Cowboys To Square Off Against Godby On National TV

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Madison County High School Cowboys who are ranked number 14 in the nation by USA Today will square off against the Godby High Cougars from Tallahassee on Halloween night, October 31, on ESPNU, a national sports network.
Before that, however, the Cowboys will square off against Arlington Country Day from Jacksonville on Friday night, September 12, at Boot Hill in Madison.
The silver and maroon attack is back!
The long, hot, wet summer will soon give way to brisk fall evenings, filled with the rah-rah spirit of cheerleaders, the blazing speed of fleet-footed running backs and old-fashioned smash mouth football.
The Cowboys did it last year and they can repeat this year because the team doesn’t have to rebuild. They don’t even have to reload. They just have to take the safety off and fire.
Head Coach Frankie Carroll has both barrels loaded, as he returns eight offensive starters and nine defensive stalwarts and the whole gun is aiming for another state title.
Two returning stars from last year’s state championship have already committed to Florida State University.
All-American defensive lineman Jaccobi McDaniel stands 6’1” tall and weighs in at almost 280 pounds. Though smaller than many lineman, he “overcomes his deficiencies by routinely winning the leverage battle,” according to his ESPN’s Scouts, Inc. evaluation. They added, “(He) has good lateral quickness and is active with his hands. Shoots his hands coming out of his stance and is very violent in his use of them. He can shed and pursue.”
Running back Chris Thompson averaged 12.1 yards per carry for a total of 2,256 yards in 2007. He scored 33 touchdowns, including two in the Cowboys’ 28-7 victory over Tampa Christian in the state title tilt.
According to Scouts, Inc., “Thompson could pose serious match-up problems for defense coordinators at the college level and hurt you in a number of ways. Great skills in the kicking game only add to his upside as a prospect.”
The Cowboys have a total of 28 seniors on the roster as they aim for a 13th straight District 2 title.
The Cowboys will have Kelvin Singletary pulling the trigger at quarterback. Josh Arnold will be the backup.
Jordan Johnson will play adjuster, which is sort of a combination linebacker/strong safety and Kazmon English will be featured at cornerback.
Other Cowboy stars include Chad Mitchell, Cortez Akins, Corey Akins, Quanta Barfield and Kyndell Kornegay.
The Cowboy coaching staff remains the same, except for Mikhal Kornegay, who is now a graduate assistant coach at Florida State University. Travis Hodge, who came to the coaching staff from Jacksonville, replaces Mikhal Kornegay.
The Cowboys can’t be accused of playing against cowardly outlaws, although some teams will be buried on their own fields or left dying with their cleats on at Boot Hill when they come to Madison. This year, the Cowboys will be gunning against the Godby Cougars from Tallahassee, and they will be loaded for bear when they play Dixie County out of Cross City.
The Cowboys will be featured on national television (ESPNU) when they play against Godby on Halloween night.
Another tough team who the Cowboys will be playing is district rival Fort White, who just missed cracking the 2A Top Five. The Cowboys sit alone at the top of the polls, outdistancing their nearest rival South Sumter by 23 votes.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Boot Hill as the Cowboys go nose to nose with Arlington Country Day! Go, Cowboys!