Madison prepares to host a special TOC 2016-17 ceremony where the football team will be nationally recognized by MaxPreps.
MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Madison (San Diego, Calif.) Warhawks have officially been named to the 12th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 12th year honoring football.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for the top 100 teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the
MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams. This puts the Warhawks ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
I'm not sure any team in high school football embodied their mascot more than the Warhawks this season. The term was coined by prominent Virginia Congressman John Randolph referring to those who were strongly in favor of joining the War of 1812. The Warhawks of San Diego were ready to battle it out with everyone they ran into on their way to the
CIF Divison 2A State Championship.
Madison dominated their first two matchups in the playoffs, beating
Carlsbad 48-13 and
San Marcos 41-7. The
matchup with the St. Augustine Saints would be the first real test for the Warhawks. Anybody watching the first half might have left early as the Saints completely controlled the game 31-7. The second half was proof that you never doubt the heart of a champion. Madison shut out the Saints offense in the second half and scored 28 straight points to pull out an incredible 35-31 win.
The next challenge would come from the undefeated
Coyotes of Calabasas. In the previous game the Hawks proved no halftime lead was safe, in this contest they would prove no fourth quarter lead was safe. The game was close in the first half, but a furious Calabasas run would put Madison down 19 points in the fourth quarter.
The Warhawks never blinked, scoring off a 33-yard touchdown catch by Elijah Thomas. Madison then recovered an onside kick that led to an 8-yard score by Erick Buchanan to cut the lead to 47-42. Both teams would find the end zone again, but a Calabasas missed extra point and a Warhawks two-point conversion made it a three point game with just a couple minutes remaining.
Calabasas decided to throw the ball on third down with 1:11 to go and Spencer Nui took advantage of the opportunity. He was able to intercept the pass to give Madison a shot at a game-tying 46-yard field goal. Kicker David Lantz found his inner Adam Vinatieri and put it through the uprights to take the game to an improbable overtime session. With all the momentum on their side, Madison scored quickly to take a 60-53 lead. The game came down to a fouth-and-one at the one-yard line for a spot in the state championship. Calabasas tossed it up for Darnay Holmes, but he wouldn't be able to hang on to the ball. Against all rational thought, the Warhawks pulled out the 60-53 win and earned their spot in the title game.
The
CIF state championship against San Jose Valley Christian would be another match that would come down to the final play, exactly where Madison wanted them. After a competitive first three quarters the Warhawks had a 21-17 lead with under a minute to go. Valley completed three passes to give themselves a Hail Mary shot for the
state championship. The ball hung in the air for an unhealthy amount of time for Madison fans to handle, but it would come down to earth and bounce off the ground to secure the state title. The team had battled adversity all season long, but they would live by the motto of Head Coach Rick Johnson,
"Never give up, never throw in the towel."
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Valley Christian 21-17 on Dec. 16 marked the completion of an incredible 13-2 season — and earned Madison an invitation to the Tour of Champions.They finished
No.11 in the state, and
No. 99 in the Maxpreps National Rankings.
These incredible season achievements have earned the Madison Warhawks an invitation to the 12th Annual Tour of Champions.
Please join us as we celebrate with the football team, coaching staff, students and fans on Feb. 24 at 1:20 in the Auditorium.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
