It didn’t take him long to find out.
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Madison jumped on Milton-Union from the start in a 46-0 win Friday night to improve to 4-2 overall and remain perfect in the Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division at 2-0.
“They answered that well,” Poff said with a smile.
Madison compiled 265 yards of offense in the first half while holding the Bulldogs (2-4, 1-2) to 45 on its way to a 34-0 lead. That meant the running clock was in effect after the break.
“We had to adjust to how good their players were,” Milton-Union coach Mark Lane said. “They’ve got some good football players, and they played hard.”
The Mohawks scored on their first drive when Tyler Baumgartner caught a 21-yard pass from Mason Whiteman on a third-and-12.
The defense got in on the scoring three plays later when Tanner Limon beat the rush to a snap that went over M-U quarterback William Morris’ head for a 14-0 lead .
In addition to the fumble recovery for a score, the Madison defense recorded three first-half interceptions and limited the Bulldogs to just three first downs.
The Mohawks three-headed ground game gave the Bulldogs fits the entire first half.
Cameron Svarda finished with 140 yards on 11 carries, including a 60-yard scoring run that pushed the lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter. Baumgartner had 86 yards on nine carries and a touchdown run and Evan Crim added a TD as part of an 89-yard night on nine carries.
“That is the key to how we do things,” Poff said. “We don’t worry about yards or scores. We count touches. We want to make defenses defend all of our backs and be well-balanced.”
The Madison offense churned out 20 first downs and racked up 365 yards on the ground on 40 carries.
“They definitely took care of business, and we didn’t,” Lane said.
Milton-Union crossed midfield just twice and never advanced inside the Madison 45. The Bulldogs finished with four first downs and 79 yards of offense.
“Milton-Union is a team that I never take anything for granted until the game is over,” Poff said. “We knew we had to come out and be physical. As a coaching staff, the point we use is to not worry about the other team.”
Madison travels to Carlisle next Friday for a first-place Buckeye showdown, while Milton-Union hosts Brookville in a SWBL crossover contest.
Milton-Union 0-0-0-0—0
Madison 14-20-12-0—46
MA: Tyler Baumgartner 21 pass from Mason Whiteman (Graham Reich kick)
MA: Tanner Limon recovered fumble in end zone (Reich kick)
MA: Cameron Svarda 60 run (Reich kick)
MA: Evan Crim 2 run (Kick failed)
MA: Baumgartner 45 run (Reich kick)
MA: Whiteman 1 run (Kick failed)
MA: Svarda 8 run (Kick failed)
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