Marquette Academy players admitted they came into this Week 2 nonconference game a bit angry after a tough loss last week.

That attitude showed Friday night against Madison in the Cru’s home opener.

“We were still [mad] from last week,” senior quarterback Anthony Couch said. “Starting Monday, we came in sore, got yelled at, and we knew we had to take it out on Madison this week.”

That edge was evident immediately, as the Crusaders got out to a 42-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The Marquette defense and special teams came out swinging to spark the early onslaught, delivering big hits and forcing fumbles on Madison’s first two possessions to set up short fields for the offense.

“I feel like our defense really set the tone tonight,” Marquette head coach Ken Carlson said. “They gave us short fields right away, and when we can play aggressive like that, it just changes everything.”

“The kids were flying around and having fun from the start, and when we get going like that, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”

Madison managed to get 234 yards from scrimmage. A majority of those yards, however, came in the second half when the Crusaders were benching their starters.

Echoing his quarterback’s sentiment, Marquette senior running back/linebacker Grant Dose added the defensive intensity came straight from the loss to Aurora Christian last week.

“Giving up six touchdowns last week wasn’t acceptable,” Dose said. “That attitude carried into practice this week. We were [mad] and wanted to make a statement tonight.”

Similar to last week, Dose led the Crusaders in total yards, rushing 11 times for 85 yards and three touchdowns while adding one reception for 25 yards.

Along with being one of the better playmakers on the field, Carlson spoke highly of the senior’s leadership skills.

“He is definitely a leader, and the boys are more than willing to follow him,” Carlson said. “He’s not just leading by example on the field - he’s vocal too. He’s doing a great job of that and played his butt off tonight.”

Although Dose emphasized that it’s ultimately not his choice to lead, he’s learned to embrace that responsibility.

“I don’t like to say I’m the leader, but if that’s what the coaches and the team think, I embrace it,” Dose said. “God chose me as a leader for this team, and I try to live up to that in any way that I can.”

Marquette’s offense racked up 330 yards from scrimmage, with Couch making smart decisions in his second game in a brand new offense under Carlson.

In a scheme featuring a lot of run-pass options, Couch explained that a big game like this showed him how efficient this offense could be going forward.

“I think tonight’s game just showed how this offense can look when everything clicks,” Couch said. “I was making good reads, and it just felt really smooth.”

Couch completed 4 of 7 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with seniors Jaxsen Higgins and Marcus Baker for scores, while also rushing four times for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Notably, all those numbers came in the first half before starters were benched.

Carlson reflected on his first win as the Cru’s head coach.

“Oh, it feels great,” Carlson said, “but all the credit goes to the kids. Hopefully we learned from some of the mistakes we made last week and fixed them going forward.”

Looking ahead, Marquette will go up to Wisconsin next Friday to play Edgar High School.

“We’re definitely looking forward to Wisconsin,” Couch said. “It feels good to have this win under our belt, but we need to carry the momentum into next Friday.”