Thacher goes for 293 as Hounds win County Seat

FORT MADISON – Junior Mo Thacher doesn’t run really fast and he really doesn’t run over people either. But the Bloodhound is just 25 yards short of 1,000 and the Hounds are only halfway through the season.
Thacher ran crazy for 293 yards on 45 carries Friday night as the Bloodhounds (3-2, 1-0 3A/District 4) knocked off Keokuk 55-36 (1-4, 0-1) at Richmond Stadium to win the County Seat for the first time in three years.
With 975 yards rushing on the year, Thacher said the offensive line is giving him the gaps he needs to get into his stride.
“I see a gap and that’s’ where I get downhill. Last year I danced a lot and never really got to the point where I could get vertical,” Thacher said.
“This year I’ve really worked on getting vertical. And then I gotta thank my O-lineman because they make the gap. We know what we’re doing and we know the mission.”
Thacher scored three touchdowns, two on belly runs from the one, and one  from 19 yards out in the second quarter. Thacher found a seam on the left side of the line and bounced outside for the endzone and a 21-6 Fort Madison lead.
But the Chiefs battled back scoring two unanswered, one an 18-yard catch and run from Jayden Burton to Jalen Clark. Burton would find Antonio Crockett on a left side rollout for the 2-point conversion closing the gap to 21-14.
Fort Madison would stumble on their next possession when quarterback Owen Huffman threw a go route down the right side just out of the reach of a wide-open Max Jones to turn the ball over on downs at the Keokuk 30. The Chiefs would drive back to the Hounds side of the field, but a poor hand-off resulted in a fumble that Fort Madison would recover at midfield to stall the drive.
Fort Madison’s ensuing drive would get cut short as time ran out in the first half.
Keokuk would take a short kick to open the third and score when Burton found Kurt Joy on the right side of the endzone on 2nd and goal from the 11. The Chiefs would convert the 2-points and take a 22-21 lead..
The Hounds would regroup on the sideline and put together and 11-play, 53-yard drive capped by a fake Thacher dive on 4th and goal at the 1 Huffman would run the keeper to the left and slip into the endzone for a 27-22 lead.
The Bloodhounds would kick their only deep ball on the ensuing kick off, and paid for it as Crockett ,off a slight delay, let the Hounds overpursue and shot through the right side for an 83-yard return and a 30-27 Chiefs lead.
The Hounds went right back to work with a return at the 37. Thacher would gain five yards on two carries, before Huffman went off a read left, tucked the ball and scampered 58 yards for his second touchdown of the night. That gave the Hounds a 34-30 lead that Fort Madison would never relinquish.

Huffman had a grittier approach to the run game and seemed to have dispensed with some tentative approaches he was saddled with early in the season.
“During film, that’s something our coaches kept telling me. I just need to go. They know I can do it and I knew I could do it so I had to make that mindset flip and just do it,” Huffman said.
“Our coaches are great. We made some good halftime adjustments. I was really frustrated with the way I played in the first half. So I knew I had to step it up. I didn’t want to go to bed tonight with any regrets.”
The Fort Madison defense would force a 4 and out on the Chiefs next possession with the Bloodhound pressure defense chasing Burton all over the place on 4th and 3. Burton would end up getting rid of the ball out of bounds on the Fort Madison sideline. Huffman would score again three plays later this time on a sweep right where he slid just inside the goal line pylon for a 41-30 lead at the end of the 3rd period.
Fort Madison would score two more times in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard plunge by Thacher, and a 6-yard run by Ryker Peters who came in with Thacher cramping up after a 49-yard back breaker down the left sideline.
Keokuk would get their final score of the night when Burton found Clark again inside the left pylon to make it 48-36.
Head Coach Derek Doherty said he anticipated a high scoring game, but wasn’t sure about 91 points.
“I kinda knew it was going to be an offensive showdown. They have an explosive offense and our offense has been moving the ball well. That was the expectation, and maybe it was a little closer than we wanted at times,” he said.
“But we just keep telling them to stay in the process and that standard never changes. I’m sure they’re sick of hearing it, but I’ve told them I don’t care about the scoreboard. I care about how we play and that doesn’t change either.”
He said something he saw a little differently tonight was the grit the Hounds played with.
“I said at one point to the coaches on the sidelines. ‘We’re gonna find out who we are here tonight. We’re going to find out whether we’ve got that grit or not. And I’m really proud of them. I was proud of them all week. They’ve kept their mouths shut and their eyes on what is important. They’ve handled themselves as well as any team we’ve had here,” Doherty said referencing the Homecoming Week activities.
The Hounds face an uphill battle in the final four games of the regular season. Fort Madison travels to Class 3A No. 8 Mt. Pleasant on Friday and then travels to Fairfield the following week before hosting Washington Oct. 16 and wrapping up the regular season with top-ranked Solon on the road on Oct. 23.