WOODWARD — The bad blood between neighbors and rivals Woodward-Granger and Madrid will likely lose little of its bitterness after Friday’s 49-6 win for host W-G.
Although the schools have a sharing arrangement in wrestling, in all other sports the two rules are long-time rivals, with acrimony just under the surface among fans, which filters down to the students.
The pigskin victory was the fourth consecutive win in the rivalry for the Hawks, and follows a four-win stretch from the Tigers. Neither team has shown little regard for keeping games close, as the Madrid winning streak from 2013-2016 came by a combine 155-32, while the more recent Hawk burst has seen an accumulated score of 180-41.
The host Hawks dress at the high school, then make a 12-block walk east down 4th Street to Hawk Stadium for their games. On both the pre-game and post-contest treks the team is often saluted by fans and friends.
Friday morning found the pavement on the street dotted in dozens of spots with Tiger paw logos, which were later painted over before the pre-game stroll.
However, in the age of social media the attempt at intimidation — if that what it was — hardly already been noticed by the Hawks, who took their revenge on the gridiron.
W-G ran 40 times for 258 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 104 yards and two TDs en route to the win. Madrid was held to 141 ground yards on 35 carries while throwing for 96 yards and a score.
W-G led, 8-0, after one quarter thanks to a 9-yard scoring pass from Trevor Simmons to Christian Husmann and a Kade Polich conversion run.
The score moved to 15-0 when the aerial connection clicked again, this time Husmann scoring from 23 yards out, with Jake Lego booting the PAT.
Madrid countered right away, converting on a fourth down when Brady Leonard hit Cayden Fuson on an inside slant from the right side. Fuson slipped a tackle, dodged another and went 43 yards to move the score to 15-6.
A three-yard Lego run, followed by a Lego PAT, set the halftime score at 21-6.
Lego scored on a 10-yard dash and Simmons on a two-yard naked bootleg for the only two scores of the third quarter, with a Lego PAT and a Lego 2-pt dive moving the scoreboard to 36-6.
Simmons picked up a Tiger fumble and ran 90 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, with Kade Polich — who had a 40-yard TD run erased on a questionable call — scoring on a one-yard plunge later in the period. A final Lego PAT set the final score.
Leonard was 6-of-15 passing for 96 yards for Madrid, with Conner Williams leading the Tiger rushers with 69 yards on 10 carries.
Simmons was 8-of-10 for 104 yards and two TDs through the air for W-G and added 11 yards and a score on five rushes.
Husmann had two catches for 32 yards and two scores, with Worth Henry adding 33 yards on two catches while Polich grabbed three balls for 24 yards and Dylan McCaulley one for 14 yards.
Lego finished with 130 yards and two TDs on 20 hauls, with Polich adding 80 yards and a TD on 11 runs, John McKeever 28 yards on three carries and Dylan Bird nine yards on one.
McKeever’s 8.5 tackles led the defense. Kade Polich had 7.5 stops, Dane Polich 4.5 and Jared Manning four denials.
W-G travels to Ogden Friday. The Bulldogs were 49-26 winners at NW Webster in their opener. The Hawks were 32-26 victors in Woodward last season.
