DAVENPORT – Some games are just tough to dismiss.
Fort Madison Head Coach Derek Doherty took the blame for a disheartening 38-7 loss to No. 7 Davenport Assumption in Class 3A District 4 action Friday night.
Doherty said he had let the Hounds become undisciplined and that was on him. But he said that’s something that will be fixed next week.
The Hounds scored their only touchdown in the waning moments with the Knights’ No. 2 on the field with a 38-0 lead and a running clock.
Junior Marcus Guzman found Leif Boeding behind the secondary in the right corner of the field at Pat and Jack Bush Stadium to avoid the shut out.
Prior to that 62-yard 3-play drive, the Knights had essentially shut the Hound offense completely down.
The longest play from scrimmage prior to the final drive was 10 yards of hard running by Guzman where he almost escaped into the secondary for a bigger gain. The Hounds had just 178 yards of total offense and snapped the ball just three times in the third period as the Knights ground out the clock in the second half.
“Right now, it’s beyond just flushing it,” Doherty said. “I feel like that’s been our default to say 'it’s okay, just flush it'. At some point it’s gotta not be okay.”
“I love our guys always, but I’m extremely frustrated with and disappointed in myself because I’ve allowed us to be undisciplined and it showed tonight.”
Again Fort Madison started strong, holding the Knights to a punt on their first possession and then forced a turnover on downs with Assumption just eight yards from the goal line.
However, three plays later Guzman threw a pick to the Knights’ Will McIntosh at the Fort Madison 10-yard line. Two plays later Assumption was on the board with a Jake Timmons' six-yard scamper.
Fort Madison would again have no luck on offense going four and out with no yards. Assumption would then drive 73 yards on 11 plays, but Fort Madison would hold them to a 22-yard field goal for a 10-0 deficit.
Fort Madison’s best drive of the night, aside from the final scoring drive, came on the Hounds' ensuing possession. The Hounds pushed for three first downs highlighted by Guzman’s 10-yard run and a couple of jet screens to Leif Boeding for 15 yards, but a 3rd and 4 pass fell incomplete and the Hounds were forced to punt with 2:09 left to the Assumption 25.
The Knights gained 22 yards on the first two plays and then Timmons threw a bomb down the left side to running back Angelo Jackson. Senior Henry Wiseman got a hand on the ball and popped it up into the air, but Jackson was able to bobble the ball while running backwards, made the catch, turned, and ran into the endzone for a 17-0 lead.
Fort Madison would try to run the clock out on the half, but a couple penalties gave the ball back to Assumption with about 40 seconds left in the half.
Two quick connections from Timmons to Bauer Caspers had the Knights at the 1-yard-line and Jackson would punch it in for a 24-0 lead going into the half.
Fortunes wouldn't fare better for the Hounds in the second half as Assumption put up another score in the third quarter and again on the first play of the fourth to start the running clock.
Doherty said with this being just the first district game, the Hounds still have a lot to play for, but they need to set their discipline and buy-in right now.
“Our pad level is atrocious right now. We’ve talked about it - we drill it, and there’s no excuse for it. I’ve got a lot to figure out over the next few days and we’re gonna fix it starting Monday,” he said.
“They wanted it, and I’m not sure we wanted that one. I think we thought it would be cool if it happened. I honestly felt that way last week, too. Mentally, we’ve grown, but were just not there yet. We belong in these games, but I’m not convinced they believe they belong in these games.”
Guzman threw for 89 yards on 11-18 passing with the late touchdown and the interception. He rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries. Boeding had 40 yards and a score on three catches. Segoviano led Fort Madison with 10 tackles. Ike Thacher was a bright spot on defense with six tackles for loss including a sack.
The Hounds fall to 3-2 on the year and host Keokuk on Friday night for the ‘County Seat’.
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