City Game of the Week: Madison 36, Point Loma 14
Week 11 of the KUSI Prep Pigskin Report’s “City Game of the Week” featured the Division 1 Western League Championship between two of San Diego’s top caliber football teams. The mighty Madison Warhawks (6-3) hosted the powerful Point Loma Pointers (8-1) on Friday November 7th at 6:30PM. Both extremely well coach football teams came in this League battle, riding dominating win streaks. Madison lost its first three games but got back to playing Madison football and won 6 straight. Pont Loma sole loss was by one point and came into the night on a seven game tear. Pre-game, these teams were fired up and hungry to prove they deserve to be League champions!
This slug-fest started off on the first play of the game! On the kickoff, Point Loma’s return man was met by a tenacious gang tackle of Warhawks and fumbled the ball. Madison recovered on Point Loma’s 44 yard line. Coach Jackson had a clear game plan from the first drive, a large dose of his dynamic quarterback #7 Kareem Coles and smash mouth running back #31 Isaiah Osborne! Coles and Osborne rushed the Warhawks down to the 8 yard line, and Coles connected with wide receiver #11 Marc Quinlin for a 8 yard touchdown.
Point Loma was not going to lay down easily. Their first drive consisted of typical Pointer style football, running the ball and controlling the tempo. On an impressive first drive, Point Loma distributed the ball to four running backs #21 “Slash” Jaylen Griffen, #6 Romeo Epperley, #2 Tshombre Carter, and #3 Brenden Torrence. The methodical 6 minute drive, finished with a 3 yard blast by Torrence. The Pointers tied it up and were ready to bring the fight.
Madison’s second possession proved one thing for certain, Kareem Coles should be considered for San Diego’s most valuable player award! Coles showcased superior mechanics and extreme precision, as he passed to his speedy receiving core. He connected with three different receivers and capped off the drive with another 8 yard touchdown to #11 Quinlin.
Pointer quarterback #5 Gavin Grady was given his chance to air it out. On their second possession, Grady had three completions for 44 yards. He delivered a beautiful strike in touch coverage, to his tight end #80 Tim O’Brien for an 18 yard touchdown. Point Loma took the lead by one point.
Kareem Coles stepped it up another level on the next possession. He drove his team down the field with is arm in less than 2 minutes. He delivered a dime for a 40 yard touchdown to put his team back in the lead. The defense held the Pointers off on the last drive of the second half. The game looked like it was up for grabs at halftime.
Coach Jackson obviously said some inspiring words to his Warhawks at halftime. They came out fired up and brought it hard to the Pointers. The Pointers were unable to move the ball against the tenacious hard hitting Madision defense in the second half. Coles continued to pick apart the Pointers secondary and quickly put his team up by two scores. He finished the night with 5 touchdowns, taking his season total to 33! The Warhawks dominated the second half and won the Western League title with the score 36 – 14.
Madison Warhawks are the 2014 Western League Champions. The road does not end for either team, as they both will be top seeds going into the CIF playoffs. Point Loma and Madison will be two formidable opponents in the Division 1 bracket, which begins next Friday. Tune in to KUSI’s Prep Pigskin Report, next Friday at 10:30 PM for first round playoff coverage!
