©2005 by Ron Harrison
Madison Central (1-0) vs. Paul L. Dunbar (1-0) August 26, 2005
Coach Kenny Turner's Madison Central Indians opened their season last week with a 21-14 victory over Lafayette. Paul Warford led the ground attack with 117 yards on 11 carries. Andrew Mathis and Ronnie Letcher combined for over 100 yards and two TDs.
David Hensley made his debut as the head coach at Dunbar a successful one as the Bulldogs defeated Lone Oak 57-6. Chris Franklin completed nine of 17 passes for 260 yards with three scoring strikes. 5-8 190 pound Sr. FB Will Wright led the ground game with 63 yards.
Paul Dunbar raced out to a 21-0 lead and looked like they would coast to victory. However, Madison Central scored on an eight yard run by Andrew Mathis with less than a minute remaining in the first half to cut the deficit to 15, 21-6, at halftime.
Madison Central used their big play capability in the third quarter to get back in the game. The Indians scored on an 80 yard scoring strike from Chaz Hope to Paul Warford to make the score 21-12. Paul Dunbar then went on a drive of their own before fumbling the ball away to Madison Central at the Dunbar 13. Ronnie Letcher raced 87 yards for a score on the next play to pull Madison Central to within two, 21-19.
The score remained 21-19 but it appeared Madison Central was driving for the go-ahead score until they fumbled the ball and Dunbar recovered on the Dunbar 21 yard line with less than six minutes remaining on the clock. Will Wright carried the ball eight consecutive times, scoring the insurance TD on a 31 yard run with 1:32 remaining in the game. Sean O'Brien's kick made the score 28-19. Paul Dunbar's Jeremy Bruck intercepted a Madison Central pass to end the game.
Paul Dunbar held a 376-331 advantage in total offense and enjoyed a 21-14 advantage in first downs. Paul Dunbar lost two fumbles while Madison Central lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted. Paul Dunbar was penalized seven times for 76 yards while Madison Central was flagged seven times for 64 yards. Sean O'Brien was a weapon tonight for Paul Dunbar as he kicked four extra points and punted three times for a 50.0 yard average. O'Brien's longest punt of the night was 63 yards.
Will Wright led Paul Dunbar's ground game with 193 yards and two TDs on 25 carries. Mike Sweat added 42 yards on six carries and Chris Franklin chipped in with 41 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Franklin also completed five of 10 passes for 99 yards including a 17 yard scoring strike to Keith Bailey. Bailey had four receptions for 96 yards. Zack Warmouth led the Bulldog defense with four solo and seven assisted tackles including three tackles for losses totaling eight yards.
Ronnie Letcher led the Madison Central ground game with 134 yards on seven carries including an 87 yard TD run. Andrew Mathis carried the ball 14 times for 116 yards and scored on an eight yard run. Chaz Hope completed two of eight passes for 81 yards including an 80 yard TD pass to Paul Warford. Austin Camp led Madison Central's defense with six solo and four assisted tackles, while Paul Warford added six solo and two assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Paul L. Dunbar | 28 | Madison Central | 19 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Madison Central | 0 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| Paul L. Dunbar | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| PD | - Chris Franklin 1 yard run (Sean O'Brien kick) |
| PD | - Will Wright 39 yard run (O'Brien kick) |
| PD | - Keith Bailey 17 yard pass from Franklin (O'Brien kick) |
| MC | - Andrew Mathis 8 yard run (Kent Blackburn kick fails) |
| MC | - Paul Warford 80 yard pass from Chaz Hope (Hope pass fails) |
| MC | - Ronnie Letcher 87 yard run (Blackburn kick) |
| PD | - Wright 31 yard run (O'Brien kick) |
Selected Statistics
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | |
| Ronnnie Letcher | 7 | 134 | 19.1 | 87 | Will Wright | 25 | 193 | 7.7 | 39 | |
| Andrew Mathis | 14 | 116 | 8.3 | 29 | Mike Sweat | 6 | 42 | 7.0 | 13 | |
| Paul Warford | 6 | 20 | 3.3 | 8 | Chris Franklin | 12 | 41 | 3.4 | 12 | |
| Jared Barnes | 2 | -5 | -2.5 | 0 | Marshall Mays | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 4 | |
| Chaz Hope | 4 | -24 | -6.0 | 1 | Keith Bailey | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 0 | |
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Chaz Hope | 8-2-1 | 81 | 1 | 80 | Chris Franklin | 10-5-0 | 99 | 1 | 39 | |
| Jared Barnes | 4-2-0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Colby Haney | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Andrew Mathis | 2-2-0 | 9 | 0 | 6 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Paul Warford | 2 | 75 | 1 | 80 | Keith Bailey | 4 | 96 | 1 | 39 | |
| Junior Skepple | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | Brandon Sok | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Thomas Strunk | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | ||||||
| Ronnie Letcher | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's game.
Other Games of Interest
Please refer to Week Two in Review.
Please send your comments and questions to Ron Harrison at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.
