Spartan football moves to 3-1 with win in Madison

The Connersville Spartan football team improved to 3-1 on the season following a 28-7 non-conference road win over the Madison Cubs on Friday. Connersville juniors Parker Flanigan and Brayden Keller combined for approximately 400 yards of total offense.

“They’re just two exceptional players,” Connersville Head Coach Ryan Lynch said. “Thunder and lightning. They’re best friends on and off the field. They’re brothers, you know. They [have a] different skill set, but they’re cut from the same cloth. They’re tough, [and] they’re hard to bring down. They’re relentless, aggressive runners.”

Flanigan and Keller amassed roughly 180 each. Madison got on the board first following a 39-yard touchdown pass near the end of the first quarter. The Spartans responded with 28 unanswered points that included a 46-yard Keller run deep into Madison territory, a 37-yard Flanigan touchdown run from Flanigan, and a 55-yard Flanigan punt return touchdown. Connersville led 14-7 at halftime and held their 28-7 margin at the end of the third quarter.

Madison made some plays in the passing game, and got into the Connersville red zone following a 47-yard pass with the game tied at 7 in the second quarter. The Spartan defense made a fourth down stop to keep Madison from regaining the momentum.

“Early on, we adjusted [defensively],” Lynch said. “They came out in a power set and they got some blurps. We did get a stop. We ran all the way down the field, and had a touchdown called back. We’re still working on some technique issues, some alignments, and trying to be more advanced too. There are some growing pains there, but [we] definitely had a really good night [on defense].”

The Spartans will travel to Rushville for the annual “War on 44” rivalry game against the 0-4 Lions. Rushville took an early 12-0 lead against Batesville on Friday before ultimately falling 39-28 to the Bulldogs.

“[Rushville] switched up some things with their offense,” Lynch said. [They] moved the ball and looked really good. They’re playing the same 14 guys, and Batesvill is playing 25 to 30 guys. [Rushville is] one of our biggest rivals. They’ve got this one circled on their calendar because this is a game that they can win. We’ve got a target on our back. I was a little upset last night [for] not closing that game out. I want us to execute. We had some silly penalties [and] a couple big plays called back. On the flip side of that, our guys are still hungry. If we go out and beat [Madison] by 30 or 40 points, maybe they’re not as humble this week as they need to be.”

The Connersville junior varsity Spartans defeated the Madison JV 22-18 in the 2025 home opener at Spartan Field on Saturday. Madison had the ball late in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to take the lead late. The Spartans led 22-12 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Madsion scored and got a defensive stop on fourth and long. The Connersville defense answered with their own fourth down stop to secure the win.    

“I coach the whole program best I can,” Lynch said, “[and] try to know every kid from first grade up. These guys are a good class. We play a lot of freshmen on the JV team. These games that they’ve been losing with lopsided scores were not lopsided. We made them lopsided by not punching it in and then letting things fall down. We talked to the varsity guys this week and my coaches that we’re at home, we’re going to support these guys, [and] they’re going to get this win. We did exactly what we wanted to do.”