Hounds wrap up year with loss to No. 3 Spartans

FORT MADISON -  Down 45-0 and with half the stands emptied out, the Fort Madison Bloodhounds celebrated a safety as if the game hinged on the snap that sailed over the head of Solon’s punter out of the back of  the endzone.
The Class 3A’s No. 3 ranked Spartans came into the game as one of the top teams in the state and showed it quickly as they rolled to a 51-2 win over the Hounds in Fort Madison’s final game.
With the running clock in place for the entire second half, Fort Madison got a stop on Solon’s first possession in the third quarter when Jayden Cratton picked off an Eli Kampman pass at midfield.
The Bloodhounds would go four and out and then get a stop on 4th and 4 forcing a Solon punt from their 15. The snap sailed over the punter’s head and out of the back of the endzone and Fort Madison was on the board.
The celebration ensued with the points, but the Spartans had already shown why there were 8-0 on the year and looking for a deep run in the Class 3A playoffs starting next week.
Fort Madison, on the other hand, wrapped up a frustrating year with just 42 yards of total offense against the Spartans. Fort Madison hasn’t won a game in two years with their last win coming to Washington 21-7 on Oct. 20, 2023.
But head Coach Derek Doherty said the Hounds had small wins all year, including some small wins against Solon.
Fort Madison had two interceptions and dropped two more that could have been interceptions in the first half.
“They’re a really good football team. I mean they're averaging giving up 1 1/2 points we scored two, so we we're pretty excited about it and I'm proud of our kids for celebrating that,” he said with a smile.  
“You know our defense played really well for a while. We gave some different looks and did some different things and caused some turnovers and I think these young guys are starting to figure out they can play.”
The Hounds ran different looks at the Spartans with Aurelio Jaciunde and Stefan Berlett rotating in at quarterback, and the Hounds using two-back and single-back sets in the backfield.

They also had different personnel on the defensive side of the ball to show the Spartans some different looks, but in the end Solon had too many big plays and the inexperience Hounds had trouble hanging around.
“When we're playing at our our age level we compete really well,” Doherty said.
“Everybody in our program right now is competing up essentially and I hope that they don't get lost in that fact.  I love these guys and I would not trade our guys for anything. These guys are special and they chose to face the adversity. I’m proud of them all and I know my coaching staff is, too.”
Senior Eric Cornelis said the season was fun despite the record and he and his fellow seniors had a blast the whole season.
“It was a bunch of up and downs but at the end of the day we had fun every single game,” he said.
“We had glimpses of being a great team like Keokuk for example. We came out there and played well and if we could have pieced a couple things together we could have won a game,” Cornelis said.
“But I wouldn't want to play with any anybody else.”
Cornelis, who had an interception in the second half to stall a Solon drive, was part of the Hounds two-back system they would run out on occasion.
“I was happy with that change.  I mean I gotta run the football a bit more, but I think we were kinda successful in any set,” he said.
Cornelis said the rough year will be part of a brighter future.
 “They’re still going to be a young team but a lot of these kids have been playing since their freshman year. I think they'll be great. I think they're gonna win football games and be a good team.”