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The Madison County Journal
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Little League sign-ups ahead
Madison County Little League will hold
registration Jan. 31 and Feb. 7
with some changes this year. wA »■
Thursday, February 5, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
Elizabeth Whieldon
scores underneath
the basket in Madison
County’s JV win over
Winder-Barrow.
Ben Munro/Staff
Subvarsity
Junior varsity
girls cap off
10-2 season
The Madison County
junior varsity girls finished
10-2. beating Winder-Barrow
44-40 in a back-and-forth
season finale Friday.
Elizabeth Whieldon led the
team with 13 points, followed
by Haley Peeples (eight) and
Abby Atkinson (six).
"Winder hung in there and
kept coming back" coach
William Trimier said. “And
I told the girls, ‘you don't let
this game mess our goal up
for the season.'"
The team’s goal was to
finish with 10 wins, and
Madison County secured that
by scoring four points in the
final 42 seconds to take the
lead for good.
"I am so proud of our JV
Lady Raiders, how they came
together and did what we
asked of them,” Trimier said.
Lady Raider
freshmen finish 10-1
The Madison County High
School girls’ freshmen team
finished its season at 10-1,
beating Elbert County and
Loganville in its last two
games.
The team topped Elbert
County 48-33 Saturday in
what coach William Trimier
called "a dog fight."
Samantha LaZear led
Madison County with 15
points and LeeLee Sorrells
threw in 12. Other top scorers
were Molly Glaze (10 points)
and Olivia Duncan (six).
On Monday, Madison
County prevailed 27-19 with
out LaZear and Katie Wages,
two of the team's starters, due
to injury and sickness.
"I told the girls, ‘you step
up and play harder and let’s
win this game for them,' and
they did," Trimier said.
Sorrells led the team with
13 points and Glaze added
eight as Madison County fin
ished off its 10-win season.
Trimier called it "a great
year for the ninth grade girls'
team.”
— See ‘Subvarsity’ on 2B
Kendrick Butler pushes
the ball down the floor
in Madison County’s JV
win Friday night.
Ben Munro/Staff
Rifle Team
Madison Go. marksmen shoot down first two opponents
The Madison County High School
rifle team was right on target in its
first two matches.
Madison County (2-0) started the
season by beating Jackson County
1,128-968 and Elbert County 1,126-
1,109 last week.
Wade Threlkeld led Madison
County in the first match, shoot
ing a 293, and was followed by
Nathan Coker (282), Ryan Bridges
(278) and J.S. Fielding (275). Casey
Brown (274) also competed, but his
score didn’t count. Only the top
four scores are counted.
By shooting a 293, Threlkeld qual
ified individually for the state meet.
Any shooter scoring at least 290
during the regular season secures an
automatic pass to state.
Madison County experienced a
much tighter match against Elbert
County. The Raiders led by just
three points after prone position
shooting but held on to win by 17
points.
Brown led the team with a 290
and qualified for state. Coker (281),
Threlkeld (278) and Jacob Holliman
(277) rounded out the scoring. Ryan
Bridges (276) also competed, but
his score didn’t count.
The rifle Raiders have added a
B-team schedule to provide more
shooting time for their newer mem
bers.
Madison County’s B-teamers beat
Elbert County 1,025-958, led by
Hanna Moon’s 276.
Garrett Cook (252), Tiffany
Brown (250) and Dalton Crumley
(247) rounded out the scoring.
This year’s Madison County rifle team
members are (back row, L to R) coach Jeff
Brantley, Nathan Coker, Ryan Bridges, Jacob
Holliman, Garrett Cook, coach Doug Butts,
(middle row) Lauren Bridges, Tiffany Brown,
Hanna Moon, J. S. Fielding, Dalton Crumley
(front row) Casey Brown (co-captain) and
Wade Threlkeld (team captain).
High school wrestling
8-AAAA Individual Tournament, Frl(5 p.m.) -Sat, (9 a.m.) @ Loganville
Issac Smith is one of seven Raider wrestlers with at least 30 wins this year. Each Madison County wrestler faces
a daunting task this weekend in the individual region tournament. Ben Munro/Staff
All eyes on region
Madison Co. wrestlers brace for tough 8-AAAA tourney
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
A mere look at the stat sheet shows
that Madison County boasts its
share of wrestlers with postsea
son potential.
In fact, the Raiders currently have seven
wrestlers with at least 30 wins on their resu
mes this season.
“If we were in some other regions, I
would say that would be the seven that are
definitely going (to the state sectionals),"
coach Richie Houston said.
But advancing out of the Region
8-AAAA tournament — set for Friday
and Saturday at Loganville — is a different
story with powers Rockdale County and
Loganville expected to dominate most of
the weight classes.
Combined, Rockdale County and
Loganville have at least two favorites per
weight class to advance on to the newly-
implemented state sectionals.
“(It’s) almost a given," Houston said.
Since only four wrestlers from each
weight class can advance, that doesn’t leave
much room for the other schools.
“So basically you have nine teams fight
ing for two spots,” Houston said.
The top four qualify for the 16-man
bracket at the sectionals. The top eight plac
ers at sectionals then qualify for the state
tournament.
That gives the state a 16-man bracket as
opposed to a 32-man bracket in years past.
The change was made to strengthen the
field at the state tournament.
“Basically, you’re weeding out those
guys at the state tournament that go 0-2,”
Houston said.
But first comes the arduous task of get
ting past the region tournament.
Though 8-AAAA lost a couple of teams
to reclassification — Eastside and Jackson
County moved down to Class AAA — the
region hasn’t lost its reputation as one of
the most difficult leagues around.
“We’re still a pretty tough region,” said
Houston, noting that 8-AAAA produced
the most state placers and state champions
in Class AAAA last year.
NOTES: Madison County’s top indi
vidual records this year belong to Michael
Kilpatrick (39-12), Kyle Bates (38-13),
Issac Smith (35-16), Cody Phillips (34-9),
Colton Phillips (33-12), Tyler Adams (33-
14) and Chris Savage (31-14).
Raiders rack up
in Patriot Classic
Four Madison County wrestlers won
their weight divisions as the Raiders
claimed second-place honors in Saturday’s
eight-team Patriot Classic at Oglethorpe
County High School.
“The team responded real well," coach
Richie Houston said. “I believe we are
peaking at the right time."
Colton Phillips (119-lb.), Kyle Bates
(135), Chris Savage (140) and Issac Smith
(145) all won their respective weight class
es as Madison County totaled 166 points
for the day, 49 points behind champion
Jackson County.
Strengthening Madison County’s overall
score were second-place finishes from
Cody Phillips (112), Michael Kilpatrick
(130) and Tanner Johnson (152).
Caleb McCain (125) and Tyler Adams
(215) turned in third-place showings, and
Steven Resby (171) finished fourth.
Boys’ Basketball
Another
Raider
heartbreaker
Late Apalachee
3-pointer sinks MCHS
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The basketball deities have for
saken the Madison County High
School boys" team.
At least that was one Raider
player's theory Tuesday after the
team suffered another agonizing
loss, falling 46M5 to Apalachee
on the road.
"One of our guys, when we
were getting on the bus, he said,
‘The basketball gods have not
smiled upon us,”’ coach Steve
Crouse said. "I said I don't know
if there’s such a thing, but I said
we’ve had our share of unfortu
nate losses.”
Apalachee’s Dillon Moon bur
ied a game-whining three-pointer
Tuesday with four seconds left
in the latest chapter of Madison
County’s heart-rendering season.
The Wildcats, who beat the
Raiders 54-52 in the final sec
onds on Jan. 16, were just l-of-13
from the three-point line up to
that point.
"He's a three-point shooter,”
Crouse said of Moon, pain
fully recalling the game’s final
moments. "Ice. He drops it. hi the
bottom."
— See ‘Raiders’ on 2B
Steve Crouse and his
Raider basketball team
look to end a nine-game
losing skid. Zach Mitcham/Staff
APALACHEE 46,
MADISON CO. 45
MCHS 19 5 12 9 —45
AHS 9 22 6 9 — 46
Scorers: Raines 10, McCrary 8,
Davis 8, Griffeth 5, McGuire 5,
Fleming 5, Smith 2, Morris 2
Girls’ Basketball
Saving the best for last
MCHS, Clarke Central
clash Fri. for subregion tide
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
As a Michigan fan, coach Dan Lampe
can certainly appreciate a rivalry game in
the regular season finale.
His Lady Raider basketball team (19-5,
8-1) faces nemesis Clarke Central Friday in
its last game before the region tournament.
A subregion title is on the line.
"It worked well having that one last,
kind of like Michigan playing Ohio State
in the last game,” said Lampe, referencing
the epic Big Ten rivalry. "It kind of sets
the tone."
Both teams are tied in the subregion
standings with just one loss, so this is a
MADISON CO. 80, APALACHEE 28
MCHS 36 22 17 5 — 80
AHS 11 6 8 3 — 28
Leading scorers: K. Freeman 20, C.
Freeman 17, Smith 14, Arnold 12
winner-take-all showdown.
The Lady Raiders — winners of eight
straight games — beat the defending region
champions by 11 points in Daniels ville in the
first meeting this year. But that should only
serve to motivate Clarke Central, Lampe
said, in the rematch in Athens Friday.
“They're going to be hyped-up at their
place, and we've just got to come out and
just out-effort them and out-work them and
just stick to our game plan," he said.
Madison County warmed-up for its clash
with Clarke Central by plastering Apalachee
80-28 Tuesday on the road.
— See “Lady Raiders’ on 2B
Kayla Freeman, shown here in action against Winder-Barrow, scored 20
points Tuesday night to lead Madison County in its 58-point win over
Apalachee. Zach Mitcham/Staff