MADISON – The Jay Tigers’ offensive line flexed their muscles Friday night and delivered a strong statement to the rest of Western Class C.

The Tigers out muscled the Madison Bulldogs and established themselves as a front-runner with a 40-6 football triumph.

Justin Merrill, Jimmy Shink, A.J. Nelson, Chris Jewett and Ben Irish opened holes all night long for the Tigers who amassed 207 yards on the ground and scored three rushing touchdowns.

“They work hard in practice,” said wideout Marc Kelvey of the Tigers’ offensive line. “They push the bags in practice and they’re in great shape.”

Madison coach Chris Leblanc also noticed the difference up front.

“They know the difference in the weight room,” said Leblanc. “Even while they’re on the sidelines putting their pads on you can see they’re well put together. They can stick and put it to you. They’re just a stronger team.”

The Tigers (5-1) wasted little time in proving their dominance.

They quickly moved down the field as Kyle Richards (13 carries for 83 yards) and Austin Ouellette (10 for 62) alternated carries to set up a 17-yard catch and run by Marc Kelvey on a pass from Justin Wells (10 for 19, 108 yards, 2 TDs) for a score.

Minutes later, Shawn Jacques (seven carries for 60 yards) powered in from four yards out and Jay led 14-0.

Madison (3-3) would respond with a leaping 14-yard grab by Paul Brousseau in the left-hand corner of the end zone to make the score 14-6.

Jay tacked on an Ouellette touchdown reception before half and led 20-6 at the break.

The second half was more Tiger dominance. Madison was held to just three first downs and its offense spent much of the half in its own territory.

An exciting zig-zagging punt return by Kelvey started the Tigers’ scoring in the second half. Ryan Dipompo fielded the punt at the Madison 36.

As he started to his left, he handed the ball to Kelvey who picked up some blocking early and broke away from a couple tackles en route to the score.

“If (the other team) kicks it far enough we’ll reverse,” said Kelvey.

“My upfront guys did a great job blocking.”

Jacques added a 29-yard run and Ouellette capped the scoring with a run from four yards out.

“Our offense is coming together and our offensive line is playing great,” said Jay coach Mark Bonnevie. “We need to just keep working on the things we’re doing and we need to do them better.”

“We’re excited,” said Bonnevie of the 4-1 start. “We’re excited for the kids. They’re the ones that are working hard every week. We just take one week at a time. That’s been our philosophy all year long.”