Dixie Trims Mohawks

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Dixie continued with their winning ways on a soggy Friday night against Middletown Madison.  Despite the weather, Dixie passed well in their victory.  Madison has been a running team and a damp field should have played into their hands – and they did get some yardage on the ground.  But Dixie’s offense was too potent for them to contain, Dixie pretty much ran and passed at will.  And although the Greyhound defense had a couple of breakdowns where they allowed touchdowns on long running plays, they mostly kept Madison in between the 20’s.  And both interceptions by the Dixie defense were converted to Dixie scores.  So overall a good game on both sides of the ball.

It was a big play night for both teams.  Luke Bowling opening the scoring with a 55 yard TD run.  But Madison answered right back with a 60 yard TD run of their own.  Ryan Jordan then peeled off a 58 yard TD run to put Dixie back up.  In the early going fans had to wonder if it was going to be a track race.  Dixie’s Travis Wright picked off a pass to end a Madison drive and this set up Dixie’s next score.  Matt Isaacs caught a 37 yard pass on a 4^th and 9 to put the ball on the 3 yard line where Ryan Jordan plunged in for another TD. 

This seemed to switch the momentum over to  Dixie for the rest of the game, Madison just couldn’t keep up with Dixie’s scoring pace.  On offense Dixie could do wrong. The scoring onslaught continued in the second quarter:  Jordan had another long run for a score, and in another 4^th and long situation Bowling connected with Greg Leonard for an 11 yard TD pass.  Madison again got a long run from slippery running back Trey Owens who went 69 yards for a score.   But on the ensuing kickoff Matt Isaacs returned the ball to the Madison 45 and a few plays later Jordan caught an 8 yard TD pass to re-extend the Dixie lead.  The last score of the half was set up by a Greg Leonard catch on the 16 yard line where Luke Bowling raced in to give Dixie a commanding 40-14 halftime lead.

Both teams managed just one more score in the second half.  Ryan Jordan set up Dixie’s last TD with an interception, then he had a couple of nice carries to put the ball deep into Madison territory.  But Justin Funkhouser finished the drive with an 18 yard TD catch.  The last quarter both teams were substituting freely and after a Dixie fumble, Madison took advantage and got their last score.  Dixie won on Senior night with an outstanding offensive performance for a 46-20 victory.

Stats: Ryan Jordan rushed for about 130 yards,  Luke Bowling rushed for 165 yards and threw for about 160 yards.  Justin Funkhouser was the leading receiver with 85 yards and a TD.  Travis Wright is leading the team with interceptions with 6.  

With one game left in the regular season, Dixie at 7-2 finds themselves in the thick of things -both the hunt for a share of the league title and the hunt for the playoffs.  They play against the Carlisle Indians at home on Friday night.  A win would give them a shot at least a share the league title and would put them in the playoffs.  A loss and they need some help from other teams to make the playoffs.  

Coach Watson “We came out and played well, we stuck to our game plan, and our players executed it.   There were a few errors that we need to look at, but none of them bit us – so we will fix them for next week.  They had some very good runners - Trey Owens for one, very agile – we would fill the holes, but he would move around and find an opening.  But we didn’t keep our heads up when we tackled and we didn’t always back fill.  Matt Isaacs on the other hand had a solid night on defense.”

On Carlisle, “ Carlisle is a very good team and they have been the past 6-7 years since Jewell got there.  We know going in that this is a very big game - the league title is on the line. The winner will be co-champs if Milton Union defeats Northridge.  We know that if we play the way that we are capable of at home on our field that we can walk off that field as co-champs.  If that happens, it will be the first time since 1983 that Dixie has won league.  And we could position ourselves for a playoff appearance as well.  The kids are excited and are looking forward to that challenge.   It will be a good game on Friday – it’s going to be a tough game. “

So next Fridays game between Carlisle and Dixie will be featured as the game of the week.  Dixie fans be sure to wear Red and Grey and support your Hounds as this year’s team fights for a share of the league title and a playoff slot in the state tournament.