A perfectly-methodical, four-touchdown victory.

If ever such a game has existed, football’s 31-6 victory over Madison would most certainly qualify. The team picked up 438 total yards, yet the offense only eked out one 40-yard play: a deep pass to Maverick Freeland, where the senior made a perfect release to catch the ball and end the first quarter.

The game started out on a high note. Garrett Brooks opened up the game with a dominant first possession, picking up the bulk of the drive’s yards (43, all on three halfback sweeps), including finishing it with a two-yard touchdown.

But Madison answered quickly, as über-athletic quarterback Royal Kyle began his impressive first game with a touchdown lunge. Cooper Douglass, however, was not a fan of giving up points, and his blocked extra point began a Madison scoreless streak that would last the remainder of the game.

A bobbled kick gave Madison the ball back, at the Smithson Valley 38-yard line no less, but a Trey Moore sack forced a punt, and gave the Rangers the ball back. Up 14-6 in the first quarter, they were sitting pretty.

A few drives later, early in the second quarter, tragedy struck. Brooks, who’d rushed for 53 yards and a score on five carries, went down. Hard. He couldn’t put weight on his right leg, and had to be helped off the field. 

Before the season, head coach Larry Hill remarked that the wide receiver room went four or five players deep. Without Brooks and Kyler Clarke, who was in street clothes, those depth pieces got a chance to prove themselves, and maximized it. 

Although passing wasn’t a big part of the offense – Nutt completed eight of 11 passes – four of those went to players still jockeying for position on the two-deep (two to Garrison Eggleston, one apiece to cornerback Noah Flores and tight end Dylan Domel). On the ground, Justin Avery (seven attempts, 35 yards) and Travis McCracken (8/27) made some chunk gains, and Chase Senelick, who served mostly as a decoy, picked up eight yards on a jet sweep.

The offense impressed for the second straight week, a valuable development before next week’s clash with new district-mate Wagner. There were some solid individual performances: Nutt turned his 11 passing attempts into 111 yards, and picked up another 131 yards and a touchdown on 16 rushes; Gabe Hoskins turned his 11 carries into 78 yards and a score; Maverick Freeland caught three passes for 71 yards; and Garrett Brooks was featured for as long as he was in the game.

The defense, too, played well. No, they didn’t force any turnovers, but defense is, ultimately, about points allowed. And that unit is crushing it.

In one fourth-quarter drive, McCracken and the second-teamers marched 26 yards (Madison’s special teams were a bit suspect) for his first-ever varsity touchdown. That drive served as a microcosm of the game as a whole: Madison made little mistakes, and Smithson Valley made them pay for it. Both committed five penalties: the Mavericks for 40 yards, the Rangers for 30. But one team converted, and the other lost by four touchdowns.

Next week, football is slated to play Wagner on Friday at 7:30 at Rutledge Stadium. For those unable to attend, it will be streamed on Rangers Network.