Toronto breaks 4-game skid, fends off Madonna
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TORONTO -- Toronto got a much-needed win Friday night, but the visiting Blue Dons did not make things easy.
The Red Knights, who were in desperate need of a win sitting one spot outside of playoff position and on a four-game skid, used solid defense and got just enough offense to edge Madonna, 19-16.
"It sure was a fight," Toronto coach Josh Franke said. "We made some mistakes, there were a couple times we didn't execute ... I'm glad we were able to pull it out.
"I've got to give credit to our kids. We were in a similar position a couple weeks ago against Edison and weren't able to come away with the win. The message after that was, we have to learn how to win, how to finish.
"The last four weeks the kids have been through a lot and they pushed through that adversity. I'm extremely proud of them."
Madonna rallied to get back within three with a late touchdown and attempted an onside kick, but the Red Knights (3-5) recovered and Zeb Kinsey capped his big night by picking up a big first down, allowing Toronto to run out the clock.
"That was a fight to the end," Madonna coach Dan Rovira said. "I told the kids I never like losing, but man did we battle. That was a good football game. I never like losing, but that was a game that could have gone either way with a play here or a play there.
"We hung in there. I was disappointed after the loss against Cameron (Friday) ... I think we took a next step. We've got to take one more."
Kinsey, who saw a lot of time at both tailback and as a wildcat quarterback in the second half, finished with 133 rushing yards and a score, and completed a pass for another 25 yards.
"Zeb had a great night," Franke said. "On top of being just a freshman, he was also a quarterback (coming into the season).
"He's transitioned to tailback to fill a hole and he's done a nice job. He's an extremely hard runner and difficult to take down. Being a freshman, he's going to make some mistakes, but he's going to get better and better as he goes."
Meanwhile, Toronto's pass defense limited Madonna's high-powered arial attack led by senior quarterback Santino Arlia to just 10 completions on 25 attempts for 155 yards. Arlia did, however, throw for two scores.
"When you're playing a team that throws it as much as they do, you know they're going to get a couple here or there," Franke said. "They had a couple big pass plays on us, but overall, our defense played really well, especially in pass coverage."
After a scoreless first quarter, Toronto's Dominic Bouscher opened the scoring with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown, breaking free from tacklers and racing to the endzone for a 7-0 Red Knights lead with 7:49 before halftime.
Arlia and the Blue Dons (4-2) answered before the break, as he fired a 27-yard strike to Evan Quering then a two-point conversion pass to Mason Thompson to make it 8-7 Dons.
That, however, ended up being Madonna's only lead.
It appeared as though the Dons had gotten the ball back when Coleton Littleton stepped in front of a pass for a pick, but a pass interference call negated the turnover.
"We dropped a pass that would have been a touchdown and had to punt, we missed four tackles on the return and they score," Rovira said. "We get an interception and called for interference. It was just little plays in the game that didn't go our way. We've got to make those plays."
That call proved to be a key moment, as seven plays later, Kinsey powered in from 6-yards out to make it a 13-8 Red Knight lead at halftime.
Both defenses held serve in the third quarter, Toronto fumbling a snap after having the ball at the Madonna 1 and the Blue Dons turning the ball over in the Knights' end.
Bouscher, capping an eight-play march, provided Toronto with some breathing room, going around the edge for a 5-yard score to make it 19-8.
Madonna did not go away quietly as Arlia completed a long pass to Jonah McKay, setting up a 4-yard toss to Quering and a conversion to Lennon Dietrich to make it a 19-16 game with 1:54 to go. The Blue Dons offense, though, did not get a chance to get back on the field, as Toronto was able to run out the remaining clock and lock up the victory.
UP NEXT
Madonna: Returns to Jimmy Carey Stadium for its homecoming game against Catholic Central on Friday night.
"If we play like we did (Friday), we're going to be OK," Rovira said. "We have four games left and if we play like that, we can win them."
Toronto: Has a key matchup at Pymatuning Valley.
"It's going to be another tough game that has a lot riding on it. I think we match up well," Franke said.
Toronto 19, Madonna 16
Madonna 0-8-0-8 -- 16
Toronto 0-13-0-6 -- 19
SCORING
First Quarter
None
Second Quarter
T: Bouscher 62 punt return (Keenan kick) 7:49
M: Quering 27 pass from Arlia (Arlia pass to Thompson) 3:41
T: Kinsey 6 run (run failed) :50
Third Quarter
None
Fourth Quarter
T: Bouscher 5 run (pass failed) 4:37
M: Quering 4 pass from Arlia (Arlia pass to Dietrich) 1:54
RUSHING: Madonna 18-11 (Muzzi 5-19; Quering 1-2; Arlia 4-(-24); Humberson 7-13; McKay 1-1); Toronto 47-202-2TD (Kinsey 25-133-TD; Keenan 5-36; Bouscher 7-32-TD; Baker 3-27; Mick 7-(-12); Team 1-(-14).
PASSING: Madonna 10-25-155-2TD (all by Arlia); Toronto 4-8-44 (Mick 3-6-17; Keenan 0-1; Kinsey 1-1-25).
RECEIVING: Madonna 10-155-2TD (McKay 3-44; Quering 4-39-2TD; Dietrich 1-49; Thompson 2-19); Toronto 4-44 (Baker 3-43; Bouscher 1-1).
FIRST DOWNS: Madonna 8; Toronto 15.
PENALTIES-YARDS: Madonna 4-38; Toronto 7-60.
FUMBLES-LOST: Madonna 0-0; Toronto 2-1.
PUNTS-AVERAGE: Madonna 4-30; Toronto 1-32.