Madison Comprehensive Rams Prep for 2026 Football and Tennis Seasons

Before Friday-night crowds gather at Esley Lane, Madison Comprehensive families will already be making choices about where to be and when. The school has posted its 2026 varsity football schedule, a 10-game slate beginning Aug. 21, while girls tennis is set to start competition earlier in the month. Together, the schedules give Mansfield families and boosters a roadmap for supporting Rams student-athletes this fall.

Madison Comprehensive High School, located at 600 Esley Ln., Mansfield, OH 44905 in Madison Township, will host five football games during a season stretching from late August through late October. The Rams also have five hard tennis courts on the Esley Lane campus.

The 2026 Ohio high school football season begins the week of Aug. 17, and Madison opens Aug. 21 — a Friday — at Shelby. Head coach Brent Besancon's squad concludes the regular season Oct. 23 at home against Mansfield Senior, a rivalry matchup for families to circle on their calendars.

Madison's other home games are Aug. 28 against River Valley, Sept. 4 against Norwalk, Sept. 18 against West Holmes and Oct. 2 against New Philadelphia. The road schedule continues Sept. 11 at Wooster, Sept. 25 at Ashland, Oct. 9 at Dover and Oct. 16 at Lexington.

Madison Comprehensive is a member of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, whose football lineup includes Ashland, Lexington, Mansfield Senior, New Philadelphia, West Holmes and Wooster, with Dover joining beginning with the 2025–26 school year. The Rams will play all seven OCC members in 2026, but the schedule designates only five of those games — Wooster, West Holmes, Ashland, Lexington and Mansfield Senior — as conference matchups.

Girls tennis will give Rams supporters an earlier start to the fall athletics calendar. Coaching begins Aug. 1, 2026, with the regular season opening Aug. 8 and the Rams scheduled to play at Pleasant High School in Marion on Aug. 9. Madison's girls tennis schedule includes matches against Pleasant, Ashland, Ontario and Wooster. The Ohio Cardinal Conference fields girls tennis with Ashland, Dover, Lexington, Madison, Mansfield Senior, New Philadelphia, Wooster and West Holmes competing in 2026.

MaxPreps maintains online schedule and roster pages for the Rams' football and tennis programs, while the school's athletics information is also accessible at mlsd.net and madisonrams.net. Parents and boosters can check those resources for schedule updates, game times, score reports and roster changes as the fall season progresses.