MADISON TOWNSHIP — The goal couldn’t be more different for the Madison and Lakeside football teams heading into the final weeks of the 2012 football season.

For Coach Tim Willis and his Blue Streaks, the mission is simple — in order to have a shot at making the Ohio Division II, Region V playoffs,  win out.

For Coach Ryan David and his young Dragon squad, it is to see improvement and learn how to compete in the rugged Premier Athletic Conference.

With Madison’s 54-20 win over Lakeside on Friday night at Blue Streak Memorial Stadium, both teams were able to make steps toward those goals.

The win puts Madison (6-3, 4-2 in the PAC) in a critical game next week against rival Riverside (6-3, 4-2 PAC). A win over their Division-I foe would go a long way in gaining needed computer points to secure a playoff berth. It also would guarantee at least a tie for second place in the Premier Athletic Conference standings.

“A win’s a win in high school,” Willis, who admitted it was tough to get his team up for the game, said. “You have to take the wins when you get them. It’s all on the line next week. If we play like this next week, we’re not going to beat Riverside.

“We’re going to have to amp up our game next week and I think the kids understand what’s on the line. It is going to be a totally different intensity level next week.”

But, Willis took nothing away from how the Dragons made his team work. Down just 14-6 at the half, Lakeside quarterback Tyler Loftus found senior Chase Knight streaking down the right sideline for a 74-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half.

“We were running a flag and a go,” David said. “Tyler made a nice read. I told him the flag would be open. The flag was open, but he saw Chase deep and Chase made a tremendous catch.”

The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Lakeside cut Madison’s lead to 14-12.

Loftus had a huge night for Lakeside, completing 20 of 39 passes for 327 yards and two touchdowns (1 passing, 1 rushing). Knight caught 10 of those passes (198 yards). Coupled with the running of Manny Lucas (65 yards on 19 carries, 1 touchdown), the Dragons were able to control the ball for 16 of the first 24 minutes.

The Dragons found success going for several fourth downs in the game, even deep in their own territory. The strategy, according to David, was to keep the ball out of Madison senior tailback Mark Murray’s hands as much as possible.

“He is really good,” David said.

But, after that score, Madison rolled up the next 40 points (33 in the third quarter), to put the game away.

Murray (23 carries for 159 yards) led the ensuing drive, finishing it with a 22-yard run, his third of the game, which put the Blue Streaks up, 21-12.

Lakeside drove to midfield on the next possession, but a critical personal foul penalty nullified a first down in Madison territory. The drive resulted in turning the ball over on downs.

Madison made quick work, scoring four touchdowns over the next five minutes, including two defensive touchdowns (A 13-yard fumble return by sophomore Matt Atha and a 31-yard interception return by Dalton Boyer).

Despite the loss, David exuded much pride in his team’s performance (outgaining Madison 363-343), especially coming off last week’s 63-20 loss against state-ranked and Premier Athletic Conference champion South.

“I don’t know if I have ever been more proud ever in my life,” David said. “The referee came over to me (after the game) and said ‘you guys are a very good team; better than your record.’ And then he said to me, ‘and your kids are classy.’

“When I took over this program, they asked me to rebuild the program, they asked me for class in the program, and they asked me for discipline. And we’ve definitely accomplished all three. For that referee to say that, I know that Lakeside football is starting to come back.”

Murray acknowledged he came away impressed with the Dragons.

“It shows you can’t take a team lightly coming into a game,” he said. “They are a good team.”

But, the senior had Riverside on his mind.

“Win that one and we have a good chance of going to the playoffs,” he said. “That is one thing I really want to do.”

Negin is a freelance writer from Madison.

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