Chiefs hold County Seat in win over Fort Madison

KEOKUK – The Fort Madison Bloodhounds looked like a whole different team with a whole new look…and outlook Friday night.
The Hounds, who haven’t won a game in their last 15, were spunky in a 55-27 loss to Keokuk in the Class 3A District 4 opener at Calvert Stadium.
Sophomore Mo Thacher scored three touchdowns on the ground in his most productive night of the season, regularly getting through the front line into the Chiefs' second layer of defense.
The offensive spark was created by a new look double-back set for the Hounds. Thacher and senior Eric Cornelis took turns gash running into fairly large holes created by Fort Madison’s front five.
Head Coach Derek Doherty threw an old adage on the grill – the steak is raw and they're working with some different seasonings.
“We're getting better. That's kind of the message to them and to stick to the process. We're going to keep chipping away, and we're going to keep getting better.” he said. “I've said it before. I feel like our time’s coming. Outcomes are frustrating, but when you commit to a process, you commit to it.”
The Chiefs had little trouble getting on the board, moving the ball quickly to the south endzone where sophomore quarterback Jadyn Burton took a couple shots from the 15 into the endzone. The first shot was broken up by Fort Madison’ s Owen Huffman, but the second attempt found a wide open Antonio Crockett in the back left corner to open the scoring 7-0 with the PAT.
The new-look Hounds' offense took the Chiefs back for a bit as Fort Madison put together its best first drive of the season after Aurelio Jaciunde took the kick all the way back to the FM 40. Then it was a steady diet of Thacher, who would carry five times in the seven play 55-yard scoring drive capping it with a 2-yard dive to tie things up at 7.
Keokuk would bring the kick back to the 21 and then on the first play Burton again found Crockett on a swing pass and the sophomore sprinted 79 yards down the Keokuk sideline for their second score of the quarter.
The Hounds would get bit for a false start in the next series and stumbled in five, punting to the Keokuk 21. This time the Chiefs needed 11 plays to eat up the 79 yards capped by a Burton 1-yard keeper for a 21-7 lead.

Then the Bloodhounds would follow with an impressive 16-play, 63-yard drive mixing it up with sophomore Stefan Berlett throwing four times, twice to Thacher on swing passes, and twice to Huffman in the flat. The rest was the nice one-two punch of Thacher and Cornelis.  Cornelis had nice chunk runs of 10 yards and eight on his seven carries in the series, while Thacher ran four times including a 4-yard run through the gap to keep the Hounds within one score.
The Hounds would ultimately get a stop on the Chiefs’ next possession forcing a punt from the Keokuk 41 after 12 plays. But the Hounds would go out in four on their next possession. Burton/Crockett combination hit again on the first play from scrimmage for Keokuk going 65 yards for the TD and a 28-14 lead going into the half.
“We have a young secondary - really young secondary. I mean we’ve got a freshman starting, and he's a really good freshman, but they've got a really good receiving core and they made a lot of plays on us,” Doherty said. “But I wouldn't trade our guys for anything. I’m proud of the way we stayed committed.”
Fort Madison would come out of the break committed to the run. The drive off the second half kick to the 23 went 12 plays, 10 on the ground again, balancing runs between Cornelis and Thacher.
This time Cornelis would get into the south endzone from six yards out on an extremely heady play. Cornelis went off the right tackle and was brought down at the three but, when the tackler rolled him over, he never touched the ground, staying on top of the defender and sprung back to his feet and raced into the endzone while players on both sides thought the play was over. The side judge signaled the touchdown, and the Hounds again were down by just seven at 28-21.
Keokuk would score on its next three possessions to put the game away. Fort Madison would sandwich in a 25-yard run by Thacher where he broke four tackles on the way into the north endzone for the Bloodhounds’ final score in the third period.
Cornelis would finish with 142 hard-earned yards on 30 carries and a score. Jaciunde and Thacher each had six catches for a total of 50 yards. Berlett’s line was 11-of-23 for 74 yards, no interceptions and no touchdowns. Jaciunde had eight tackles, all solo, to lead the Hounds' defense. Jaden Criton and Rainer Johnson each had 4.5.
Doherty said the group is still learning the game and the secondary is one part of the game where the Hounds have to be more disciplined, but Friday’s game showed a little more of what Fort Madison is building.
“This isn’t a knock on our guys at all. Our football IQ is just - it’s just where it's at, and that's fine. We're learning,” he said.
“I know what these guys are capable of and that's what we've been talking about. But ‘potential’ is a horrible word. We don't want to continue talking about our potential. We want to say that we maximized our ability.”
Fort Madison is home next week against Mt. Pleasant (1-0, 4-1) in a 7:30 p.m. game at Richmond Stadium.