Madison 39- Mt. Vernon 17 (DMN Game Story)

[JR2004]

I saw the score posted in another thread, but here's the game story from the DMN.

Madison Tailback Has Big Night

12:15 AM CST on Saturday, November 19, 2005
By EVAN MILLAR / The Dallas Morning News


GREENVILLE – If anyone wondered how Shawnbrey McNeal would fare in a game of two-hand touch, the Madison tailback gave fans at T.A. Cotton Ford Stadium a good idea.

McNeal slithered through Mount Vernon's defense, eluding several tacklers and breaking the grasps of the few who could touch him. The state champion sprinter finished with a career-high 278 yards and four touchdowns, leading Madison to a 39-17 win in a Class 3A area-round playoff game Friday night.

Madison (10-1) faces Tatum next week in the Division II Region II semifinals. Mount Vernon ends the season 6-6, losing to Madison in the playoffs for the second straight season.

McNeal scored three times on only 11 carries in the first half, on runs of 15, 26 and 37 yards.

The onslaught began in the first quarter, following a 2-yard Mount Vernon TD pass from Justin Drabble to Chris Bonner.

McNeal then took his first carry 14 yards. He appeared headed for a loss on his third carry, only to reverse field and run 15 yards on fourth down for the touchdown to make it 7-6.

Madison's defense asserted itself quickly, forcing fumbles on three of the next four Mount Vernon drives. McNeal scored his second touchdown following the second strip, this time by cornerback Greg Jordan, to give Madison its first lead, 12-7.

McNeal added his third score of the half two possessions later, breaking several tackles on a short run to the left and sprinting upfield for a 37-yard touchdown.

Mount Vernon struck back. Drabble completed a 47-yard pass deep into Madison territory, and Jerrus Doss scored from five yards out four plays later to pull Mount Vernon within a touchdown.

McNeal started the fourth quarter with a 46-yard run. J.L. Wallace snuck in on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to make it 24-17.

[3afan]

Madison & Tatum next week - that ought to be a track meet! Tatum was my preseason choice in Region II, not sure they can get by Madison.

[bleedgreen]

If Tatum thinks they can run on Madison, they will be surprised. Madison has the most stifling defense I have seen in many years. I'm sure Tatum and Madison have good scouts, so this should be a terrific game to watch. Wish I could be there.

[Aesculus gilmus]

http://www.smoaky.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=46662#pid522859

JR2004, I thought you might like to see what's being said about Madison on Smoaky.com.

I wouldn't say I am necessarily pulling for the Trojans, but this accusation of "classlessness" gets old. I would not be at all surprised if people from Tatum are on there next weekend after they get beat saying the same thing. "Sure, we lost, but at least we have class" yada, yada, yada.

I am a little sensitive about this issue, because Gilmer has often been accused of running up the score the last few years as well.

[JR2004]

I went and read the thread on Smoaky.com and I agree with part of what I read. Madison's OC did indeed run a QB sneak on the final play of the game from the 1 inch line. I myself take great exception with him doing this because it is uncalled for, but to be honest I don't get a lot of what he does offensively to begin with. If I had been Mt. Vernon's coach I probably would've come unglued and come across the field and went right after him for doing what he did at the end of the game. It was a completely classless act on his part and I know I wasn't the only person sitting on Madison's side who felt that he crossed the line when he did that. Mt. Vernon did indeed play them close going into the fourth quarter, but you're going to be in a tight ballgame when you have 3 other possessions inside the 20 yard line and come up with 0 points due to your OC forgetting that he has a guy in his backfield who was pretty much unstoppable all night.

Here's where I take GREAT exception with what some of those folks said. While Madison's OC acted like a classless jerk, those players didn't. The way that thread sounded I'd swear I was reading about the late 80's-early 90's Miami Hurricanes and that Madison is nothing but a bunch of thugs who just happen to play football. They seem to be cast as a bunch of great athletes who don't play together and try to start a fight every other play. Not once this season have I seen a Madison player get thrown out of a game. Those are good kids out there who play the game hard week in and week out and all they hear said about them is stuff like that. If someone is going to make a comment about those kids like that then at least know them first and then make a decision about them.

And the guy that said Madison's coaches are all idiots might be one himself. While I would be in agreement that the OC can be about as sharp as a bowling ball sometimes, the guy running the defense is not an idiot. He's a graduate of Madison and he played some pro ball in the CFL and he does A LOT of good for the kids on that team. He's trying to make men out of those kids and for a lot of them he's kind of like the father figure in their life that several of them just don't have. All anyone would have to do that hates Madison or wishes they weren't in the region would have a different view of things if they ever run across Marcus Gates and talk to him for about 15 minutes. He's 100 percent a class guy and you won't find many people that have a bad thing to say about him. The head coach is a pretty good guy as well. I just don't appreciate at all someone making a statement like that when they don't have a clue about the people they are speaking about. Anyhow that thread just kinda made me a bit on the angry side so I thought I'd clarify a few things.

PS I think Madison is going to pull off the upset and knock off Tatum in a close one. Hopefully if that happens there won't be Tatum fans making some of the same false accusations that I read in that thread.

[3afan]

good stuff ...

[Astrosdawg07]

Originally posted by JR2004

PS I think Madison is going to pull off the upset and knock off Tatum in a close one. Hopefully if that happens there won't be Tatum fans making some of the same false accusations that I read in that thread.

I don't see that one.

[Aesculus gilmus]

That is a very interesting analysis. I tend to root for the misunderstood teams and the underdogs, so I have always wanted to see the Madison side of things. I think we in the rural areas just can't relate at all what it is like to grow up in a DISD school. It's literally two different worlds.

I was looking forward to a rematch of the Buckeyes and Trojans, but now that Gilmer has been knocked off, that's not in the cards. I wish your team well. Not everyone in East Texas just automatically hates you guys.

Did Shawnbrey McNeal play in the DM-Gilmer game in Greenville in 2004? If he did, I sure don't remember him making the kind of impact he is this year.

The defensive coordinator's "father figure" role is certainly to be commended. Gilmer's head coach (and his staff) is known for that as well. Certainly these gentlemen's rewards in heaven will be great.

[JR2004]

Gilmus,

I understand where you're coming from. I think I have a fairly interesting perspective on Madison as well as a small town. I grew up in a small town that was a 3A school until my freshman year of high school. I honestly didn't realize just how different things were at a city school like Madison until I moved up to the Metroplex about 6 and a half years ago for college. I played football in college with several guys who had played their high school ball for Madison. One of them is now the O-line coach for the Trojans. It was a bit of a shock to me to see what those kids have to deal with on a daily basis. The stuff they deal with doesn't really shock me as much anymore, but I still feel bad for a lot of the kids there and what they have to persevere through and not just the guys playing football right now, but rather all of them whether they are an athlete or not.

I remember the first time I went into the gym at Madison and met the school's longtime basketball coach Ellis Kidd Sr. He pointed me in the direction of the school's motto on a big green sign on the wall that says: "There's no school like the great James Madison High School." It's just a whole different world there and it didn't take me all that long to figure out why he was laughing quite a bit when he told me to read that. I personally find Madison to be a very unique place due to the history of the school going back to the Forest Avenue days when the area was a Jewish community. I think Madison would've been a fun high school to have gone to. A lot of folks shy away from attending high school there, but I would've enjoyed it. Madison's image isn't the best, but things there are changing and it's a school I will definitely be sending the kid me and my fiance are adopting when he's in high school in another 2 and a half years. I feel that he'll be in good hands with guys like Coach Gates, Coach Hamm (boys bball coach) and many other people up there.

Oh and I wanted to see a Madison-Gilmer rematch, but maybe that can come next year when y'all will probably come into the game ranked number 1 in the state. If you didn't notice Shawnbrey as much at the game last year it's because y'all jumped out 22-0 so quickly and after that his involvement in the offense was minimal due to having to throw every down. He was the guy, however, that had a 95 yard catch in that game in the 3rd quarter. It's also good to hear that Gilmer's coaches take an active role in turning their boys into men. I know the coaches are brought there to coach and win games, but the best thing they'll ever do for the kids is build them into good people who have success in life and not just on the football field.