Lisbon’s defense slows down Madison.
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

LISBON – One of the questions the Lisbon coaching staff had about its inexperienced team heading into this season was whether the new Greyhounds could hit like the old Greyhounds.

Lisbon answered, usually with a loud pop of their shoulder pads, in Saturday’s 14-6 win over Madison on a hazy and muggy homecoming afternoon at Thompson Field. The defense, which has two starters back from last year, limited Madison to just 131 total yards, 62 rushing, and came within nine seconds of a shutout.

“We’re working towards where we’d like to be physically,” said Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan. “Our team is not a young team, but we’re an inexperienced team, and with every week, they’re getting a little more experience, and with that experience is coming a little more confidence.”

“We prepare the same almost every week. We just like to hit and be physical,” said junior quarterback/defensive back Chris Kates, who had one of the best hits of the game on an Elijah Treffts interception return late in the first half.

Up until their last two plays, the Greyhound defense had held Madison to under 100 yards total offense. But QB Matt Stewart rushed for 20 yards on third-and-13, then connected with Paul Brousseau along the left sideline for a 28-yard touchdown with 8.9 seconds left after Lisbon’s Mitch Harmon slipped and fell while trying to cover him. Harmon got the last laugh, though, by knocking down Stewart’s pass to Brousseau on the two-point conversion attempt. Josh Corson then smothered Madison’s on-side kick attempt to put a lid on it.

The game got off to a jumpy start, as offsides and false-start penalties plagued both teams early. An offsides penalty by Madison (2-1) on fourth-and-two ultimately cost the Bulldogs, keeping Lisbon’s first scoring drive alive. The Greyhounds (3-0) went to the option in Madison territory and got runs of 19, seven and four yards from Kates to drive down to the Bulldogs’ 14.

“They were keying on our running backs and sliding up and letting me run it,” Kates said.

Credit Kates with recognizing a change in that strategy on first down and pitching out to Tefft (10 rushes, 51 yards) for a seven-yard gain to the Madison seven. Tony Walker then knifed through the right side of the defense for a touchdown that, with Teffts extra point, put Lisbon in front for good with 11:23 left in the first half.

Kates went to the air on its next possession only to get intercepted by Josh Paine, so the Greyhounds went back to the option for the start of their second scoring series. Tefft collected 19 yards on a pitch to get down to the Madison 29, and Walker pounded the ball deeper with a 12-yard run. It looked like the drive might stall when holding and false start penalties pushed the Greyhounds back to the 27, but Levi Ervin beat two defenders down the left sideline on a second-and-long pass from Kates and scored to make it 14-0 with 4:03 left.

“I wasn’t throwing well all day and I underthrew that one a little bit, but (Ervin) made a great play,” Kates said.

The Madison defense did its part in the second half, holding Lisbon without a single first down. Lisbon’s defense was equal to the task, despite playing most of the second quarter and all of the third without their top pass rusher, Walker, who was sidelined due to the heat.

Lisbon still put plenty of pressure on Stewart in the second half. Garrick Brown and Derek Roy both had sacks and Roy added a fumble recovery. Carl Grady had one of his own negated by a facemask penalty, but later dropped Brousseau for a key six-yard loss after Madison had recovered a fumble at Lisbon’s 45.

“We started to blitz in the second half to try to make up for Tony because Tony does a great job,” Mynahan said. “Carl Grady, a young sophomore, got in there pretty quick a couple of times and helped us out.