At halftime of Friday's Division 5 Northern Region championship game, Mount Vernon coach Jody Stone could only shake his head at the fact his team trailed host Madison 6-0.

Stone felt untimely first-half errors were all that stood between his team and a region title, and so he decided against making any adjustments to counter Madison's bruising double-wing offense.

Two quarters later, with the Division 5 trophy in hand, Stone knew he had made the right choice.

Check out some great game pictures here

In the second half against the Warhawks, the Majors blocked a punt, converted three turnovers into touchdowns and took advantage of running back Thomas Clayton's 124 second-half yards, all of which led to a convincing 28-6 victory.

Mount Vernon (7-4) captured its first region title since 1983 and hosts Pheobus next Saturday in the Division 5 Group AAA state semifinals.

``Going into halftime, the coaches got onto us and said, `We are either going to go home, or keep going,'" Clayton said. ``So we came out and did what we had to do."

Clayton was instrumental in the Majors' comeback, rushing for three of his team's four touchdowns after intermission.

``We always knew we were capable of this," said Clayton, who said he will likely verbally commit to Florida State after he takes an official visit there in the next few weeks. ``We stumbled a little bit, but I think we proved we were the team to beat in the region."

Things did not start so well for the Majors, however.

Taking advantage of a first-quarter fumble by Mount Vernon quarterback Chris Spencer, Madison drove 30 yards and took a 6-0 lead on an 8-yard touchdown run up the middle by running back Tyler Lee.

The Warhawks then kept the Majors off the field for much of the half by using their ball-controlling double-wing. But in spite of holding the ball for more than 16 of the 24 minutes in the half and limiting Mount Vernon to just four first downs, Madison was unable to extend its lead by intermission.

``We didn't make any adjustments at all, because we felt we were doing good things," Stone said. ``We were just goofing up."

Stone's caution paid off, as a series of second-half mistakes by the Warhawks led to 28 unanswered points from the Majors.

A fumbled snap by Madison quarterback B.T. Good on his team's first possession of the half was followed by an 11-yard touchdown run by Clayton. Mount Vernon kicker Salvenko Drincic's extra point was initially wide left. But a Madison penalty gave Drinic another chance, and he converted to give the Majors a 7-6 lead.

The Warhawks' next drive was cut short when defensive back Joey Fiddermon intercepted Good at the Madison 20-yard line. Clayton ran three straight times, including a 10-yard sweep to the right that gave the Majors a 14-6 advantage.

Then, after gaining just 1 yard on three plays on the Warhawks' next drive, Johnny Ayers' punt was blocked, and Mount Vernon safety Carlton Cobey recovered at the Warhawks 7. Cobey ran up the middle on the next play to give the Majors a 21-6 lead with 3 minutes, 6 seconds to play in the third quarter.

``[The turnovers] gave us momentum, and we kind of stuck the needle in their balloon," said Clayton. ``The defense stepped up and made excellent plays, and it was up to me to put the nail in the coffin."

Following a fumbled handoff between Good and running back Tyler Lee (25 carries, 95 yards), Clayton did just that, sprinting 79 yards for a touchdown that gave the Majors a 28-6 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

After starting the season 3-4, the Majors are now one game from playing for a state title. After Friday's win, Stone was realistic about that challenge, but said he believes his team will provide its best effort against Pheobus.

``I think we'll be the underdog again," Stone said. "But were not going to be happy with just showing up."