FORT MADISON – There was some special energy pumped into Richmond Stadium Friday night with some special effects and music – all part of a new lighting system installed in the offseason.
But that energy didn’t permeate the Bloodhound football team until Henry Wiseman picked off a pass from Fairfield quarterback Landon Nodurft with 1:24 left and the Trojans on the move to seal a 21-14 Class 3A District 4 win for the Hounds.
The win moves Fort Madison, who was ranked in the top 15 in the latest AP high school Class 3A rankings with eight votes, to 2-0 and sets up a district clash when 5th-ranked Williamsburg comes to town next week. And it doesn’t get any easier from there as Fort Madison travels to 2nd-ranked Davenport Assumption the following week. The Knights are tied with Mt. Vernon at No. 2 this week and the Hounds tangle with the Mustangs in week 6.
The shredder of a schedule isn’t lost on Fort Madison Head Coach Derek Doherty, who said after the win that the Hounds really need a sense of urgency now.
“We’ve gotta have urgency and that’s the thing. I think really we can compete with any team, and we can play down. I’m not saying we played down tonight because Fairfield’s a really good team, but we have to figure some things out,” he said.
Fairfield’s 14 points didn’t come the traditional way with two touchdowns. They had two safeties, one on a holding penalty with the Hounds playing out of their own endzone for the third time of the game with 4:07 left in the third period. That 2-pointer tied the game at 14.
Fairfield’s other scores came on a 23-yard field goal on their first drive of the game and 51-yard touchdown run by junior Lucas Konczal up the middle.
Ben Ramatowski intercepted three passes on the night, but one was nullified on a roughing the passer call.
His first interception came right after the Hounds had to kick it away following the first safety in the first quarter. Marcus Guzman then hooked up with Caleb Bolander on 2nd and 15 in the next series and the Bloodhounds were on the move. He found Leif Boeding two plays later for seven yards and Wiseman for six yards on back-to-back completions. Hayden Segoviano rushed for six and, after an incompletion on 2nd and 4, Guzman threw a pick.
Ramatowski would return the favor on the very next play but a roughing call on Ike Thacher wiped it out. The Hound defense would hold to end the first quarter.
Fort Madison would get on the board in the first series of the second quarter when the Bloodhounds put together a 15-play 79-yard scoring drive where Guzman seemed like the runner the Hounds had been hoping for with some punishing runs and then hooked up with Henry Wiseman in the northwest corner of the endzone for the TD. Boeding added the PAT for a 7-5 lead.
Cason Miller took the first play of the next series 42 yards to the Trojans' 49. The Hounds shut down the run on the next play, but then Konczal slipped through into the secondary on 2nd and 10 and ran 51 yards for the score and converted the point-after for a 12-7 lead with 5:13 left in the half.
The two teams would trade series with no points. Fort Madison would take over at their own 37 following a punt. Guzman would hook up with Wiseman for an 18-yard completion on 1st and 10. After an incompletion with :57 left in the half, junior Brody Cashman slipped out of the backfield and into the secondary where Guzman put a perfect ball over Cashman’s shoulder and he raced 45 yards for the touchdown to give Fort Madison the lead with the PAT at 14-12.
Cashman, who has transitioned out of the receiver position into a defensive specialist and running back this year, said he was comfortable on the call.
“I was receiver before and they were looking at Hayden (Segoviano) for the play, but he needed a rest and I was just able to find a seam and Marcus put it right on the spot,” Cashman said.
A couple four and outs started the third period before Fairfield would get its final two points with a safety at the 4:07 mark of the 3rd period. On 3rd and 10 from the 1, Guzman fired incomplete but the Hounds were whistled for a hold in the endzone resulting in the safety.
On the next possession, Fairfield would drive to the Hounds' 7 where the defense held and force a field goal attempt on 4th and 3 from the 7. Cashman was able to get around the edge and block the kick to give Fort Madison the ball back at the 8.
Fairfield would force a punt by the Hounds and then Ramatowski would get his second interception on 3rd and 11 at the Bloodhounds' 47. Fort Madison would take advantage of the turnover, going seven plays and 53 yards capped by a Guzman 5-yard TD to set the final score with 4:22 left in the game.
The Trojans went nine plays in the final possession and got to the 28. A holding penalty pushed Fairfield back to the 38 and then Wiseman picked off Nodurft’s pass to end the threat.
Ramatowski is beginning to draw attention at his spot in the secondary and that’s just fine with him.
“I played last year and just started to get a feel for it then, but this year I’m really seeing the field better and picking up routes quicker,” Ramatowski said.
Doherty said Ramatowski is another Bloodhound who’s blind to his talent.
“Ben is such an awesome kid. He’s out there doing what he’s coached to do, flying around and having fun. He has no idea how good he’s playing and that’s kind of wild,” Doherty said.
Doherty said this was just a slow game.
“I don’t feel like we ever got going. That’s a credit to our kids for just being tough, but it felt like we were in quicksand all night. We didn’t have any urgency and I felt like we were complacent and that’s not our kids,” Doherty said.
“We have to get better of getting out of our feelings when football starts.”
Guzman had 46 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. The junior threw for 182 yards on 14 completions and two scores. Segoviano had 37 yards on 10 carries. Jamarkus Kline had eight tackles to lead the Hounds’ defense including one sack. Fort Madison had six tackles for loss including two from CJ Arnett.
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