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O O The Madison County Journal INSIDE THIS WEEK Holiday tournament action Both Madison County High School basketball teams played in the Hart County tourney last week - Thursday, January 8, 2009 www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567 Girls’ Basketball Lady Raiders’ defensive pressure leads to win By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com Madison County decided to take a page from last year’s play book Tuesday night in a 65-31 road vic tory over Habersham Central. The Lady Raiders forced 24 turnovers and turned them into easy points in earning the win. Coach Dan Lampe said the effort was reminiscent of last year’s Final Four squad. “We kind of got back to kind of how we did last year ... with our defense creating our offense,” MCHS 65, HAB. 31 MCHS 10 16 25 14 — 65 DHS 5 10 9 7 —31 Scorers: C. Freeman 28, K. Freeman 11, Arnold 10, Peeples 7, Smith 5, Whieldon 4 Lampe said. “We were really able to really turn them over in the sec ond half and turn those turnovers into points.” The lopsided victory moved Madison County (11-4) to 1-0 in subregion play as it heads into another 8A-AAAA match-up Friday with Cedar Shoals. The Lady Jaguars, who Madison County hasn’t seen since last year’s region tournament, are something of a mystery. "They’ve been kind of up and down ... I'm not sure what to expect from them,’’ Lampe said. In its win over Habersham Central, Madison County out- scored the Mt. Airy Lady Raiders 25-9 in the third quarter to blow the game open and secure its 11 th win of the year. Courtney Freeman again led Madison County with 28 points. Kayla Freeman added See Lady Raiders on 2B Kayla Freeman maneuvers around a Stephens County defend er in the Hart County holiday tournament. Ben Munro/staff Boys’ Basketball ‘Underdog’ Raiders start arduous stretch By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com With a nice win over Habersham Central, Madison County is off to a 1-0 start in the sub- region play. But it might take some magic over the next three games to stay undefeated in the division. The Raiders (7-7) face subregion foes Cedar Shoals (Friday), Winder-Barrow (Tuesday) and Apalachee (Jan. 16) over the next eight days. "We’re underdogs for the next three games ... That’s OK. We’ve just got to embrace that and work hard,” coach Steve Crouse said. But there’s always hope with good defense. Madison County held an opponent under the 50-point mark for the second time in three games Tuesday in winning its subregion opener over Habersham Central, 60-47. "Defense is where we’re going to win or lose bail games," Crouse said, whose team is in the middle of a seven-game road stretch. Madison County’s defense held Habersham Central to just seven points in the second quarter as the Raiders took a six-point lead into the locker room. Madison County then mixed in its 1-3-1 zone in the second half, which gave Habersham prob lems. "I think that was a big difference for us," Crouse said. "We showed them a different look and they were not comfortable trying to find a scorer.” Madison County built on its lead in the second half, but a tough night at the free throw line (12- of-27) kept the Raiders from running away with this one. Patrick McCrary led Madison County with 17 points and grabbed 13 boards. Eight of the junior’s points came in the fourth quarter. "He really took over down low for us.” Crouse said. Bradley Raines added 14 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and five assists. “Bradley had a good game," Crouse said. The Raiders finished with 18 assists, a statistic which Crouse was pleased to see. “That’s what I like to see; I like to see us work the ball,’’ he said. What he didn’t like to see — 18 turnovers. Crouse said his team hasn’t protected the ball well recently, something that must change come Friday when Madison County faces a full-court pressure onslaught from Cedar Shoals. "We must value the basketball,’’ he said. “That’s one thing that we haven’t done the past three-to- four games." Still, Crouse was pleased for the Raiders to have won their first subregion game. "That is a great start for us,” Crouse said. MCHS 60, HAB. CENTRAL 47 MCHS 15 12 16 17 — 60 SCHS 14 7 13 13 — 47 Leading scorers: McCrary 17, Raines 14, Davis 9, McGuire 8 Jeremy Smith goes in for a lay-up in recent action Ben Munro/staff High School Wrestling Kyle Bates wrestles in the 140-lb. division in recent action. Madison County had 19 dual wins to its credit heading into this week’s wrestling action. Ben Munro/staff Madison County puts record to test at duals Region 8-AAAA duals set for this weekend in Athens By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com Up Next: @Area Duals, Fri. and Sat., Clarke Central Upon its return from the Christmas holidays, Madison County wrestling team already had 19 dual wins on the season. Not bad, coach Richie Houston said. Especially for a team he thought might not approach that mark all year. "I was kind of debating if we would see 20 wins,’’ he said. “We haven’t quite got there yet. Hopefully, I think we’ll be able to break the 20-win mark again. That’s always good.” Making Madison County’s 19-win total (as of Monday) this year all the more impressive is that the Raiders have been forfeiting matches at the 103-lb. and 171-lb. classes. “That's hard going into each dual meet 12 points behind,” Houston noted. The Raiders (19-10) were set to wrestle Jackson County and North Oconee this past Tuesday before heading into the Region 8-AAAA duals Friday and Saturday at Clarke Central. Madison County will likely earn a fifth or sixth seed for this weekend’s event. Loganville is the favorite to win the dual title, entering at the no. 1 spot. Rockdale County is the no. 2 seed. Houston said the three through five seeds are still "up in the air.” While the duals champion will be crowded in a couple of days, the tra ditional region tournament won't be until Feb. 6-7. Madison County padded its dual record over the Christmas break by going 7-3 at the Cherokee (N.C.) Tournament Dec. 29-30 to finish fourth out of 10 teams. "It was a pretty good trip,’’ Houston said of his team’s annual trek to the mountains of western North Carolina. The Raiders beat Berkmar, Franklin (N.C.), Hayesville (N.C.), Murphy (N.C.), Cherokee (N.C.), Towns County and Northwest Whitfield's B-team. Cody Phillips (112-lb.) led Madison County with a 9-1 record. The Raiders also received standout individual efforts from Kyle Gordon (189-lb., 8-2), Michael Kilpatrick (130-lb., 8-2), Issac Smith (152-lb., 7-3), Tanner Johnson (160-lb., 7-3), Tyler Adams (215-lb., 7-3) and Kyle Bates (140-lb., 7-3). Sports Shorts Recreation Department T-ball, pitching machine registration starts Jan. 12 Registration for the Madison County Recreation Department’s T-ball and pitch ing machine leagues begins Monday, Jan. 12, at the rec department's main office at 1345 Highway 98 West. Registration runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays through Friday, Feb. 27. The recreation department will also take registration at the Danielsville Elementary School Gym on Saturday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The recreation department will offer a non-competitive co-ed league for players ages 5-6, a pitching machine league for boys ages 7-8 and a pitching machine league for girls ages 7-8. The age control date for T-Ball is May 1, 2009. Players must be five by that date in order to play and cannot turn seven before May 1, 2009. The age control date for the boys' and girl’s pitching machine leagues is May 1, 2009. Players cannot turn nine before May 1, 2009. The May 1 age control date has been adopted to be in line with the Little League Age control date, A copy of the players' birth certificate at registration must be provided at registra tion. The registration fee is $25 per par ticipant. This includes their game T-shirt. Out-of-county participants will pay an additional $25. For more information, See Sports shorts on 2B Things I ? d like to see in 2009 Here’s a list of my sports- related hopes for 2009. With dark economic clouds hovering over every one and everything, we need sports now more than ever to serve as a pleasant distraction from the doom- and- gloom. So with that, here’s what would make 2009 a good year — both locally and nationally: •The Madison County High School girls’ basket ball team reaching the state finals this year. One shot stood between the Madison County girls reaching that plateau last year during coach Dan Lampe’s first season. •The MCHS boys’ bas ketball team’s first winning season in five years. You won’t find a more dedicated coaching staff than Steve Crouse, Tim Drake and company. •Yet another major (or two) for Tiger Woods. We’re witnessing greatness in our own lifetime. •A playoff series victory for the diamond Raiders. Here’s hoping that Madison County High School gets back to the state tournament and advances to the second round for the first time since 2002. •Dale Murphy’s induction to the baseball Hall of Fame. It won’t ever happen, but I can at least put it on the list. •A quiet summer for Georgia’s football team. That means no arrests. •At least six wins for the Raider football team this fall. Hopefully, the program can rally after a two-win campaign in 2008. •Less blogs and more sto ries about college football. There’s too much gossip out there. •More high-flying from the Falcons. Atlanta made a commitment to cleaning house and doing things the right way. •Cool football weather in September. Didn’t it used to be a little chilly when prep football started? •A trip to Columbus for the Raider softball team. The Raiders haven’t reached the state Elite Eight since 2002, but came really, really close last year. •A reason to watch the Major League baseball play offs. Who knows? Maybe the Braves can be that rea son. •Florida quarterback Tim Tebow returning for his senior year. I know ... care ful for what you wish for here. But here’s the thing: Georgia must defeat Tebow in 2009 to get the last laugh. •Notre Dame going unde feated and not getting into the BCS title game. Don’t think this wouldn’t set off a code red in college football? We’d have a playoff system the next day. •A few less firings in every level of football. This off-with-their head mental ity toward coaches is getting out of hand. Ben Munro is a reporter for The Madison County Journal. i From the sports desk By Ben Munro