Game Recap: Verona (3-0) 35, Madison Memorial (0-3) 6
Madison, Wis. - Clear skies and a chill in the air provided a real fall football atmosphere to Mansfield Stadium on Thursday night.
Verona wasted no time showcasing their vaunted defense against the Madison Memorial Spartans, shutting out the Spartans on every first-half drive, forcing three-and-outs on five of six of them. The Wildcats used three passing touchdowns from Aaron Young, two to Carson Bull, in the first half to build a 21-0 lead before senior workhorse Joe Riley pounded away for 113 yards and two scores to salt away the 35-6 victory.
Memorial was working with six new starters, including at quarterback, with Jason Ceniti replacing Michael Toman. However, poor field position and a pair of turnovers (interceptions, both to Verona senior Tucker Teskey) did them in on Thursday night.
You can listen to the full broadcast below.
Offensive Player of the Game: Verona H-Back Carson Bull - 3 catches, 103 yards, 2 touchdowns
Defensive Player of the Game: Verona Safety Tucker Teskey - 2 interceptions, 1 pass deflection
Scholar-Athlete of the Game: Verona Running Back Joe Riley - 17 carries, 113 yards, 2 touchdowns. "He's a scholar-athlete sort of guy," said Coach Dave Richardson. "He leads by example in the community, in the classroom, and on the field."
Play of the Game: Carson Bull's one-handed back-shoulder grab to score the first touchdown of the game in the opening minutes.
Next Week: Verona (3-0) vs Madison West (2-1), Memorial (0-3) vs La Follette (3-0)
Big Eight
Verona 35, Madison Memorial 6: Verona's stifling defense gave up only 11 yards through the air, and most of the 106 yards on the ground during running clock.
Sun Prairie 41, Janesville Craig 7: Over a half-dozen turnovers resulted in most of the Cardinals' points in their big win over the Cougars.
Janesville Parker 28, Madison East 3: The Vikings notched a win with a strong defensive effort.
Middleton 36, Madison West 0: Middleton got back into the hunt for a Big 8 title with a strong second-half effort, scoring 26 after halftime.
Madison La Follette 36, Beloit Memorial 34: A wild ride in the second half saw the Purple Knights rally from a 28-8 deficit at the break to nearly steal a win and snap their long losing streak against the undefeated Lancers.
La Follette 3-0
Sun Prairie 3-0
Verona 3-0
Middleton 2-1
Madison West 2-1
Janesville Craig 1-2
Janesville Parker 1-2
Beloit Memorial 0-3
Madison East 0-3
Madison Memorial 0-3
Week 4:
Madison West (2-1) at Verona (3-0): After getting shut out by the Middleton Cardinals, the Regents will now face the stout defense of the Verona Wildcats, whose starting defense has yet to yield a score.
Sun Prairie (3-0) at Janesville Parker (1-2): Parker got into the win column thanks to a solid defensive effort, but will now have to try and slow down an increasingly dynamic Sun Prairie Cardinals offense.
Madison La Follette (3-0) at Madison Memorial (0-3): Last year, these teams entered week four with the same records, and the Spartans surprised the Lancers with a 7-6 victory. After surviving a scare from Beloit Memorial last week, the Lancers won't be overlooking anyone going forward.
Janesville Craig (1-2) at Middleton (2-1): Craig turned the ball over frequently against the Sun Prairie Cardinals, leading to a big loss. Middleton is another opportunistic defense that will make the Cougars pay if they have the same issues in the turnover department.
Beloit Memorial (0-3) at Madison East (0-3): This will be the best chance for either team to get a win. After Beloit was shut out by West and nearly shut out by Verona, they rallied against La Follette only to lose by two. East, meanwhile, played its closest game under new coach Jeremy Thornton. Can Beloit snap the streak or will East earn their first-year head coach his first win?
Others (non-conference)
Lake Mills (3-0) 48, Mauston 28 - A crazy game in the first half that even had a hook-and-ladder play, the L-Cats stay undefeated.
Belleville (3-0) 28, Wisconsin Dells 19 - What Belleville's football Twitter account called "an ugly win" sends them to 3-0 to start the season.
Friday Night: Waunakee at Mount Horeb/Barneveld and a full rundown of all the games in the area!