EASTLAKE — So you think the Blue Streak’s 7-0 loss to state-ranked Chardon last week, a loss that was full of opportunities didn’t sink in? Pity North for being on the receiving end of their wrath.

Madison ( 4-2, 2-1) not only took home an 62-15 win over North, still winless on the year, but in doing so they let loose Hades fury on the Rangers.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, for a moment late in the second quarter, there was a discrepincy, that made many in the stands think about the former NFL replacement refs, as the men in stripes got the down wrong and called the press box for assistance.

It didn’t matter.

Madison called time out right after, and on the next play John O’Brian made a great catch in traffic in the corner of the end zone, to give the Blue Streaks a 35-7 lead.

Just how pumped was Madison entering this game? The first half alone, it not only scored seven times, but they did it on the ground and did it by air. In all, Madison held North to just three first downs for the half, minus three rushing and 92 overall.

Both Nick Knight and Mark Murray each had over the century mark in the first half with Knight netting 111 and Murray 116. For the game, their numbers were huge. Knight finished with 145 yards, while Murray had 185 total. Knight also had 181 yards passing on the night.

“Tonight meant a lot to us,” Knight, who is in his first year as a starter said. “We wanted to show what kind of character we have and get prepped for the biggest game of our lives next week (at undefeated and four-time defending PAC champion South).”

Still for a few minutes it looked as if North had some serious fight in them. After Madison got on the board first with 10:40 left in the fourth on a Knight 12-yard run,

The Rangers wasted no time marching back. At the 9:09 mark, Anton Vrebac found Tyler Southhard from a yard out.

Yep, it seemed like this may be a barnburner and that maybe the Chardon loss had affected the Blue Streaks. Then, Madison came to life, and did it in threes as in three-minute intervals to end the first quarter. Three minutes later, Mark Murray scored on a 1-yard run. Three minutes after that, it was Murray again, this time on a pass from Knight from 5 yards out.

Then with 6:35 left in the second quarter, Madison made it a 28-7 ballgame as it was Knight’s turn again, this time from 1 yard out.

North came out of the locker room and drove to Madison’s 5, after a nice pass from Vrabec to Ben Josipovic, but turned the ball over on downs. Still, it managed to get points on the next series, as the snap on the punt was high and the Rangers got the safety.

North nearly made it two safties in a row after Nick Law intercepted Vrabec in the end zone on the next series and appeared to come out of the end zone, before being tackled.

It was called a touchback.

The Blue Streaks then drove 80 yards as Knight moved up and down the field with ease, eventually making it in from 5 yards out, giving them an unsurmountable 42-9 lead.

“It was nice to be able to put up points like that,” Knight said. “Both me and Mike always mess around with each other, but we are a team and do it for each other. There are no individuals here.”

Madison got on the board two more times in the fourth quarter as Knight found the end zone from 15 yards out with 11:03 left in the game and then two minutes later when Mason Kensinger intercepted Vrabec and raced in for the score from 20 yards out.

While those stats alone are inpressive, perhaps Austin Burkholder’s play with 3:28 remaining was the best play of the night. A junior backup, Burkholder found Lucas Ingalls for an 84-yard score making it 62-15.

“We had a tough loss and the kids came out to play,” Madison coach Tim Willis said. “As a coach, you just want to get out healty and we did just that. We had to play some defense tonight and it got better as it went on. My only concern now is Willoughby South.

“Our last touchdown, we didn’t mean to do that, we wanted to show some class, but when you get the younger kids out there, they want to make plays.”

Pawlikowski is a freelance writer from Parma.

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