History made! Red Raiders to host playoff game for first time in school history
By Seth Manus
Coming off his 50th win as the Madison County head football coach, Chris Smith and the Red Raiders set out to make history on Friday, Nov. 4, 2023. They did just that with an epic 70-37 victory over East Hall, securing a home playoff game for the first time in the program’s history according to Madison County High School.
The team will play Lovett High School at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023.
“It’s exciting,” said head coach Chris Smith when asked about making school history. “But it’s about these young men, them leaving a legacy, something to be proud of. They’ve grinded all year, under a lot of pressure. This senior class, they're special. They have done a great job and I'm very proud of them.”
Zakhari Shiflet led the team on the ground with 18 carries for 192 yards and four touchdowns. Shiflet finished the regular season with 1,424 yards on 168 carries and 21 touchdowns. He was the only player to score in every game this season for the Red Raiders. Camden Smith had 13 carries for 183 yards and three touchdowns, finishing the regular season with 139 carries for 1,405 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Smith ended the regular season through the air with 18 completions on 40 attempts for nine touchdowns and 372 yards.
Brayden Clark was the lone receiver with a catch but it went for 33 yards and a touchdown. He ended the regular season leading the team in yards with 94 and touchdowns with four. Zach Esters ended the regular season leading the team in receptions with six and 89 yards with one touchdown. Will Kettle had three catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns in the regular season.
Bryson Drake led the team in total tackles for the regular season with 105 and had 16 tackles for loss, two sacks and one quarterback hurry. Casen Duggins led the team in interceptions with two and passes defended with four. He also had 62 total tackles. Wyatt Morris led the team with six sacks and 34 quarterback hurries and 19 tackles for loss. He also added on 40 total tackles, one pass defended and one forced fumble. Garrett Smith had 70 total tackles, four tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble and one interception.
The Red Raiders got to work quickly on their opening drive with a long run from Smith and a 9-yard rushing touchdown from Shiflet to put Madison County on the board first. The defense then answered with an interception from junior defensive back Carson Craig at the Viking 36-yard line.
A fumble from the Red Raiders gave the ball back to East Hall and led to a tying score. Madison County came back with a long drive and a key fourth down conversion from Smith. Shiflet punched in his second score with a 1-yard touchdown run to put the team up 14-7.
The Red Raider defense stopped the Vikings with a sack from Wyatt Morris and Zack Esters but a muffed punt gave the ball back to East Hall with 17 seconds left in the first.
The Vikings scored on the first play of the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown but missed the two-point conversion, leaving the score 14-13 in favor of the Red Raiders.
A big kick return from Smith set up the 55-yard touchdown run from Shiflet. The defense made a big stop in the red zone with a pass breakup by Garret Smith on third down to force a field goal attempt. The field goal was blocked with 7:58 remaining in the first half.
The Red Raiders fumbled again but forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back with 3:26 remaining in the second quarter. Smith scored on a 60-yard run to put Madison County on top 28-13. The defense gave the offense another chance to score again before halftime.
Clark took the ball for a 25-yard gain on the ground and on the next play scored on a 33-yard touchdown catch. A successful two-point conversion put the Red Raiders up 36-13 heading into halftime.
East Hall scored to open the half and a successful two-point conversion left the Vikings trailing 36-21. Camden Smith matched the score with a 20-yard run of his own on the next drive moving the team ahead 43-21.
The Vikings scored a touchdown on the following drive and converted the two-point attempt. Shiflet answered again with a touchdown of 43 yards to put Madison County ahead 50-29.
The defense forced another turnover on downs to give the Red Raider offense the ball heading into the fourth quarter. Madison County took it down the field and scored off a 19-yard touchdown from Bryson Drake to push the score to 56-28 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion.
East Hall turned the ball over on downs and Trynt Latimore got the drive going with a big run. Smith capped it off with a 24-yard score. Latimore scored on the next drive to give the Red Raiders 70 points on the night.
Photo/Seth Manus