There are easier ways to get your first start as a varsity high school quarterback.
Cooper Madson, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound sophomore, will be at the offensive controls Friday night for Nazareth at the Blue Eagles’ Andy Leh Stadium.
The opponent is Parkland, and the game is arguably the biggest of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season.
Madson was set to become Nazareth’s starting quarterback next season, but had his timetable pushed forward by a major injury to Blue Eagles star Peyton Falzone. Falzone, the nationally coveted Auburn commit, suffered a fractured clavicle in last week’s win over Freedom and is expected to be out for the rest of the season.
Enter Madson, who played the entire second half of the Freedom game after Falzone was injured.
He completed five of eight passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and engineered a pair of touchdown drives as Nazareth finished off Freedom 56-21 to get to 4-0.
Madson learned that he was going to play quarterback at halftime when Falzone told his father and coach, Tom Falzone, that he could no longer rotate his body because the pain from the fractured clavicle had become too severe. The coaching staff and his teammates rallied around Madson, whose father, Mark, is a former star athlete at Nazareth — and superintendent at Parkland School District.
“It’s no different than any other week in our house,” the younger Madson said. “He’s just being my dad, you know? He’s trying to prepare me the best he can. I know he’s the Parkland superintendent, but obviously, he’s rooting for me and trying to make sure I am good to go.”
The same is true of the Nazareth coaching staff and the rest of the Blue Eagles offense.
“Peyton was really making a lot of the calls out there for us this year, and we put a lot more on his plate,” coach Falzone said. “Now, we’re really going to have to have guys take care of their business and do their jobs and elevate that, too. The line knows what they’ve got to do, and they’re going to have to help Coop out, and Marquez [Wimberly] is going to be back there next to him, and we have receivers who have been doing good stuff. We all need to elevate our games and make Coop’s life a lot easier.”
Before the Freedom game, Madson made cameo appearances in blowout wins over Hazleton and Whitehall.
“Getting those opportunities definitely helped me calm my nerves,” he said. “When I was in eighth grade, I was the starter for the middle school team, and last year as a freshman I started for the JV team and again this year until now.”
Madson said the whole team has adopted a “next man up” mindset, and will be looking to make plays, not excuses.
While coach Falzone said, “We’re not going to ask him to do anything he can’t do or make him try to be like Peyton,” Nazareth plans to run its offense as usual.
“Coop is prepared for this,” Falzone said. “He’s ready to go. He’s getting a lot of extra help from us, and he’s watching a lot of film, so he gets to a point where he knows what he’s looking for. He’s just got to stay the course, and the other guys have to pick it up around him. We have to be right on our calls because they are so good at disguising things, and [Parkland coach] Tim Moncman does such a great job of throwing things at you. We also have to play well on defense because when you look at Parkland, they’re a machine right now with the way they’re running the ball.”
Madson said he has developed a good relationship with Peyton Falzone and knows he will be there to help where possible.
“Peyton and I are very close,” he said. “He has taken me under his wing and has helped with my progressions, my drops, even how to watch film. He has been a great help.”
And the help has come from all corners. A large, pro-Nazareth crowd will also provide a comfort zone.
“I know all of my teammates, especially Peyton, are there for me and they’re all lifting me up … the line, receivers, everyone,” Madson said. “Obviously, Parkland is a great team. They are defending champs. But if I prepare well and watch enough film and get enough reps with the ones, I’m going to go out there feeling prepared and going into the game knowing what I can do and knowing we can win this game.”
