MADRID, Iowa — Fifth-ranked Madrid got off to a slow start in the opening round of the Class A football playoffs before rebounding to earn a second shot at the team responsible for its only loss.

The Tigers held after an early turnover Monday and then turned three Treynor fumbles into scores in their 35-6 home win. Running backs Louie Wickett and Timon Bell combined for 249 rushing yards and three touchdowns as their team improved to 10-1 on the season.

The victory earned Madrid a second shot at No. 2 A-H-S-T, which beat the Tigers 42-41 last month in Madrid in one of the best Class A games of the year. The rematch is set for Avoca on Friday at 7 p.m.

Madrid coach Randy Hinkel said his team will need to be better in that game than it was Monday, when it put the ball on the ground six times.

“We turned the ball over, and we held,” he said. “That was our worst start of the year. On the other hand, when we had bad plays I thought our kids overcame that. We're pretty resilient as a team.”

The Tigers fumbled the ball away on their 34-yard line midway through the first quarter when the game was still scoreless. But they forced a Treynor turnover three plays later, then converted it into an early lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback T.J. Van Dyke.

The Cardinals (9-2) lost leading rusher Jake Allen and the football on the ensuing kickoff. The junior fumbled as he injured his ribcage on the return. Madrid scored a short time later on a Wickett run to go up 14-0, while Allen missed the rest of the game.

Another Treynor fumble on the second play of the third quarter led to the first of two TD runs by Bell. Madrid tacked on two more scores before the Cardinals got their lone points on the final play of the game.

Treynor had only 59 total yards until late in the third quarter, when it was already trailing 28-0. Wickett ran for 132 yards on 22 carries, while Bell had 117 on 23 attempts.

Despite the loss, the Cardinals finished 9-2 one year after posting a 3-6 record. And their only losses were to Class A powers A-H-S-T and Madrid.

The six-win improvement gave coach Steve Owens something to be proud of for the 2009 season.

“I just really tip my hat to the seniors and the commitment they made to persevere through some adversity and turn things around this year,” he said. “We were one win short of tying the number of wins we've had in the last three years put together. It's disappointing to lose, but Madrid had the better number on us tonight.”

Treynor (9-2)..........0 0 0 6—6

Madrid (10-1)...............7 7 14 7—35

M: T.J. Van Dyke 3 run (Brett Mathes kick)

M: Louie Wickett 6 run (Mathes kick)

M: Timon Bell 18 run (kick failed)

M: Johnny Mahoney 21 pass from Van Dyke (Van Dyke run)

M: Bell 3 run (Mathes kick)

T: Cole Rath 3 run (no PAT try)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: T, Godfrey 10-21, Zimmerman 7-27, Rath 4-23, Cooper 4-4, Allen 3-38, Brugenhemke 2-2. M, Wickett 22-132, Bell 23-117, Van Dyke

7-12, Adams 2-9.

PASSING: T, Godfrey 4-10-0 32, Rath 3-5-42. M, Van Dyke 2-4-0 56.

RECEIVING: T, King 2-38, Brugenhemke 2-9, Zimmerman 1-10, Rogers 1-10,

Von Weihe 1-7. M, Wickett 1-24, Mahoney 1-21.