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INSIDE THIS WEEK
The Madison County Journal
Sports
Sharp shooters
Chamber sporting days
tourney set for Aug. 21
2B
IB
Thursday, July 23, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
The title hunt
Madison Co. Little League softball squad
in the thick of state tourney battle
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
The Madison County Little
League softball squad could have
been called the "untouchables"
until Tuesday. No opponent could
even get close to the 11-12 year
old girls from Danielsville.
But Warner Robins topped
Madison County 3-1 Tuesday
in Warner Robins, giving the
Madison County squad, which
had dominated opponents by an
astounding 71-1 margin prior
to that night, their first taste of
defeat.
"They’re still heads up; they’re
in a good mood,” said Madison
County coach Jay Pridgen, who
said the squad got back to the
hotel and had a pizza party and
spent time in the swimming pool
after the loss.
Pridgen said his team "crushed
— See ‘State’ on 2B
COACH JAY
PRIDGEN
FAST FACTS
•Prior to Tuesday’s loss, the
11-12-year-old Madison County
Little League all star team had
outscored opponents 71-1.
•The team pounded out 20 hits
in Sunday’s state opener versus
Harris County. Notable perfor
mances included: Cheyenne
Pridgen, 2-4,1RBI; Kristen Moran,
3-4, 1RBI; Brianne Carr, 3-4;
Jordan Williams, 2-4, 1RBI; Alexis
Damron, 2-4, 1RBI; Ivie Drake,
2- 4, 1RBI; Courtney Alexander,
3- 4,1RBI.
•The softball team has its own
website: http://www.eteamz.com/
mclll2u/
Learning the fundamentals
(Top) Former Madison County High School standout catcher Travis
Calloway offers hitting instruction Saturday at the Diamond Club
Sports Academy off Hwy. 29 south of Danielsville. Twenty four kids from
six counties attended the camp. (Left) Blake Taylor, 8, Hull, keeps his
eye on the ball during a hitting drill. (Above) Camp participants listen
to instruction from Jon Armitage, formerly of the University of Georgia
and the San Francisco Giants. Zach Mitcham/Staff
Local golf standout
Madison County’s McCain captures another title
Madison County’s Seth
McCain notched his first big-
time on the Georgia PGA cir
cuit in June and didn’t waste
any time getting back to the
top of the leader board.
McCain, a PGA apprentice
at Jennings Mill Country Club,
recently shot a four-under-par
68 on the second and final day
SETH MCCAIN
of Griffin Classic for another
tournament win.
He finished with a seven-
under-par 137, beating out
second- place Chris Dixon by
one stroke.
The former Raider was
coming off a win at the
Chicopee Woods Players
Championship, bogeying just
once in 54 holes and shoot
ing 15-under-par in the June
22-23 tournament.
McCain started the final
round of the Griffin Classic
three shots behind 1993
champion Stephen Keppler.
He began and ended his round
with bogeys, but made six
birdies in between to capture
his second win in the last three
weeks.
McCain, a 2005 Madison
County High School graduate,
is working toward "Class A
status” as a PGA of America
member.
The Georgia PGA is one of
the 41 Sections of the PGA of
America.
Passing the
time with
Phil Steele
Some nights I sit down in the recliner
with my Phil Steele college football maga
zine and replace real-world worries with
more pleasant gridiron anxieties.
For instance, will the Georgia Bulldogs
find a pass rush in 2009? The lack of
production at defensive end was pretty
obvious last year as the Bulldogs failed
to pressure opposing
quarterbacks. Still, it’s
funny to me. all the
guys who called in to
postgame radio shows
complaining that the
Bulldogs didn’t blitz
enough, as if the prob
lem was so simple.
Whenever I hear this, I
think of how the ques- sports desk
tion would sound if you
phrased it another way,
"Coach, why don’t you leave more of
our opponents uncovered?” Blitzing is a
calculated gamble. And any Bulldog fan
who favors reckless gambling on defense
doesn’t remember 1999 when the Dawgs
repeatedly brought the heat and were busy
chasing receivers from behind.
No doubt, the defensive intensity was
lacking in 2008. The third quarter of the
Tech game was about the least-inspired
performance I've ever witnessed in a
Georgia game. Sadly, it was rivaled by
several other moments in 2008. I recall
the repeated walks across the Sanford
Stadium bridge before the Alabama game,
approaching scalpers who weren't budg
ing from the $300 asking price. So, I was
glad to have my money in my wallet as
Georgia was blasted 31-0 in the first half,
with both lines manhandled in the trench
es. Yes, the preseason Georgia hype was
trampled by elephant cleats in that game
as the Bulldogs were exposed as less than
championship caliber in 2008.
But I take the long view. If you are in the
national conversation enough, you might
get lucky. And Georgia has been good
enough twice this decade — 2002 and
2007 — to win a national title, had things
broken right. The ’03, '04 and ’05 teams
were pretty stout too at times. Georgia
has two SEC championships under Mark
Richt. And it’s going to take quite a few
futile Saturdays before I sour on him. This
guy is remarkably good. Nevertheless, if
Richt drops five games or more this year, I
expect hot seat talk in 2010.
But this year's schedule is pretty ridicu
lous. College football gum Phil Steele
says Georgia's 2009 slate is easier than
last year’s. But I beg to differ. The Dawgs
open on the road at Oklahoma State and
come home for a game against South
Carolina. Last year, they opened with
Georgia Southern and Central Michigan
at home. Starting 2-0 in 2009 will be a
much greater accomplishment than last
year.
Georgia has 11 games against solid
competition. Here's the progres
sion: Oklahoma State. South Carolina,
at Arkansas, Arizona State, LSU, at
Tennessee, at Vandy, off week, Florida
(Jacksonville), Tennessee Tech, Auburn,
Kentucky, at Georgia Tech. There’s no
gimme until the ninth game. Notice that
the "off week” comes before Florida. At
least there’s that.
Meanwhile, Florida has nine games
against competitive foes — perhaps 10
if you count Troy as formidable. But
the Gators kick off against Charleston
Southern on the same day Georgia visits a
nationally ranked Oklahoma State squad.
Florida also hosts Florida International in
November.
All that said, the appropriate phrase
for the '09 Gators is "scary good.” I
think about the Gators as much as I do
the Bulldogs right now. If you are a true
Georgia fan, they are your nemesis. I felt
no conference pride when they took the
title again last year. And any Dawg fan
who does the Gator chomp in January out
of "conference pride” fails to understand
healthy love and hate in college football.
Do Duke fans cheer for North Carolina
in the Final Four? Does Auburn cheer
for Alabama out of conference pride? Of
course not, they understand love and hate
in sports.
Anyway, if Tim Tebow leads the
Gators to the national championship and
grabs another Heisman, he will surely
be remembered as the greatest college
football player of all time. There should
be no dispute.
But perhaps Georgia could find that
rush end by Halloween, bring Tebow
down like they did in 2007 and soil the
Gator hype of '09.
Then again, maybe I’m just dreaming
— slackjawed with the college football
magazine cracked open on my chest.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The Madison
County Journal.
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