Ohio Football

Thursday, February 16, 2012

2011 Rewind: Madeira Mustangs

By Greg Shoemaker | Featured Analyst

What a year 2011 was for Madeira. The Mustangs used a high-powered offense to overwhelm opponents on their way to the school’s first ever undefeated season on the gridiron. The team found the end zone 61 times as they light up the scoreboard on a weekly basis. The senior class will go down as one of the most successful in program history with a 31-7 mark over the past three campaigns. The team won their first ever outright CHL title. It was a year if many firsts to say the least.

Despite a first round loss in the playoffs, Madeira gave their fans and future Mustangs a foundation to build upon and strive to top for falls to come. The 2011 squad will go down as the benchmark for the future and that is something every last member took great pride in achieving.

Let’s take a game-by-game look at Madeira’s 2011 season:

GAME #1 – MADEIRA 35, BATAVIA 0: For a Week 1 performance the Madeira Mustangs scored high grades as the defense shutout Batavia. The Madeira defense was led by senior Andrew McDulin, who was in on 12 tackles, nine solos and 2.0 sacks. Junior Connor McCarthy was in on eight total tackles with 1.5 sacks and linebacker Tucker Larsh had 10 solo tackles. Craig Nieman got the scoring started when he returned a fumble 42 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter. The offense took over after that. Isaac Rupe would find the end zone three times while rushing for 130 yards in the affair. Quarterback Zach Jansen threw for 131 yards with a 27 yards touchdown pass to Joe Bodnar. It was Bodnar’s only catch of the game, but he did end up with 118 all-purpose yards on eight touches.

GAME #2 – MADEIRA 35, CHCA 6: There seemed to be little doubt that Rupe is making up for lost time. In 2010, Rupe had his season cut short in Week 2 due to a knee injury. The senior punched the ball over the goal line four times in the Mustangs big win over CHCA. Rupe had a career night with 268 yards on 24 carries, including touchdown sprints of 78 and 92 yards. Throw the first two games he tallied 398 yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Madeira held the Eagles to 20 yards rushing on 19 carries. The Mustangs were just as good in pass defense yielding just 4.3 yards per attempt to CHCA.

GAME #3 – MADEIRA 42, NORTH COLLEGE HILL 13: In the history of Madeira football Friday night’s performance by Rupe and Bodnar will go down as one of the best ever by a tandem. The duo combined for six touchdowns (two each receiving) in a convincing win over North College Hill. Rupe ran for 104 yards while catching the balls for 106 yards. Bodnar had 110 yards rushing and 149 more on five receptions. His 274 all-purpose yards were a career high and was the second time he has eclipsed the 200-yard mark in his last four games. Jansen also had a personal best with 292 yards passing with four scores through the air. The Mustangs’ defense continued to play ferociously coming up with three takeaways and while ceding just 6.3 points per game over the team’s first three outings. Larsh had two interceptions and McDulin came up with a fumble recovery for the winners. Madeira now possessed three quality, non-conference victories over Division IV, Region 16 peers to start the season.

GAME #4 – MADEIRA 34, MARIEMONT 6: For the third straight week Rupe racked up over 200 all-purpose yards as Madeira cruised over Mariemont in their CHL opener. The senior ran for 151 yards with two touchdown scampers while catching three passes for 51 more. Timmy James and Bodnar caught touchdown passes from Jansen. It was the first time that senior James has found the end zone as a Mustang. Larsh managed another takeaway as he returned a Warrior fumble eight yards for a touchdown. It was the fourth turnover that he has come up with in the last three weeks.

GAME #5 – MADEIRA 49, FINNEYTOWN 26: The Madeira offense was virtually unstoppable as they built a 49-13 lead through three quarters over Finneytown on the way to their fifth win. Jansen threw for 204 yards, ran for 124 more and accounted for five Mustangs touchdown (four passing, one rushing). The junior hit four different receivers for scores – Bodnar, James, Rupe and Cole Johnson. Rupe also had 108 yards on the ground and a touchdown rushing. Bodnar racked up 175 all-purpose yards on 10 touches, including an 85-yard kickoff return that found the end zone. McDulin was a menace in the Wildcats’ backfield as he was in on 17 total tackles with a sack to boot. Sophomore Matt Ballweg came up for his first interception and third takeaway of the season for Madeira.

GAME #6 – MADEIRA 41, READING 0: The “Usual Suspects” were at it again as Madeira routed Reading for their 10th consecutive win dating back to last season. Bodnar had two rushing, two receiving touchdowns and an interception with 235 all-purpose yards on 13 touches. The senior hauled in four receptions for 158 yards. Jansen continued his hot hand throwing for 185 yards on 5-of-7 passing with two scoring strikes. He has now thrown 12 touchdown passes on 33 completions the past four weeks. Rupe ran for 114 yards and two scores on the ground. Anthony Moremond and McDulin paced the Mustangs’ defense by combining for 25 tackles.

GAME #7 – MADEIRA 26, INDIAN HILL 15: In a showdown for sole possession of first place in the CHL, Madeira mounted a second-half comeback win over a very game Indian Hill squad. Rupe carried the load for the Mustangs’ offense with 204 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground. His performance lifted him over the 1,000 yard mark for the season. The Madeira defense forced their way into the Braves backfield all evening long registering 10.0. Moremond led the team with 3.5 quarterback takedowns, McDulin had 3.0 and Collin Buckner was in on 2.0 for the victors.

GAME #8 – MADEIRA 70, DEER PARK 6: Madeira jumped all over Deer Park racing out to a 49-0 halftime lead. Bodnar scored five touchdowns and amassed 283 all-purpose yards on 11 touches. The senior returned his second kickoff of the season for a score and had a career-high three touchdown receptions. It was the third time in the last six outings that Bodnar has eclipsed 200–plus all-purpose yards. Rupe ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns in abbreviated action. Freshman Collin Voisard scored the first two touchdowns of his varsity career for the Mustangs. James intercepted and took back to the house one of three errant Wildcats passes. He also found the end zone on a 24 yard run. Gilberto Coto and Zay Carter also had picks for Madeira. Coto was also in on 11 total tackles which was second on the team behind the 14 from junior Nick Wainscott.

GAME #9 – MADEIRA 42, TAYLOR 39: Taylor caught Madeira sleeping and almost pulled off a miraculous second-half comeback only to fall short. The Mustangs were up 28-6 heading into halftime only to see the Yellowjackets pull to within three points on three separate occasions while posting 33 points after intermission. When push came to shove, Madeira relied on Rupe to lead them into victory lane. The senior ran for a career high 291 yards with three rushing touchdowns. It was the third time in the last four contests that he has amassed 200-plus yards on the ground. Bodnar had a rushing score and James crossed the goalline for the fifth time in the last six games. McDulin was a beast on defense zeroing in on 19 total tackles with 1.0 sack. Ramsey Deal was impressive as well with 10 total tackles and 1.0 sacks as Madeira inched one step closer to a perfect season.

GAME #10 –MADEIRA 49, WYOMING 21: Getting to 10 wins wasn’t as easy as it looked for Madeira. The Wyoming Cowboys gave the Mustangs quite a rid before slipping off the saddle mid-way through the third quarter. Up 28-21, Jansen hit Johnson for a 40-yard score and the first of 21 unanswered points to close out the game and seal the undefeated campaign for the boys from Lohannes Drive. Jansen finished with 207 yards through the air. It was the third time this season and eighth time in his career that he has passed for 200 or more yards. Rupe ran for 201 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. For the second straight game McDulin was in on 19 tackles.

GAME #11 – CHCA 16, MADEIRA 10: The second time around wasn’t as kind for Madeira as CHCA avenged a Week 2 loss to the Mustangs. This one hurt big time as the Eagles knocked Madeira out of the postseason and shattered their dreams of possible Regional and State championships. The potent Mustangs’ offense could never get on track as CHCA tightened the reins. They held Rupe to a season-low 85 yards rushing and limited Bodnar to just 22 yards on two receptions. The Eagles ability to keep the Madeira horses in the stable was the difference in the ballgame. It was an incredible run for the Mustangs earning their first outright CHL title and first undefeated regular season in school history.


MILESTONES AND MORE
--Madeira won their first outright league title and had the first perfect regular season in school history.

--It was the sixth post-season appearance for Madeira. They are now 0-6 lifetime in the playoffs.

--The Mustangs enter 2012 on a 14-game regular season winning streak, second best in Division IV, Region 16 behind Waynesville, who has won 17 in a row.

--Offense: Averaged 39.1 PPG while scoring 34 or more points nine times in 11 outings. The Mustangs threw for 1,697 yards, Ran for 2,726 more yards with 55 offensive touchdowns.

--Defense: Allowed just 13.4 PPG; Registered 38.5 sacks and had 23 takeaways.


PLAYERS
Joe Bodnar – The Division IV, Second-Team All-Ohio selection and the CHL Co-Athlete of the Year got it done on the ground and as a part of the passing attack for the Mustangs. Bodnar pulled in 32 catches for 706 yards with 10 touchdowns receiving, two kickoff returns for scores, 475 yards rushing with eight rushing touchdowns on 54 carries, 1,603 all-purpose yards and 20 total touchdowns. On defense he was in on 31 total tackles with a fumble recovery and an interception. He ends his Mustangs’ career with 75 receptions, 1,551 receiving yards, 22 receiving touchdowns, 13 rushing touchdowns, three kickoff return touchdowns, 927 rushing yards, 3,048 all-purpose yards, 38 total touchdowns and six interceptions. He will play football for the Dayton Flyers next fall.

Isaac Rupe – First Team All-CHL, A Division IV Second Team All-Ohio selection after rushing for 1,805 yards and 25 touchdowns on 219 carries. He also averaged 23.8 yards per catch with 357 yards and three scores receiving. Rupe had an amazing senior year to say the least. He finished the regular season with three 200-plus yards on the ground three times over the last four games and five times overall. Seven times he scored at least three touchdowns.

Kyle Williamson - A First Team All-TriStateFootball.com and a Division IV, Second-Team All-Ohio selection. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Williamson, cleared paths all season long for a wide-open and entertaining Mustangs bunch that posted 401 yards and 39.3 points per game. He was named Division IV, Second Team All-Ohio and will suit up for the University of Cincinnati

Andrew McDulin - A Division IV, Third-Team All-Ohio selection. The 6-foot-2, 210 pound McDulin was a tackling machine for the Mustangs, recording 151 total tackles, 12.0 sacks to go along with forcing four fumbles while recovering two fumbles as a junior.

Zach Jansen –The junior threw for 1,703 yards with 18 touchdown passes. He also ran for another 278 yards and two scores while tallying another 41 points as the teams place kicker. That earned him Second-Team All-CHL. Jansen heads into his senior season with 3,167 yards and 40 touchdowns passing to go along with 84 points kicking the ball.

Anthony Moremond -The senior was a First Team All-CHL selection after recording 8.5 sacks and 76 total tackles.

Will Steur, Ramsey Deal, Timmy James and Craig Nieman were Second-Team All-CHL members after their 2011 performances on the field. James, a junior, caught 18 passes for 348 yards with 521 all-purpose yards and five total touchdowns. Classmate, Steur was an Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore.

Austin Bentle, Mike Hurd and Andrew Malone captured Honorable Mention All-CHL accolades. This was the second straight season for Malone to achieve this honor.

Greg is a co-founder of TSF and is now entering his ninth season as a Featured Analyst for the website. The Xavier University grad also serves as the Content Manager for the website and is widely considered one of the top high school football experts in the region. If you are interested in covering your team, please CONTACT US.

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