Cox Communications Game of the Week: Madison Warhawks 19, Rancho Bernardo Broncos 15
Madison won their season opener against visiting Rancho Bernardo 19-15 despite committing three turnovers and giving up a safety on a bad snap. The game was tight all night long as neither team could pull away.
The Warhawks drove the length of the field on their opening possession while eating up over half of the 1st quarter. They finished the drive on a Mario Rodriguez touchdown pass to Tyson Gangstad from 21 yards out.
Rancho Bernardo answered with a lengthy drive of their own which took them into the 2nd quarter. Jack Gaylord scored a 1-yard touchdown, but a missed extra point kept the Warhawks up 7-6.
The Broncos made up for it when Jonny Tanner intercepted a tipped pass then, on the next play, threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Carpenter on the halfback option and giving Rancho Bernardo a 13-7 lead.
Madison came back to tie it late in the first half when Kenon Christon scored a 13-yard touchdown.
The second half saw both teams trade possessions before Rancho Bernardo took the lead when Madison snapped the ball out of the back of the end zone on a punt formation.
The Broncos led 15-13 until early in the 4th quarter when Madison’s Daniel Stokes ran around right end on 4th and 1 and scored from 54 yards out. That gave the Warhawks a 19-15 lead which they would not relinquish. Stokes finished the night with 145 yards rushing, 60 yards receiving, and 1 touchdown.
PREVIEW – This Friday’s season opener with the #5 Madison Warhawks hosting the #19 Rancho Bernardo Broncos serves as a game one litmus test for both squads in the PPR Game of the Week.
The Warhawks won a Division I State Title in 2016 then followed that up by earning their way into the Open Division in 2017 only to be eliminated by the eventual CIF champion Helix Highlanders. Head coach Rick Jackson returns just 8 starters from last season’s team that went 8-3. His high-flying offense figures to lean heavily on senior RB Kenan Christon who last season paced the rushing attack with 1,233 yards and 16 touchdowns.
That the Broncos are ranked at all going into the 2018 season after a 6-6 record last year shows the respect that the voters have for head coach Tristan McCoy and the talent coming back in Rancho Bernardo. Two years ago, the Broncos lost in the Open Division semi-finals to Helix then followed it up last season struggling to a .500 record after losing several talented players to graduation. They start this season with confidence for a bounce back year returning 18 starters from a year ago. Junior signal caller Noah Morris will be looking to build on his late season success from last year. In Rancho Bernardo’s final two regular season games against Del Norte and Poway respectively Morris threw 7 touchdowns and no interceptions.
For highlights, tune into the Prep Pigskin Report on KUSI Friday at 10:30 pm. To get live updates throughout the game follow us on Twitter @RedJacketArmy.
