Maddie's 6 TDs heat up Aurora Christian
The only thing hotter than Aurora Christian quarterback Anthony Maddie on Friday night was the kerosene heater on the Eagles sideline.
Maddie tossed 5 touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the host Eagles to a 49-6 playoff warmup victory over Aurora Central Catholic.
"It was really nice to have Chad (Beebe) back," Maddie said. "We had our full package that we've been working on all summer, so having Chad back really adds another element to our passing game that teams have to account for."
Maddie tossed his first touchdown pass of the night to Grayson Roberts from 5-yards early in the first quarter three plays after the Eagles tackled the Chargers punter on the 34-yard line. Late in the first quarter after the Chargers pinned the Eagles back on their own 2-yard line, Maddie struck by land, running 83 yards for a score to give Aurora Christian a 14-0 lead. Then just before the first quarter ended, Maddie and the Eagles struck again after the Chargers lost a fumble on their first play from scrimmage. Maddie hit Chad Beebe from 26-yards out to give the hosts a 21-0 lead.
Aurora Central Catholic (4-5, 1-4) finally got its offense on track as the second quarter began, using up nearly half the quarter on a 12-play, 79-yard scoring drive that concluded with a 15-yard touchdown run by junior Anthony Andujar to bring the score to 21-6.
Maddie found Beebe again just before the end of the half from 16-yards out to give the Eagles a commanding 28-6 lead, but the fun had only just started for Maddie and the Eagles offense.
On their second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Maddie threw his third touchdown pass of the night to Beebe from 41-yards out to put Aurora Christian (8-1, 5-0) up 35-6.
Beebe, who hadn't played yet the entire season due to a broken collar bone and a separated shoulder, was quick to point out that the Eagles have many weapons on their offense.
"It's great to be back," Beebe said. "I'm finally back and it felt great. Overall, I think our team is so well rounded. We have a lot of weapons on offense, so I'm really excited to see where we'll end up."
Maddie's fifth and final touchdown pass of the night went to Cory Windle from 33 yards out and junior Ryan Suttle scored from 20-yards out just before the end of the third quarter to close out the scoring for the Eagles.
Head coach Don Beebe said that defending the Eagles spread offense during the playoffs will present a challenge for their opponents.
"We have so many weapons," Beebe said. "They tried to double Cory (Windle) and take him out of the game, but this week Chad was there to help us out. When you have guys like Chad, Grayson, Brandon Mayes, and Cory, it's hard to defend us."
Beebe feels his team is firing on all cylinders as it heads into the playoffs.
"Yeah, we're ready for the playoffs, no doubt about that," Beebe said. "You always want to be on a roll heading into the playoffs. I think the last two weeks we've really played well. I think we can still work on our special teams, so I'd like to see us make some noise on special teams. I also think we need to keep emphasizing on getting turnovers on defense because those are huge in the playoffs."