VirginiaPreps: Virginia HS Sports Football & Basketball Recruiting - Madison County Outlasts Staunton 42-28 in Season Debut (2024)

GAME SUMMARY

It took a bit longer than anticipated but the 2024 High School Football season got underway for Madison County and Staunton on Thursday night. Lightning forced the kickoff to be moved back 45 minutes before the game was able to get started but, fortunately, the squads could play as planned unlike many other games in the area and throughout Virginia that got postponed.

The Mountaineers took possession first and began their first offensive possession on their 35-yard line. A heavy dose of JB Brown early on rushing opened the Madison County passing attack early. Quarterback Aaron Fincham showed he is not just a physical player. Still, he can throw with accuracy as he connected for 33 passing yards on the opening drive including a 19-yard strike to senior William Dickey in the middle of the endzone to give his team an early 6-0 lead.

Staunton appeared poised to respond starting from midfield and quickly maneuvering into a goal-to-go situation but penalties and a stout Mountaineers defense in the redzone left the Storm offense leaving the field with no points to show for their efforts.

Fincham found Dickey again on the opening play of Madison County’s offensive possession for 48 yards and five plays later Brown found the endzone for his first of three rushing touchdowns to extend the Mountaineers lead to 13-0.

Late in the first half, the Storm’s offense finally found some rhythm in the rushing attack with a steady dose of junior rusher Tymek Strother carrying the workload. Strother covered 50 yards on the ground and senior Marc Geffrard capped off the drive with a 6-yard rushing score.

Madison added another rushing score by Brown before intermission and both teams found the endzone on their opening drive in the second half. Trailing 27-14, the Storm senior quarterback Maliq McCauley connected on one of the biggest passes of the night, finding Thomas Chisley for a 63-yard touchdown pass.

The second half was back-and-forth on the scoreboard with the two teams combining for 43 points total.

In the final quarter, Staunton pulled to within one score once again after cashing in on a 13-play, 69-yard drive with just under six minutes remaining in the contest. The Storm kept the ball on the ground throughout the drive not attempting a single pass and it was Geffrard who scored for the second time of the night with a five-yard run to make the score 35-28.

With the conditions of the late start and the August heat wearing on the two teams, Madison County exhibited itself as a well-conditioned unit on their final offensive possession of the night. Like their opponents, the Mountaineers stuck to their run game covering a span of 80 yards in 4:18. Fincham and Brown toted the football throughout the drive with Brown carrying the ball five times and Fincham four. On the third quarterback run inside the 10-yard line, Fincham found the endzone from one yard out with 1:27 remaining to put Madison County up 42-28 and secure the victory for the Mountaineers.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW WITH MADISON COUNTY HEAD COACH LARRY HELMICK

SCORING SUMMARY

Madison County 13 7 15 7—42

Staunton 0 7 14 7--28

FIRST QUARTER

MC—William Dickey 19 yard pass from Aaron Fincham (kick failed), 9:08

MC—JB Brown 6 yard run (Leland Stidham kick), 1:15

SECOND QUARTER

S—Marc Geffrard 6 yard run (Luc Geffrard kick), 4:36

MC—JB Brown 4 yard run (Leland Stidham kick), 1:09

THIRD QUARTER

S—Maliq McCauley 8 yard run (Luc Geffrard kick), 9:23

MC—William Dickey 8 yard pass from Aaron Fincham (Leland Stidham kick), 4:24

S—Thomas Chisley 63 yard pass from Maliq McCauley (Luc Geffrard kick), 4:06

MC—JB Brown 5 yard run (Brown two point run), 0:00

FOURTH QUARTER

S—Marc Geffrard 5 yard run (Luc Geffrard kick), 5:45

MC—Aaron Fincham—1 yard run (Leland Stidham kick), 1:27

STANDOUT PLAYERS

JB Brown, Madison County…The Mountaineers senior picked up where he left off in 2023. Brown scored three rushing touchdowns in this contest. Listed at 5-foot-8, 166 pounds Brown is a shifty runner who is able to sneak through a miniscule hole created by his offensive line. Although he may be considered small for his position Brown has the ability to be physical and if he is able to complete the season this year without getting injured, he will likely exceed the 1500 yard rushing mark for his team.

Aaron Fincham, Madison County…Under center, Fincham looks intimidating, particularly against teams in Class 2. Since last year, the junior has added 15 pounds and as exhibited against Staunton, he can run the football. The combination of Brown and Fincham in the backfield is a solid 1-2 combination for the Mountaineers with Fincham’s rushing style quite a bit more physical. Not only can he run the football, but he can pass with power and accuracy. He displayed those capabilities in this game with two passing touchdowns and a rushing score that secured the victory for his team.

Maliq McCauley, Staunton…It took a while in this contest for the Storm offense to find consistency and begin to limit self-imposed penalties. When they did, however, McCauley showed why he is the starting quarterback and displayed the capability of throwing the long ball as well as a bit of shiftiness when he runs the pigskin. Certainly, Staunton will be working on limiting mistakes this week and if they get it down, McCauley will certainly be someone opposing defenses in the Shenandoah District.

Marc Geffrard, Staunton…The 6-foot-195 pound senior scored twice on the ground in this contest and according to head coach Michael Bell is a leader on and off the football field for the Storm. Staunton often used motion plays to get Geffrard moving before the snap and take advantage of his speed. Being able to lineup in the backfield as well as outside give Geffrard and Staunton the ability to be a bit dynamic in their play calling to utilize their weapons. Although he was short of the century mark on the ground in this game, Geffrard is a name that will be heard a lot this season, particularly in Staunton.

TAKEAWAYS

Madison County’s Offensive Line is Sharp Early

Before the season, Head Coach Larry Helmick stated that he was pleased with the depth of the offensive and defensive lines that his team had. He also commented that he had nine or ten players that he felt could see significant playing time this season at the positions. From the start of the game, it was apparent that not only did the Mountaineers want to establish the run game but also that the line, specifically the offensive line, had the practice, discipline, and toughness under their belts to execute Madison County’s offensive strategy to run the football and ensure ample opportunity for the team to air out the football when they wanted.

The Mountaineers Defense is Better Against the Run

Although Madison County took home the victory in this contest, the final quarter and outcome were a bit too close for comfort. In large part, it was because Staunton’s offense was able to move the football with success and limited penalties in the second half that stalled drives early on. Three of the Storm’s four touchdowns in the game came on the ground but Staunton missed multiple opportunities to gain large chunks of yards with their passing game. The speedy Storm receivers were able to get downfield quickly and find themselves open and came up short on several plays. As the season progresses, the Mountaineers defense is going to want to keep defenders in front of them. They did a much better job with short field defense and limited the Storm in redzone situations but will need to improve defensively to keep opposing offenses from taking the top off the defense.

Staunton Has Special Skill Players

Marc Geffrard scored two rushing touchdowns and Maliq McCauley accounted for two scores (one passing, one rushing) but several other players were in the mix on Thursday night. Tymek Strother showed that he has the ability to run downhill effectively and Joaqin Bell and Thomas Chisley’s pass-catching attributes and speed on the outside leave a lot to like about the capabilities of Staunton’s capability to move the ball effectively but also to break a big play multiple times during a game. Against Madison County, the Storm only had one play that went over 50 yards but it went the distance and there were other opportunities during this contest that fell just short.

Clean Up the Penalties

It’s not uncommon that in-season opener’s teams can struggle with penalties. In this contest, there were multiple false starts, encroachment, and holding calls against each team. While moving backward doesn’t typically help a team’s chances to score, personal fouls can have an even larger impact. Staunton had at least three personal fouls in this game and Madison County had a player ejected from the contest due to their on-field actions. Each squad will need to be more disciplined moving forward in order to maximize their ability to win games and give themselves a shot in their district as well as to advance during the postseason.

WHAT’S NEXT

Madison County will have its first home game welcoming a Buckingham County squad that defeated Appomattox County handily 35-13 to start the season. The Knights returned to the postseason last year for the first time since 2019 and they defeated the Mountaineers 22-7 in the second game of the season. This will be just the third time in history the two schools have met in football.

Staunton hosts Rockbridge County who enters the contest with a 12-game losing streak. The Wildcats were defeated by Parry McCluer on Friday night. The Storm blanked Rockbridge County 42-0 last season and Staunton has won 13 of the last 16 head-to-head matchups against the Wildcats.

Robert Edmonds has been contributing to Virginiapreps.com, part of the Rivals.com network, since 2013. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @bigrob2523 and subscribe to his YouTube channel
for sports-related content. You can read his work in the Daily Progress
and occasionally in other journalism publications. He began working in the sports sector in 2006 and covers public and private schools throughout the state with a focus in the Central Virginia area. He currently lives in Keswick with his wife and has seven children and two grandchildren. To contact Robert, please email him at bigrob2523@gmail.com.