MADISONVILLE -- The Rudder Rangers may not have won their season finale Friday, but there were plenty of smiles when it was over.

And a Gatorade bath for head coach C.M. Pier.

The Rangers had their best offensive showing of the season in a 48-30 loss to Madisonville at Mustang Stadium.

Rudder, which failed to win a game in its inaugural season on the varsity level, had 428 total yards of offense, including 274 in the air.

With starting quarterback Tre Hammond out with a broken arm, backup Kyle Danford stepped in and completed 12-of-21 passing attempts, throwing touchdown passes of 20 and 51 yards to Michael Jones and Domanique Robison, respectively.

"I can't say enough about Kyle," Pier said. "That is a tough spot he was in. Of all the positions to get put in, quarterback would be the toughest. I am very proud of what he did, because that was a lot of pressure."

Madisonville's standout tailback Chris Whaley rushed for 410 yards and seven touchdowns on 16 carries, despite playing with his right arm in a soft cast after breaking it when he fell off a horse.

Whaley needed just two carries to put the Mustangs (3-5, 2-3 in 24-3A) on the board, galloping 86 yards on the second play of the game.

Rudder tried to answer, driving to the Madisonville 25 before stalling and attempting a field goal, which was blocked.

Whaley put up three more scores, from 13, 16 and 18 yards out, before the Rudder offense found the end zone.

Trailing 28-0, the Rangers marched 80 yards in nine plays and scored when Charlie Bush went in from the 1-yard line.

Whaley almost scored again but fumbled away the football at the end of a 57-yard run. Rudder turned the miscue into points when Danford connected with Jones, who had nine receptions for 178 yards, on a 20-yard scoring pass with 31 seconds left in the first half.

The next two times the Mustangs had the ball, Whaley added touchdowns six and seven, ending his night with 6:10 left in the third quarter.

The Rangers added two more scores, the first a 2-yard run by Matt Smith that capped an eight-play 69-yard drive.

The final score came on a 51-yard pass from Danford to Robison, who had managed to slip past the Madisonville secondary.

The Rangers concluded their season at 0-8 and 0-6, but Friday's showing gave the coaching staff plenty to be proud about, as well as on which to start building for next season.

"They kept fighting and that has been our deal all year," Pier said. "The record doesn't indicate what has happened with these young men, but I am very proud of them.

"We've got to build upon this. What we are going to do is take this into the offseason and use it as a spring board."