1A: It’s Madison County’s State Title

When Madison County and head football coach <strong>Mike Coe</strong> were soundly beaten by Valdosta, 52-0, to open the season, Tallahassee Chiles (20-14) and Dunnellon (28-26), it would have been easy to let those losses get the best of them. They didn't. What the Cowboys did was put it all together – winning nine straight games, including Saturday night's 1A state title, 13-12, over Hawthorne. For Madison County, the win was the fourth state title in five years – and sixth overall. For Coach Coe and his 11-3 team, it was all about overcoming plenty this season, and they found a way to make it happen. Coach <strong>Cornelius Ingram</strong> and the Hornets, making their second straight state appearance once again fell short after the best season in school history. Up until the final seconds ticked down at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee, the Hornets had not tasted defeat, coming into the state finals a perfect 10-0. This is a program that has now arrived on the state championship landscape and will certainly be in the mix once again in 2022. The first quarter was one that had both teams feeling each other out as the defenses showed why they are two of the best among 1A schools. When junior<strong> Jonathan Akins</strong> came up with an interception, he would return it 29 yards, but the Hornets came up big and the opening quarter finished at 0-0. Hawthorne broke on top at the 7:38 mark of the second quarter when junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128320" first="Tyler" last="Jefferson"] </strong>went 31 yards for a score on fourth and short. His two-point conversion failed at the Hornets led it 6-0. Then Cowboys got on the board with on a 9-yard scoring pass from junior <strong>Jamie Hampton</strong> to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50293" first="Delvin" last="Boatman"]</strong> at the 2:42 mark. <strong>Keoni Nelson's</strong> point after gave Madison County a 7-6 lead. But Jefferson and Hawthorne answered right back as he took the ball in from the 10 with 1:20 left to play in the first half. His two-point conversion once again failed on a pass and it was 12-7, which the Hornets took into the half. With both teams once again coming out and playing defense and having several penalties, it took After a number of penalties and solid defense, Hawthorne's <strong>Jordan Fluellen</strong> recovered a fumble, which was huge, but that momentum didn't last long. Madison County came up with its second interception of the game – once again by Aikens – and it put them deep inside Hornet's territory. But that defense and junior defensive end <strong>Jailen Ruth</strong> dodged that potential go-ahead score. The third quarter was once again plagued by penalties (125 yards against Madison County and 60 for Hawthorne), and the teams headed into the final quarter with the Cowboys trailing, 12-7. When <strong>Tyrece Pryor </strong>blocked a punt with 8:05 left in the game, Madison County took over at the Hawthorne two – and on the very first play, Hampton took it in for a 13-12, missing the two-point conversion. <strong>FILLING UP THE STAT SHEETS</strong> Both teams had some quality performance on Saturday night. On offense, Madison County ran the ball very well – with <strong>Tommy House</strong> (16-82), <strong>Keshaun Mitchell </strong>(10-55) and Hampton, who had 51 yards and a score. Hawthorne was led by Jefferson who passed for 63 yards, but was intercepted twice. He did carry for 105 yards and both scores. <strong>Camren Cohens</strong> had three receptions for 58 yards. Defensively. Mitchell (9 tackles), <strong>Trevion Gilyard </strong>(6 tackles), <strong>Latoris Young</strong> (6 tackles, 1 sack) and <strong>Ty Jarvis</strong> (6 tackles) came up big for the Cowboys. The Hornets also had plenty of gifted prospects making plays – with Ruth leading the way with 11 tackles. <strong>Amari Shepard</strong> (6 tackles), Fluellen (5 tackles), Cohens (5 tackles) and <strong>Nylan Markham</strong> (sack). <strong>PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSHUA WILSON - <a href="https://floridahsfootball.com/">https://floridahsfootball.com/</a></strong> <strong>SIGN UP FOR FLORIDA STOCK RISER EVENT - TODAY: </strong><a href="https://events.prepredzone.com/info?website_id=4&event_id=397">https://events.prepredzone.com/info?website_id=4&event_id=397</a> <em><strong>You Can Contact [player_tooltip player_id="111610" first="Larry" last="Blustein"] with prospect or team information at: Floridakids1@aol.com</strong></em>