STANARDSVILLE — The Madison County football team faced a second-and-17 situation at William Monroe’s 40 yard-line while trailing, 13-7, late in the third quarter.
Quarterback Aaron Fincham dropped back and quickly found Stephan Turner over the middle. While just getting the first down would have been difficult, Turner went beyond those markers, and ran across the field past the Dragons’ defense for a touchdown.
“It’s a simple dig route, and Stephan took it to the house — shifty moves, good blocking by my young receivers,” Mountaineers head coach Larry Helmick said.
Fincham was additionally satisfied with the protection that allowed the play to develop.
“It all comes down to my offensive line,” Fincham said. “Without an offensive line, you can’t really make the ball go to the receiver.”
Tylee Coates then made the extra point to give Madison County the 14-13 lead.
When the ball returned to William Monroe, the Greene Dragons’ offense went on a persistent drive with multiple fourth down conversions. William Monroe reached a goal-to-go situation, but Madison County ultimately prevented the Dragons from scoring after 18 plays and over nine minutes of possession.
Madison County took the ball back with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter and did not let it go. Fincham ran for 29 yards on five rushes and completed a five-yard pass on the final drive before kneeling to secure the Mountaineers’ first victory of the year.
Madison County is coming off a Region 2B semifinal appearance in 2024, and is working to fill roles that were left by graduating seniors from last year.
The Mountaineers lost running back Jeremiah Brown, who tallied 1,980 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns to earn Bull Run District Player of the Year honors last fall. They also graduated Will Dickey, who totaled 937 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024.
With Madison County adjusting schematically, Fincham has adopted a larger role in its running game.
“He takes every challenge head-on,” Helmick said. “He can sling it around, but his legs this year — he’s a tough runner. He’s hard to bring down.”
“I want to win. I’ll do anything to win,” Fincham added. “That’s all it is.”
With a mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen, the Mountaineers are aiming to build more cohesion as the season continues developing.
“We have a lot of veterans, but we’re starting a lot of young kids that have never played varsity,” Helmick said. “I think the more game-time experience they get, the better we’ll get each week.”
On Friday, Madison County had a smooth first offensive drive, needing only six plays to travel 67 yards for a Kayden Cotton touchdown.
After an exchange of defensive stops, William Monroe’s Rashad Brock scored a 28-yard rushing score to tie the game at 7-7.
In the Dragons’ first drive out of halftime, they went eight plays and 48 yards, with the final snap being a Cale Hamblin quarterback sneak into the end zone.
The Mountaineers will next play Harrisonburg on Oct. 3, while William Monroe will face Spotswood on Sept. 26.
Chris Gionta
cgionta@dailyprogress.com
@Chris_Gionta on X
C’ville Varsity
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Chris Gionta
Prep Sports Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today