Madison’s fast start continues as the Bobcats roll to a 27-0 win over Riverton

POCATELLO – Pop quiz!

Who’s scored 79 points in their first two games?

Who’s allowed 0 points in their first two games?

Could it be the same team?

“We worked really hard to be where we’re at,” Madison coach Matt Pancheri said. “The kids deserve the credit for that.”

It’s just two games, but following Thursday’s 27-0 win over Riverton (UT), it’s hard to find a team that’s been as hot to start the season as the Bobcats.

Coming off a 52-0 win over Minico in last week’s opener, Madison had little trouble with Riverton in Thursday’s second game of the Rocky Mountain Rumble at the ICCU Dome.

Madison put together impressive drives on its first two possessions as Micah Dougherty connected with Tyce Hodges for a 54-yard touchdown to put the Bobcats up 13-0.

They put together a 79-yard drive late in the second quarter that was capped by Caydyn Shaw hauling in a 16-yard scoring pass from Dougherty.

“We came into the season knowing our defense would be really good,” Dougherty said. “We have a good defense so its easy to play offense when you know your defense is going to get a stop.”

Riverton was in catch-up mode all night, so it was forced to be aggressive on fourth down, but the Madison defense force several turnovers on downs and came with the pressure.

“I didn’t expect zero points tonight,” Pancheri said. “I did expect us to be as physical as we were … We were getting turnovers and getting picks. The pressure was key for us, defensively.”

Pancheri noted that the team does have some younger players in the rotation, but they’ve been playing at a high level.

“We are working hard and we come to practice every day wanting to get better,” junior linebacker Treygon Weekes said.

And what about the defense shutting out opponents in the first two games?

“Zero given up is really hard,” Weekes said when comparing the fast starts by both the offense and defense. “Both sides have been good … it’s overall. You have to win both ways.”

Madison (2-0) hosts Middleton next Friday.