FORT MADISON – Even though Fort Madison got a season-opening win over Burlington Friday night in a sweat box at Bracewell Stadium, Head Coach Derek Doherty said there’s more to the Bloodhounds.
The Hounds take on Fairfield at 7:30 p.m. Friday night in a non-district Class 3A clash, following the 15-12 win over BHS.
Doherty said the Trojans will be ready to play and it's always the next man in for them. They graduated All-everything Max Wheaton last season, but his brother Sam has stepped right in.
Wheaton is a senior who recorded five tackles and assumes roles on special teams, including punting, where he averaged close to 38 yards per kick last week.
The Trojans handed Mt. Pleasant their 15th consecutive loss 38-14 Friday where junior tailback Cason Miller ripped off 236 yards on 25 carries and scored three TDs. But Doherty said they will come ready to play.
“Fairfield will be a good football team, no doubt. Coach Wheaton does a fantastic job. Watching film proved that,” Doherty said.
“They are extremely disciplined. They run the ball hard, they block hard. They’re going to be a really, really tough test for us. That’s what we’ve been telling our guys and most of them remember the dogfight last year.”
The Hounds escaped the Fairfield “bowl” with a 16-13 win to go to 3-0 on the year.
“Sam Wheaton’s right there and a really good player. The Miller kid, I knew he was tough because we have to deal with him on the wrestling mat. I know his dad and that kid’s a good athlete. He had a great night. That’s gonna be a challenge and I know our guys are excited about that challenge.”
Last week the Hounds gave up a first-drive touchdown to the Grayhounds all on the ground. Doherty said Fort Madison needs to start quicker this week.
“Yeah, that’s going to be shown on the first series. We admitted we started slow. We were excited to start, but not excited to execute,” he said.
“We can’t be so geeked out that we’re flying up field and that’s not what we’re supposed to do. We had some of that with guys who were in their first Friday night experience. That’s adrenaline overload.”
Doherty said last Friday was a compilation of that energy and the heat.
“It was suffocating down there. We don’t have a lot of depth, so we had guys going two ways and some playing special teams, too. That’s the hand we’re dealt and that’s fine. Really proud of our kids for finding a way and digging down. A lot of our guys are wrestlers and they can suffer through that kind of heat and that’s a credit to Coach (Ryan) Smith and his program,” Doherty said.
“Wasn’t a beautiful game by any means, it was actually a really ugly game, but we found a way and that’s a credit to our kids and our culture.”
The culture in Fort Madison is also becoming next man in and that happens on both sides of the ball.
Jamarkus Kline has become relevant and an attention grabber from his position as defensive tackle. Kline, a senior, had seven tackles to lead Fort Madison last week. Doherty said Ben Ramatowski, CJ Arnett, and Ike Thacher all had strong defensive output against the Grayhounds.
Offensively, junior quarterback Marcus Guzman will look to build on a 93-yard, one-score night from last week. Guzman found four different receivers and completed 12 passes in the win.
“He’s getting better every practice. That was his first start and I loved him up after the game and we had a one-on-one moment. He’s so hard on himself and you can see he wasn’t happy with his performance,” Doherty said.
“I told him, ‘Hey, you’re a 1-0 varsity quarterback’, and he said, “Yeah, but I gotta get better. That’s just his mentality. We love that about him and we tell him he doesn’t have to press, just trust himself.”
Senior Hayden Segoviano led the Hounds on the ground with 58 yards and a touchdown last week. Guzman carried the ball 12 times and Brody Cashman had eight yards on three carries.
Henry Wiseman leads Fort Madison with seven catches and a score. Junior Caleb Bolander has 34 yards on three catches.
Friday will be First Responder’s Appreciation Night with area first responders being honored before the game and will help hold the American Flag during national Anthem.
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