09/10/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
MADISON - The Madison Trojans, playing their first game on their new turf football field this weekend, didn't disappoint any of their fans Saturday afternoon.

With the skies bright and sunny, Coach James Welmaker, Jr. saw his athletic bunch make things tough on Dupo.

The Trojans, behind the stellar play of 6-0 senior quarterback/defensive back Carlis Wilson, Jr., wore down the Tigers, 34-20.

"Everybody stepped up today. We swarmed to the ball on defense and we ran hard on offense," said Coach Welmaker, who was filling in as head coach for Tavares Young. "The kids just bought in on working hard this summer. And that's where we are at right now."

Wilson rushed seven times for 78-yards and two touchdowns and added 2-of-3 completions for 34-yards and a TD in the victory.

Defensively Wilson intercepted three passes as his team, with a forfeit win in the first week followed a loss on the road last Friday, are now 2-1 on the season.

For Dupo and first year head coach Zach Klaustermeier his predominantly young team is still a work in progress as the Tigers fell to 1-2 on the season.

One of the things that Dupo struggled with on Saturday afternoon was tackling.

Madison's runners and receivers proved tough to get to the new turf.

"We got some hard runners. We have (Jaylene) Williams, (Steven) Moore and (Carlis) Wilson. They run with determination," said Coach Welmaker.

Six-two junior running back Jaylene Williams led the Trojans in yardage as he rushed nine times for 119-yards and a touchdown while teammate, 5-10 sophomore Steven Moore added five rushes for 50-yards and a pair of TD's.

Kameron Trammel, a 5-10 senior wide out, got in on the fun with two carries for 27-yards and Kaylon Bursey, a 6-0 junior wide receiver, caught a 30-yard touchdown pass.

"It's challenging, In at least three or four of their scores, we had two or three guys touch them. You have to bring teams down like that," said Coach Klaustermeier, referring to his players struggles tackling on Saturday. "We preached containment of their quarterback all week. He (Wilson Jr.) is a heck of an athlete. He can make a guy miss so you have to be able to keep containment."

Dupo was pretty good on offense Saturday as they gained yards and moved the ball on the Trojans.

Freshman quarterback Deegan Prater ended up 6-of-13 passing for 85-yards and a touchdown and senior Logan Stevens carried much of the rushing burden as he racked up 88-yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts.

Prater also rushed 12 times for 47-yards but his three interceptions were drive killers.

Junior wide out Ashton Stein and freshman WR Thinh Staggs each had a reception with Staggs grabbing Prater's only TD pass.

Sophomore WR/RB Vance Ray, junior WR/DB Nick Phillips and senior WR/LB Hunter Cataldo each had a reception for the Tigers.

After a scoreless first quarter, Madison struck first in the second frame.

Following Wilson Jr.'s first interception, where he was downed at the Madison 37, the Trojans quickly marched into Dupo territory.

It took just four plays to get on the scoreboard as Williams carried twice in succession for 22-yards and then six more to reach the Tigers' 35.

A Wilson Jr. run for 19-yards to the Dupo 16 set up Moore, who broke through Dupo tackles and finished the drive with a TD run.

Madison attempted a PAT that was wide right as the Trojans led 6-0 with 11:33 left before halftime.

Coach Klaustermeier's crew put together a solid touchdown drive which took just five plays.

Taking over at their own 37, the Tigers were faced with a third-and-eight from their own 39.

Stevens took a hand-off from Prater and busted through the line.

After he cleared the first wave of defenders the senior headed down the left sideline and sprinted the rest of the 61-yards for the Tigers' first score with 7:28 left.

A Prater run on the point-after attempt was good for the two-point conversion and an 8-6 Dupo lead.

Madison, taking advantage of a kickoff that went out of bounds on its own 49, moved into the Tigers' side of the field and faced a fourth-and-ten from the Dupo 30.

Wilson Jr. rolled out to his right and avoided defenders before he found Bursey in the middle of the field.

The junior broke a pair of tackle attempts and made a bee-line to the end-zone down the left sideline.

His TD, at the 2:46 mark, made it 12-8 after another PAT run, that was no good, closed the first half scoring.

Madison took the second half kickoff and moved the ball down for another TD.

Despite being flagged for three penalties in the drive which pushed the Trojans back to their own 33, they managed to go and the 67-yards on 11-plays to pay-dirt.

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Wilson Jr. made the best run of the drive with a 39-yard scamper which got the ball to the Dupo 28.

An 18-yard run by Trammel moved the ball into the red zone.

Facing fourth-and-eight from the Dupo nine, Wilson Jr. called his own number, running to his left for a nine-yard TD jaunt.

Despite another failed two-point try, Madison led 18-8 with 5:30 left in the third.

Dupo responded with a 10-play drive to get the game back close for the final time.

With Prater and Stevens carrying the running load, the Tigers marched down the field.

The drive briefly stalled at the Madison 36.

With a fourth-and-eight for Coach Klaustermeier's crew, Prater dropped back to pass and then darted ball towards Staggs on the ride side of the field.

Wilson Jr. closed on the ball and appeared ready to add his fourth interception of the game.

However the ball just missed his outreached hands.

Staggs snagged the pass, then turned and dashed the rest of the 36-yards for a touchdown, which closed the gap to 18-14 with 10:52 left in the fourth.

"He's a ball-hawk. He (Wilson Jr.) played a great game at safety today. He probably should have had his fourth one on that touchdown play they (Dupo) got," said Coach Welmaker. "He's been a leader all summer for us."

The Tigers needed a big stop on the next Madison possession.

Unfortunately the same tackling problems that they suffered through for the first three quarters didn't get any better the next time the Trojans got the ball.

Wilson Jr. returned the next Dupo kickoff for 15-yards to their own 49.

On the first play of the drive Williams ran to the right side of the field and found a crease between Tiger defenders.

He turned on the after-burners and sprinted clear for a 51-yard touchdown run.

Trammel ran in the two-point conversion for a 26-14 spread, taking just :27 to answer the Dupo score.

"We can't give up big plays on our defense. We're good offensively at getting five (yards) here and five (yards) there, but we're also a 'bend not break' defense," said Coach Klaustermeier. "But when we don't tackle well it kills our chances."

The Tigers didn't move the ball on their next possession, failing on a fourth-and-six from their own 34 with just 8:52 remaining.

Madison put the game out of reach, gaining the final 34-yards.

Although they faced a first-and-goal at the Dupo 18 after a face mask penalty, Coach Welmaker's club took just two plays to score; a four-yard run by Williams and a 14-yard burst to the end-zone by Moore.

Trammel, the holder on place kicks, appeared to grab a bad snap.

He took the snap and ran straight into the end-zone on the left side untouched for the two-point, point-after and with 5:26 showing on the fourth quarter clock, Madison led 34-14.

To the Tigers' credit they played hard to the end.

Dupo finished the game with a 10-play, 60-yard drive.

Prater scored from the three-yard line on a run up the middle, closing the scoring with just :41.2 remaining.

An 18-yard kickoff return by Bursey and a victory formation kneel down by Wilson Jr. christened the new field for Madison with a triumph.

"We just wanted to get this first win and open up the new field," said Coach Welmaker.

Madison runners combined for 25 carries for 296-yards and the Trojans didn't commit a turnover.

Dupo moved the ball on the ground (151-yards on 37-attempts) and the air (6-of-13, 85-yards) but defensively they couldn't stop the Trojans' offensive attack.

Coach Klaustermeier mentioned something that most small schools go through with roster depth.

"Tackling practice is tough to do with just 26-kids out for the team. You don't want to risk anyone getting hurt," said Coach Klaustermeier. "If we lose any of our top players we're in trouble."

The Tigers will host Wesclin in the first Cahokia Conference Illinois Division game this season.

Wesclin will enter the game 0-3 following a 33-0 loss to 2A Nashville on Friday.

Madison will take a short drive to 4A neighbor Granite City for a Saturday afternoon battle next week.

The Warriors, who play an independent larger school schedule, are also 0-3 coming off of a tough 18-13 loss Friday night.