WASHINGTON — League games between good teams are easy to bill as rivalries in any sport, at any level. Madison High School and South Lakes High School aren鈥檛 necessarily traditional rivals, but with both teams entering Friday night鈥檚 聽at 6-0, there鈥檚 added weight to this year鈥檚 game. And no matter what happens, you can bet both coaches will be talking about the result come Sunday.
That鈥檚 because Madison head coach Lenny Schultz and South Lakes head coach Trey Taylor are longtime friends and members of the same church, Fairfax Circle Baptist Church. They鈥檝e held camps together over the years and know each other well, both on and off the gridiron. That helps explain why each has聽nothing but effusive praise for the other鈥檚 team going into Friday night鈥檚 showdown, at South Lakes at 7 p.m.
鈥淭hose kids can flat-out fly when they get the ball,鈥� said Schultz of South Lakes鈥� explosive offense, which has scored 56 or more points each of the last three weeks.
鈥淔rom my point of view, I don鈥檛 think Madison鈥檚 defense gets nearly the respect it deserves,鈥� said Taylor of Madison鈥檚 defense, which has allowed fewer than 10 points per game, including a pair of shutouts.
That appears to be the matchup to watch Friday night. Last year, South Lakes was rolling at 5-1 when the Seahawks came into Vienna and ran into a brick wall聽—聽a 38-6 rout. They wouldn鈥檛 lose again until the 6A quarterfinals, but the Madison game stood out as one they鈥檇 like to have back.
鈥淲e feel like when we went out there last year, they handled us pretty easily,鈥� said Taylor. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anybody here felt like we gave it our best effort. Not to take anything away from them, but we didn鈥檛 play the way we wanted to play.鈥�
With the home-field advantage this year, Taylor is hoping to turn the tide Friday.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a neat little stadium here that holds in noise,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut the biggest advantage is that we鈥檙e not in Vienna.鈥�
For Schultz, Friday represents the next step in the continued growth of his program, one in which he鈥檚 hammered home the focus of taking everything one day, one practice, at a time.
鈥淲e鈥檙e winning because we鈥檙e playing good team football,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur program just keeps getting better and better, stronger and stronger.鈥�
草莓传媒 will be on-site at South Lakes high School with live updates, photos, videos and more on our .
