Just when it looked like W.T. Woodson would have to wait another year to seal up a postseason victory, the Cavaliers defense stepped up and the offense sealed the deal in their 20-14 overtime defeat of Madison in a Group AAA, Division 5, Northern Region semifinal at Jefferson.
A victory decades in the making was capped off by sophomore running back Joseph Martin's 3-yard touchdown run on his 33rd carry of the night.
The victory denied Madison (8-3) a return to the regional final where they lost last year. The Cavaliers (9-2) will face Liberty District rival South Lakes (8-3) in a rematch for the region title.
No. 9 Woodson won the first meeting of the year, 40-34, in four overtimes.
``I can't think about that right now," Martin said. ``I'm tired and just happy we won."
Madison got the first possession of overtime and looked to have taken the lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by junior running back Carl Gravette. But a penalty nullified the touchdown and the Cavaliers defense held the Warhawks to a field-goal attempt. Madison called for a fake, but senior holder Jon Decker was stopped at the goal line by sophomore linebacker Aaron Solomon after receiving a pass from junior quarterback/kicker Johnny Ayers.
Woodson took the field needing only a field goal of their own to capture the victory. On their second play, Martin scored and his team advanced.
Martin finished the day with a career-best 169 yards on 33 carries, with 23 of those carries and 124 yards after halftime. He scored on runs of 2, 3 and 15 yards.
``I was kinda nervous in overtime because I felt the pressure was on me," Martin said. ``My line was doing a great job all night so I knew we would keep running."
Equally as thrilled was Cavaliers coach Mark Cox.
``We just kept doing what was working. Our line was doing a great job. It was the only thing going for us," Cox said. ``It is so great to get this first win for everybody at Woodson but we have another game coming up next week. Anytime you play a team for the second time it is always harder, as you saw tonight. The last game with South Lakes was tough and the next one will be even tougher. That's just how it works. But this team has accomplished a lot and I'm proud of them."
Woodson's defense got the game started by forcing Madison to punt on their opening possession. Woodson used good field position, starting at their own 35-yard line, to jump out to an early 7-0 lead after Martin's first touchdown of the night.
Madison got back into the game by scoring all 14 of its points in the second quarter. A seven-play drive, all on the ground, resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Andrew Baird to tie the score at 7-7.
Madison's defense held strong, forcing Woodson into another three-and-out after Cavaliers senior running back Stephen Niez dropped a wide-open pass with nobody around him from junior quarterback Michael Solomon, who finished 2-for-11 for 16 yards with one interception.
Madison responded with a 12-play march highlighted by senior running back Jon Urcuyo. Urcuyo gained almost all of his 69 yards in the quarter. He capped off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run over the Woodson defense for a 14-7 lead heading into the locker room.
The second half was mainly a battle of field position as well as the coming-out party for Martin. Martin ran the ball on 23 of Woodson's 34 plays after the break. His touchdown and the subsequent extra point tied the game as time ran down in the third quarter, 14-14.
