Altavista blanks Madison

ALTAVISTA — Madison County proved that old coach’s adage Friday night at Altavista: You can’t win in the playoffs without winning the turnover battle.

The Mountaineers put the ball on the ground three times, missing the chance to extend their season in a 10-0 loss to the Colonels in the Region B, Division 1 semifinals.

The most costly miscue game in the third quarter when Dustin Kirby and his rushers weren’t on the same page as a pitch fell to the turf. The Colonels pounced on the loose ball, giving them a short field at the Mountaineers’ 16-yard line.

“You can’t have those in a playoff game,” Mountaineers coach Stuart Dean said.

Altavista quarterback Rick Adams scored from one yard out to capitalize on the mistake.

That was the only touchdown the Mountaineer defense gave all night, as the only other points came on a 29-yard field goal by the Colonels’ Blake Todd late in the second quarter.

“[The defense] really came to play,” Dean said. “I think we were a little upset over last week and they really proved themselves tonight — couldn’t be prouder of what those guys did up front.”

Chris Clark led the Colonels (10-1) on the ground, rushing for 133 yards on 23 attempts, while Ralph Yates led Madison County with 52 yards on nine rushes. Logan Terrell had 38 yards on 12 carries.

“I think we never could get consistency in our offense like we did in the past,” Dean said. “We’ll get two plays, then have a breakdown on a third play.”

Madison County kept fighting until 2:56 left in the fourth quarter, when a pass from Kirby to Terrell fell short of the first-down marker, ending the season for the Mountaineers (9-2).

“We came to play this week,” Dean said. “We got after it and that’s what made it a competitive game — we came after it, we never backed down and we kept on and kept on plugging away and we just came up a little short.”