore, failed to hook up on two fairly easy throws. Both were to Laurence Lawson, one being under thrown and one going right through his hands.
Madison would cash in on their first possession of the ball game with an effective mixture of pass and run. Senior quarterback Michael O’Brien handled passing while sophomore quarterback Carson Alley ran it.
They also spread the football to five other Blue Streaks, some rushing and some catching.
Bryant Perkins would punch it into the endzone at the 2:23 mark in the first quarter. The crowd, as well as Perkins were going bonkers.
North would then proceed to fumble the ensuing kick and Madison had great position at about the 20 yard line. Both kicks by the blue and white were squibs.
It seemed Madison had all the momentum. The fans were cheering, the bench ran onto the field in a frenzy, but it would all be neutralized by Eastlake’s Lorenzo Casanova. The first play of the drive, O’ Brien threw it right into the mitts of Casanova, which turned out to be a big swing in this game.
Head coach for the orange and black, Shawn Dodd, made an interesting but necessary adjustment as he decided to replace Rummel with senior quarterback and linebacker Anthony Gallo.
It proved to be a nice change of pace for a team that has averaged a measly nine points per game in their last three games. Gallo brought a sense of physicality to the offense as he took a lot of direct snaps and would run it into the teeth of Madison’s front seven.
Gallo, on his first drive playing under center this season, plowed the goal line for a hard earned two yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven a piece early in the second quarter.
After a few drives stalled for both sides, North would find paydirt once more in the first half. The Gallo-lead offense got down to Madison’s 16 yard line. They drew up a handoff for speedster Curtis Thomas. With his elusiveness and vision he was able to juke and squeeze in for six on a truly electrifying series of moves and great awareness.
A quick and exciting first two quarters of play would be followed up by an even more turnover-riddled second half, but nonetheless still a rollercoaster of emotions.
Mike Gilligan and his bunch’s first drive of the third quarter would come to a halt about a minute and half in. Mo Morgan read O’Brien all the way and snatched another interception for the home team.
That would be another horrible mistake as Gallo would capitalize again. This time it came off of a 4 & 5 near the redzone. A well run route by Thomas got him wide open for an easy 27 yard grab and his second house call on the night.
With Madison up against it, they needed to get seven on the board and fast. The Streaks would get down into North territory fairly quickly with the ground attack of Carson Alley. It would all come crashing down again though as a fumbled handoff would be scooped up by Camden Cantrell.
The game appeared to be out of reach but, oddly, Shawn Dodd decided to put Rummel back in the game after him being on the bench for nearly a whole quarter. The sophomore escaped the pocket and took off for about a 5 yard gain, but not before fumbling and giving the Blue Streaks another chance to get back in the ball game.
That would be the final time Rummel saw the field.
Heading into the fourth with possession, Madison really needed to score and do it in a hurry. O’Brien would drop back to throw and toss it to another Ranger for his third pick and effectively the game.
Casanova snatched the visiting team’s heart out one last time and that would lead to another touchdown run for Gallo from nine yards out.
Even though it was not a pretty dub for Dodd’s team they got it done and overcame a handful of mistakes. Any team that fumbles twice only being up 14 with lots of time left will have a hard time winning that way. Luckily for them, Madison coughed it up even more. Three interceptions and a fumble will not cut it.
North also has some questions about their quarterback situation heading into next week. Do they start Anthony Gallo for the remainder of the season? If they are trying to make a playoff push I would say yes.
The Rangers are not a pass heavy team but, with him connecting on both of his pass attempts, I think it would be wise to get him some more reps throughout the week with the wide receivers and tight ends. If he can continue to show even more consistency in practice, that could open up the playbook for a team who needs a spark.
Gallo finished his night with 2/2 coupled with 42 yards passing and one touchdown. He tacked on 13 carries for 96 yards and two more touchdowns. Curtis Thomas also chipped in with 5 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown with 3 catches for 49 yards and another trip to the endzone.
But, the true heroes of tonight were the 11 men on the defensive side. Casanova’s two interceptions, Morgan’s pick, and Cantrell’s fumble recovery were all huge momentum changers in this one.
North snaps a three game skid and moves to 3-3 with Riverside up next at home. Madison continues their dismal season and drop to 0-6. They will face powerhouse Kenston at home as well.
Player(s) of the Game: North’s defense- Fumble recovery, three interceptions, 187 yards of total offense and seven points.
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