On paper, Madison Academy has wrapped up the Class 3A, Region 7 championship. Coach Bob Godsey’s Mustangs are looking to seal the deal on the field, though.

Madison Academy is undefeated at 8-0 and 5-0 in league play headed into Friday’s game against Susan Moore in Blountsville. Susan Moore is 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the region. A win by the Bulldogs would put the teams and J.B. Pennington (7-2, 5-1) into a three-way tie at the top.

If the first tiebreaker comes to bear, Madison Academy would take the top seed by virtue of its unbeaten non-region results.

“I guess we technically have wrapped up the region,” Godsey said, “but we want to win it on the field. That’s our goal. We look at it that if we want to be region champion, we want to win this game.”

The second-ranked Mustangs’ undefeated mark thus far is their second in four years. Madison Academy finished the 2020 COVID-19 regular season at 9-0 and won an opening-round Class 4A playoff game before falling to Northside in the second round.

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How does Godsey and his staff approach perfection this season?

“Our method, I guess, is we’re going to take care of ourselves, work every day to get better and play every play to get better,” he said. “We try not to be end-result oriented. We don’t watch the scoreboard and we’re not interested in stats.

“We work to try to perfect our craft. That helps us in any pressure there is to be undefeated, any complacency that might come with it. At least, that’s the hope.”

Godsey said his team’s experience has played a large role in its success. “We do have a very mature team this year. We have a lot of guys who have been through it and have been on some good teams. They have identified why they have been very successful and why they have not been successful.

“It definitely helps when your dudes are your dudes,” Godsey said. “It makes it hard for others not to be ready. We’re fortunate that we have a mature team of juniors and seniors who understand the process.”

Since a 26-21 home win over Pennington on Sept. 8, the Mustangs have rolled to wins by margins of 49, 56, 63, 43 and 74 points. Madison Academy is averaging 53.5 points a game and giving up 9.1.

“I think we’re getting a little better,” Godsey said. “We’re getting some guys healthy and getting things in line for the playoffs.

“Since the Randolph game (Sept. 1), we had not had our starting offensive line together at the same time or our starting defensive line since then. Demarcus Peoples broke his arm, and we hope he’ll be able to dress this week. Not sure how much we’ll ask him to do. Michael Wiggins, a starter at safety, broke his foot the next week (after Randolph) and he played a few snaps last week. Other than that, we’ve had bumps and bruises that have limited a few guys.”

Running back Ken Cherry has been one of Godsey’s “dudes,” he said. “Nobody does more than Ken. He works really hard. He’s a team guy all the way. He wants his brothers to be successful. Any success he gets he’s the first to point out a bunch of others who are playing really well. He’s a humble young man.”

Cherry has run for 1,514 yards on 84 carries – 18 yards per attempt – and scored 22 touchdowns. The 6-foot, 187-pound senior has run for at least 100 yards in every game.

Senior quarterback Jacob Poldiak has passed for 1,255 yards, completing 71-of-89 attempts with 15 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Senior Jackson Reece is Poldiak’s top target, catching 50 passes for 833 yards and 11 TDs.

Defensively, junior linebacker Antonio Rice is averaging 12 tackles a game with 9 tackles for loss. Senior lineman Khamoni Merrell has 14 tackles for loss with 4 sacks and sophomore Jonathan Davis has 4 interceptions.

Susan Moore’s losses came in the season-opener, 20-0 to Douglas, 52-6 at No. 7 2A Locust Fork on Sept. 29 and last week 28-7 to J.B. Pennington.

The Bulldogs average 25 points a game and surrender 16 per outing. First-year coach Wes Patterson leads his team on a field named for his father, AHSAA Hall of Famer Larry Patterson, who coached Susan Moore to a 166-77-3 record from 1967-88.