Madison's magical postseason run ends with state bowl title

Video: Recap - Madison vs. Calabasas
See clips from the game that got the Warhawks to the state title tilt

The ball seemed to hang in the air forever, said Madison (San Diego) quarterback Terrell Carter. The Hail Mary toss was perfectly thrown by Valley Christian (San Jose) senior Miles Kendrick and where it landed would decide a state champion.

"I was thinking I'd make the interception," said the 6-foot-1 Carter, inserted into the game for this precise reason. "But I just slapped it down to get the win."

And what a win.

Madison finished off a magical postseason by earning a 21-17 victory at Sacramento State in an exciting CIF State Championship Bowl Game Division 2-AA contest.

Erick Buchanan rushed 26 times for 159 yards and Carter threw for 195 yards and another score as Madison overcame a 10-7 halftime deficit to win an exciting game at Sacramento State University. 

With 88 yards and 30 seconds to go and no timeouts, Valley Christian (13-2) made it to the Madison 42, but just came up a little short. It was its first trip even to regionals.

"It was heck of a game and a heck of a season," Valley Christian coach Mike Machado said. "We lost two games and both of them were awfully, awfully close.

Madison was making its third trip to the state bowl games after defeating Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 38-35 in the 2012 Division III game and losing to Escalon 30-14 in the 2010 Division III contest.

See box score

Madison took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run by Erick Buchanan, who had 10 carries for 81 yards in the first half.

"He's the best running back ever," Carter said of Buchanan. "I don't have to do much because he does so much."

The play capped a 13 play, 59-yard drive and Madison looked in command. Valley Christian’s defense, however, would hold the rest of the half.

In the meantime, Javon Sturns capped a 6-play, 55-yard drive with an 8-yard TD run, tying the game at 7-7 with 3:03 left in the first.

From there, penalties and turnovers bogged down the game until Valley Christian senior kicker Bailey Schroeder drilled a 33-yard field goal on the last play of the second quarter giving the Warriors a 10-7 halftime lead.

The game got crisp and interesting in the third as the teams alternating impressive touchdown drives.

Carter scrambled, somehow found Brandon Lewis, who broke a short 5-yard gain into a 37-yard touchdown, giving Madison a 14-10 lead with 9:36 left in the third quarter.

Valley Christian came right back with an impressive 11-play, 69-yard drive capped by a Kendrick to Anthony Flores 6-yard touchdown, giving the Warriors back the lead 17-14.

But Madison would have none of that, zipping down the field on an 8-play, 75-yard march, capped by Buchanan’s second TD run, an 8-yarder, making it 21-17 with 2:54 left in the third quarter. That's how the score remained through three quarters and eventually the game.

"Just too many mistakes," Machado said. "You can't make them in a game like this. Bit I thought it was a hell of a game and our defense played exceptional."

Madison advanced to the state bowl game with a pair of incredible comebacks. First, it overcame a 31-7 halftime deficit to defeat St. Augustine (San Diego) 35-31 for the San Diego Section Division 1 championship. Then it overcame a 47-28 deficit with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to beat Calabasas 60-53 in overtime in the South II-AA regional.

Valley Christian, the Central Coast Section Open Division III champion, had never appeared in the state finals prior to Friday's matchup. It advanced to the Division II-AA State Championship Bowl Game with a 31-6 win over Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), the North Coast Section Division 4 winner.

Madison 21, Valley Christian 17

First quarter
M - Erick Buchanan 11 run (David Lantz kick), 5:09
VC — Javon Sturns 8 run (Bailey Schroeder kick), 2:02

Second Quarter
VC - FG, Schroeder 37

Third quarter
M - Brandon Lewis 37 pass from Terrell Carter (Lantz kick), 9:36
VC - Anthony Flores 6 pass from Miles Kendrick (Schroeder kick), 3:41
M - Buchanan 8 run (Lantz kick), 0:41

RUSHING
M: Buchanan 26-159, Carter 5-28, Kenan Christon 5-10. VC: Sturns 15-76, Rodriguez 14-54, Kendrick 4-22, Edgar 4-14.

PASSING
M: Carter 14-24-0-195. VC: Kendrick 8-17-0-104.

RECEIVING
M: Thomas 4-83, Lewis 4-60, Stokes 3-23, Pelot 2-28. VC: Flores 4-53, Rodriguez 2-40, Julian 1-10, Loving-Black 1-1.

TACKLES
M: Fatilua 11, Collins 10, McDaniels 8. VC: Laubach 8, McKenzie 7, Stone 7.

TEAM STATS
First downs Madison 21, VC 17
Rushes (yards) Madison 36-197, VC 37-166
Passing yards: Madison 195, VC 104
Fumbles/lost: Madison 2-2, VC 0-0
Penalties/yards: Madison 10/105, VC 9-55
Third down: Madison 5-10, VC 3-10
Total yards: Madison 392, VC 270

Kevin Askeland contributed to this report.