​MADISON – Known for its strong running attack over the years, the Madison offense leaned on its passing game a lot more the last couple of years behind the strong arm of Will Randall in the 2025 season.Last year, Randall threw for more than 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns. He is continuing his academic and football career at Ashland University this fall.Now, with Randall and Madison’s class of 23 seniors — many of them on offense gone — head coach Mike Gilligan and offensive coordinator Mike Martin will now look to utilize the athletic strengths of junior Dom Gephart, who brings a much different skill-set to the field than Randall.“Dom is a capable thrower, but you are definitely going to have to account for him running the ball,” Gilligan said. “He is quick, very explosive.”Madison fans got a glimpse of Gephart’s athleticism last year.“We were playing Hawken and we were able to get him on a bubble screen and he took it 70 yards for a touchdown,” Gilligan said of Gephart, who will also be the team’s punter and looks to be the field goal kicker as well.As a result, area fans will see more of what they are accustomed to seeing from the Blue Streaks — an explosive running game.“It will be the return to the old tradition of Madison football,” Gilligan said.In order to get there, getting its offensive line solidified is perhaps the most pressing need for the Madison coaching staff this preseason.“We have to get our offensive line developed because we have an athletic quarterback who can wreak havoc in many ways,” Gilligan said.Senior tackle Ivan Cardona and junior Leland Scheel are two players who bring experience up front.“Ivan is an anchor and can be one of the better linemen we’ve ever had,” Gilligan said of his 5’11”, 260 pound senior who stood out on the line a year ago. “And Leland Scheel is another [player] who has some experience and could be really good for us.”Senior Dylan Morgan is one who Gilligan mentioned who is competing at center, but the coach didn’t rule out the likes of senior Michael Susevich, junior Ben Watson, and a trio of talented sophomores in Brody Finch, Simon Young and Christian Johnson as players who could emerge as starters when Madison takes the season against Perry in week 1.“Largely, what’s going to determine whether we will be successful is if we can get those guys game ready,” Gilligan said. “We have a lot of young kids new to Friday nights, but our hope is to be able to run the football and hopefully get some explosive plays in the run game.”Gilligan said his team doesn’t have a ton of experience among its skill positions, but he is optimistic about the players he has available in the backfield alongside Gephart.Senior Anthony Telenko saw some limited action in the backfield last season. He and junior Parker Johnson, who was lost for the season in Game 3 last year, both bring a physical presence to the backfield.“Telenko and Parker are big, physical kids