EAGLES RALLY IN FOURTH FOR VICTORY, COMEBACK SPURRED BY 'ALTERNATE OPTIONS'

With the game on the line in their season-opener against Redford Thurston Saturday, Madison Heights Madison head football coach, Drake Wilkins, looked to his team's supporting cast instead of its marquee leading man.

Trailing virtually the entire contest, Madison finally pushed in front of a feisty Thurston squad with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Wilkins called the numbers of his top pass-catch combination, instead of all-state running back Valdez Showers.

The faith Wilkins put in his junior QB-WR combo of Tony Lowry and Danny Larkins proved well worth it. Facing a fourth-and-long and a 14-13 deficit with 5:19 left to play in the game, Lowry hit Larkins in stride for a 37-yard touchdown pass and the Eagles rallied for a 19-14 win.

Showers might not have scored the game-winning touchdown but his presence was more than felt throughout the heated affair. Oakland County's No. 1 rated player, Showers, who verbally committed to Florida just last week, ran for a game-high 160 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries. Expected to play cornerback in college with the Gators, he snared a key interception with under two and a half minutes remaining and demonstrated his lockdown cover skills throughout on a talented Thurston receiving corps.

Madison played mistake-filled football in the first half and fell behind 14-7. The Eagles committed a costly four turnovers in the opening 24 minutes of action. Wilkins and his boys cleaned things up in the second half and didn't cough the ball up another time the rest of the way. Thurston (returning a large portion of an 8-3 squad in 2009) on the other hand was plagued by the turnover bug the entire game and totaled 6 turnovers on the day.

Threatening to score late to go back ahead, Thurston's drive and hopes of a comeback were thwarted by the veteran and gutty Madison defense. Senior linebacker Devonte Snyder intercepted a Thurston pass in the closing seconds of the game to sew up the 'W' for the Eagles. Snyder, a college recruit on defense, is playing some tight end this season and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Lowry in the second half to pull Madison within a point at 14-13. Lowry, also getting looks by the college scouts, completed 16-of-28 passes for 170 yards and two scores and showed signs of improvement from last season in his decision-making skills and his ability to read defenses.  

The road stays rocky for the Eagles next week as they travel to conference power Marine City for their next game. Last season, Madison went 11-0, grabbing league and district titles before getting bounced from state tournament play in the regional finals by losing 27-13 to Jackson Lumen Christi.

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