“This is the best I’ve felt the whole year,” said Reed, who carried the ball 20 times and scored on first-half runs of 60 and 78 yards. “I’ve got this new ankle brace and it’s really supporting my left ankle, and my right ankle’s getting close to 100 percent.
“I couldn’t have done it without my O-line and the coaches just feeding me the ball. That’s all I could ask for. I trust whoever gets the ball is going to get the job done.”
Spencer Mays added a 3-yard TD run and Brad Harrison kicked three extra points for the Indians, who improved to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the Buckeye Division.
Madison scored on a fourth-down, 49-yard bomb from Reid Davis to Noah Lehman with 3:39 left to make it 21-19, but the hosts’ conversion pass fell incomplete.
Carlisle responded by driving inside the Mohawks’ 10-yard line before giving the ball up on downs at the 9 with 5.9 seconds left. Madison completed a pass on the game’s final play, but the end zone was still about 70 yards away.
“That was a four-quarter game, and it’d been a while since we’ve been in one,” Indians coach Mike Brown said. “All week we were challenging our seniors and older guys who are seasoned, telling them it’s going to come down to the last snap of the game. And it did.
“At halftime we took a lead (14-10), but we didn’t feel like we were playing the way we should’ve been. We really challenged those guys at halftime, and the defense especially really stepped up.”
The Mohawks (4-3, 1-2) had a 339-309 edge in yardage behind the running of Tyler Baumgartner (15 carries, 99 yards, TD), Ryan Friend (17 carries, 95 yards) and Cameron Svarda (16 carries, 56 yards).
Logan Alward kicked two 37-yard field goals for Madison. He missed a 41-yarder.
“It was what we said it was going to be, two teams that were going to play hard and hit each other,” Mohawks coach Steve Poff said. “I don’t have a classy line for you. The ball didn’t bounce our way. It’s just where we’re at right now.
“I don’t think we had guys laying down. They didn’t either. I promise you they’re going to be sore tomorrow, and we’re going to be beat up and sore tomorrow. It’s easy to focus on the negatives when you lose a close game like that, but we’re going to continue to focus on the thing we’re doing well.”
Penalties were among the negatives. A lot of 5-yard flags added up to a big headache for ground-hugging Madison.
“When you’re a ball-control, ball-security offense, you can’t have negative-yard plays,” Poff said. “We’re just trying to chip away at them and make things happen the way we want them to happen. Once we get behind the chains, it’s hard to get back up sometimes.”
Ryan Friend had an interception for the Mohawks. Carlisle totaled zero yards through the air as quarterback Jake Moore was 0 of 2.
Moore was his team’s second-leading rusher with 21 yards on two carries. As expected, Reed carried the load.
“We had a feeling, especially later in the week at practice, that we were getting a Ridge as healthy as he’s been,” Brown said. “It was no secret what we were going to run and who it was going to. Our O-line did a good job of opening up some creases, and when 22’s got a little crease, he’s got a shot. Ridge is a special football player. I’m glad he’s on my team.”
Reed credited Madison for being a “tough opponent. We’ve built a rivalry over these past three years, back and forth every game. It was a super hard-fought game. It’s good to take the win out of it.”
“My hat’s off to Carlisle,” Poff said. “I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach Brown. He’s doing the right things.”
The Mohawks will visit Dixie next Friday, while the Indians will be at home for a first-place Buckeye showdown with Milton-Union.
“It’d be nice to really enjoy this win, but I know we have Milton next week, so what was in the back of my mind is now in the front,” Brown said. “We’ve got to focus on Milton. They’re one heck of a football team, and they stand in the way of what we want to do this year.”
Carlisle 7-7-0-7—21
Madison 0-10-0-9—19
C: Ridge Reed 60 run (Brad Harrison kick)
M: Tyler Baumgartner 9 run (Logan Alward kick)
C: Reed 78 run (Harrison kick)
M: Alward 37 field goal
M: Alward 37 field goal
C: Spencer Mays 3 run (Harrison kick)
M: Noah Lehman 49 pass from Reid Davis (Pass failed)
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