Eisenhower rallies for win over Valley Center (+video)

It’s a lot to ask of any quarterback, let alone a junior in high school.

When the game’s on the line, stay in the pocket. Don’t be afraid to get pulverized. Don’t be afraid to get your entire body smashed into the turf.

And, don’t forget the most important thing — put that ball right on target.

Eisenhower coach Marc Marinelli asked that of his quarterback, Mason Madzey, on Friday night.

Madzey delivered.

“He’s pretty special,” Marinelli said. “And I think he might play his best ball after he’s been hit a couple of times.”

Madzey hit Drake Damon perfectly in stride for a 47-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 left in the third quarter, propelling Eisenhower (3-3, 3-1 AV-CTL II) to a 25-19, come-from-behind win over Valley Center (3-3, 2-3). The touchdown came on third-and-32, and gave Eisenhower its first lead of the game after trailing 12-0 in the first quarter.

“I knew Drake could beat their safety down the field,” Madzey said. “I got hit pretty hard as I threw the ball, and as soon as I hit the ground I waited to hear the reaction, but nobody cheered. Then I could see people running and I knew he caught it and I knew we were gonna score.”

Madzey completed 6 of 7 passes for 94 yards and also rushed for 47 yards. Eisenhower running back Joseph Weibel added 166 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

“We fought back, we showed a lot of emotion, a lot of heart,” Weibel said. “We wanted the victory more than (Valley Center) did.”

Valley Center scored on its opening drive on a 5-yard touchdown run by Isziah Hurtt, then added another score on a 3-yard touchdown run by Wyatt Lange for a 12-0 lead after Eisenhower fumbled on its third play from scrimmage. Hurtt led Valley Center with 129 rushing yards on 31 carries.

The Tigers tied the score at halftime on back-to-back touchdown runs by Weibel, then took their first lead on the Madzey-to-Damon hookup.

“I think we came out the gate well, we caught them by surprise a little bit,” Valley Center coach Caleb Smith said. “They recovered and took it to us a little bit, physically they wore us down. We had chance, but didn’t make the plays when we needed to.”

Eisenhower opens district play next Friday at home against Arkansas City, hosts Liberal the following week and closes the season out at crosstown rival Goddard on Oct. 30. Wins over Arkansas City and Goddard would give the Tigers at least a share of the AV-CTL II title.

“Hopefully this shows we’re a different Eisenhower program,” Marinelli said. “We focus on never being out of it, of never giving up. Hopefully this gives us some momentum headed into districts.”

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Eisenhower rallies for win over Valley Center (+video)."