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PAGE 2B — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. AUGUST 13. 2009
Sports shorts
Fall ball sign ups
ahead Aug. 15,
Aug. 22
Madison County Little League
fall ball sign-ups are Saturday Aug.
15, and Saturday. Aug. 22. from 9
a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Madison
County Recreation Department.
For more information, call
Chuck Branson at 706-206-2153.
Rec dept, soccer
registration continues
Madison County youth soccer
registration mns Monday through
Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the
meeting room of Haggard Park
located at 1345 Highway 98 West.
Extended hours are today
(Thursday) and Friday from 9 a.m.
to 7 p.m. An additional signup date
is Saturday, Aug. 15, with hours
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The soccer leagues are coed and
as follows:
•Pee-Wee League, ages 5 and 6.
•Midget League, ages 7 and 8.
•Intermediate League, ages 9 and
10.
•Major League, ages 11-13.
•Senior League, ages 14-16. This
league requires 48 participants reg
istered to be offered.
The age control date is Sept. 1,
2009. All players must turn 5 by
this date and no player can turn 17
before this date. A birth certificate is
required for all youth program reg
istration. The registration fee is $25
per child, with an additional $25 fee
for any out-of-county participants.
For more information, or to vol
unteer to coach a team, call the rec
reation department at 795-6270.
Chamber sporting clays
tourney set for Aug. 21
The sixth-annual Madison
County Chamber of Commerce
Sporting Clays Tournament will
be held Friday, Aug. 21, at Brush
Creek Sporting Club in Colbert.
Registration will be from 8 to 9
a.m., with competition from 9 a.m.
to noon. Lunch will be provided.
There will be four-person teams
with a cost of $100 per person.
The first place team will win $500.
Second place will receive $200 and
third place $100. Shooting station
sponsorships are available at $50
each. There will be door prizes.
And the highest score wins a mem
bership to Brush Creek Sporting
Club. Hearing and eye protection
are required.For directions to Brush
Creek, check www.brushcreekfarm.
net or call 706-788-2910.
For a registration form, contact
the Madison County Chamber of
Commerce at 706-795-3473.
Rotary hosts charity
golf tourney Sept. 19
The Madison County Rotary
Club will sponsor a charity golf
tournament at Sunrise Golf Course
in Colbert Saturday, Sept. 19, with
a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. The
event will end at 12:30 p.m. Zeb’s
BBQ will be served at the course
following the tourney with recog
nition of winners and door prizes.
The tourney will be a four-person
Lauderdale format and winners
will be determined from 9-hole
blind draw by a course pro.
Cash prizes will be awarded to
the winning teams and there will
be prizes for the longest drive and
closest to pin, along with numer
ous door prizes.
A special hole-in-one prize (a
Ranger boat, motor and trailer val
ued at over $25,000 and provided
by Bond’s Marine Sales) will be
awarded and prizes will also be
given away for a hole-in-one on
all par 3's.
Entry fees are $75 per entrant
and $300 per foursome, individual
or team registration accepted. A
$150 sponsor fee includes one
player and a tee sign. The fee
includes lunch, green fees, cart and
participant gift packs.
Tournament proceeds will go to
benefit Madison County Rotary’s
support of local charities and ser
vice activities performed by the
club, organizers said.
For registration forms or ques
tions, call Jeff Dillard at 706-206-
5724 or email jsdillar@southem-
co.com
Madison Co. Cruisers
schedule continues
The Madison County Cruisers —
a local automobile organization —
continues its schedule with shows
on Aug. 15, Sept. 19 and Oct. 17.
The October date is a special cruise-
in, organizers note. Shows are at
Danielsville City Park, running
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ‘All makes
and models are welcome — rat
rods, finished and unfinished," orga
nizers said. “As long as it has wheels
and an engine, it’s invited. We want
to see it all." The registration fee for
all shows is $5. For more informa
tion, contact J.J. at 706-255-2196 or
James at 706-795-2645.
Bass Masters Club
seeking new members
The Madison County Bass
Masters Club, the only federated
Bass Masters organization in the
county, is seeking new members.
The group meets the last Thursday
of each month at the Madison
County Government Complex
and fishes the first Saturday of the
month. The group welcomes those
wanting to learn how to fish or fish
competitively.
Members of the club fish as indi
viduals, and the top fishermen from
the organization have the opportu
nity to compete against members of
other federated Bass Master clubs in
the state. Those interested can con
tact club president Wendell Smith
at 706-247-6073 or vice president
Darren McElroy at 706-340-2024.
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The Madison County softball team includes (front row, L to R) Timia Skelton, Sarah
Smith, Emily Mann, Ariel Bates, Erin Gibson, (middle row) student assistant Samantha
Wyatt, Cortney Boggs, Brandi Osborne, Olivia Duncan, Katie Bolin, Renee Ellisor, (back
row) coach Sarah Owen, coach Ken Morgan, Haley Peeples, Abby Atkinson, head coach
Doug Kesler, Sam LaZear, Elizabeth Whieldon, coach Michael Thomas and coach Lee
Ann Austin.
Softball
continued from page IB
On the other side of the
region, Loganville — armed
with one of the state's best pitch
ers — and Heritage will battle
for first place.
The Raiders enter 2009 com
ing off one of their best — and
perhaps most important — cam
paigns in recent years.
It's not as though the Madison
County softball program broke
a major drought last year, but
Raiders did end a two-year post
season hiatus with last year's
trip to the sectionals.
And if momentum of one
season can swing to the next, it’s
showing up on the Raider prac
tice field. The team’s preseason
goals include a state quarterfi
nals trip to Columbus come late
October.
So the outlook is promis
ing — provided everyone stays
healthy.
‘They’re excited," Kesler
Doa Daws 01 August
• Fresh Produce • Honey
• Baked Goods • Plants
• Incense • Music
• Seeds • Crafts
• Handcrafted Soaps
• Handcrafted Jewelry
• Craft Demonstrations
Saturdays,
8am-Noon
comerfarmersmarket@gmail.com
706-788-9719
said. "They’ve got their sights
set on Columbus. That's what
their goal is. They want to be in
Columbus playing in that next-
to-last weekend in October.’’
Postseason changes
The stakes are perhaps higher
this year than ever to win a divi
sion title.
The top seeds on each side of
the region host two games of
the region tournament. The top
seed from the north subregion
(Madison County’s subregion)
then hosts the remaining rounds
Region teams who then
advance out of the 8-AAAA
tournament face a much differ
ent path through the state play
offs. Gone are the state section
als, which have been replaced
with best-of-three series at the
higher seed’s home field for
the first two rounds (similar to
baseball). The old format then
returns for the quarterfinals,
where the top eight teams trek to
Columbus to determine the state
champion. Kesler didn't mind
changing the format for the first
round, but wanted to at least
keep the sectional format in the
second round. Having several
teams at one spot at sectionals
drew several college coaches, he
said, which meant more expo
sure for players.
“I don’t think it gives our
players as much exposure, and
I don't like it for that reason,”
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Madison County Little League
**Baseball and Softball Signups**
FOR FALL BALL
Saturday, Aug. 15,2009 & Aug. 22,2009
9 a.m. - 2 p.m .
Ages: 9-16
Where:
Madison County Recreation Dept.
Cost:
$ 45
Bring copy of birth certificate to signups.
Bring one document to show proof of address.
For Information, call:
Chuck Branson at 706-206-2153
cbronson@collinscpa.com
Due to work, you will need
to leave a message and I will •'»,
call you back later that day. 4 *_* p
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JUST LIKE OLD TIMES
Madison County High School hosted its biennial alumni softball game Saturday. Twenty-
six former players (not all pictured) attended the reunion. Ben Munro/staff
VIPERS WIN IN SPARTANBURG, 2 nd IN MONROE
The Northeast Georgia Vipers — a 15-and-under traveling baseball team consisting of
players from Madison, Franklin, Hart, Spalding and Oglethorpe counties — won the
Sparkle City Sizzler in Spartanburg, S.C. July 18-19, and took second in a tournament in
Monroe July 25-26. The team is managed by Wes Jordan. Coaches are Jim Osborne, Mark
Turner and Glenn Cleveland. Team members are (front row, L to R) Brady Blalock, Jared
Osborne, Brock Turner, Taylor Childers, Alex Jordan, (second row) Craig Neal, Jacob
Kubitsky, Daniel Brooks, Blake Crump, Camden Beasley, Matthew Hammond, (third row)
Wes Jordan, Mark Turner and Jim Osborne. Not Pictured are Glenn Cleveland, Nolan
Cleveland, Chris Ayers and Caleb McCain.The team has played together for four years.
FINALIST AWARD
Ben Strickland
receives a Finalist
Award at Georgia
Junior Team Tennis
Championships
from team captain
Mary McElhannon.
Strickland is part
of the 14-and-under
intermediate gold
Clarke-Oconee Tennis
Association junior ten
nis team that reached
finals at Georgia
Junior Championships
in Macon. The team
will represent Georgia
at the USTA Southern
Sectionals in Mobile,
Ala. Aug. 21-23.
Football
continued from page IB
Jamal Cooper sprints toward pay dirt
during a recent Raider preseason work
out.
County team.
“You’ve got ail that time (to prepare), but you
don't have much in the way of reconnaissance and
scouting information,” Owens said.
Of course, during the preseason, a coach is also
devoting as much time assessing his own squad
while preparing for opponent no. 1.
Madison County nears the end of its second week
of practice, and Owens said it will be hard to gauge
his team’s progress until it lines up against someone
else.
“Are they giving you all-out effort like they do
against an opponent, someone they don’t like?”
Owens asked. "You don’t tend to hit your friends
when you’re sparing as hard as you do your oppo
nent.”
Owens will find out Aug. 21 when Madison County
scrimmages Franklin County in Danielsville.
‘Truly, it will be Franklin County before we really
see what they’re about,” Owens said.
That will also be the first time Owens unveils the
team publicly, since he opted to forgo the annual
Red and Gray preseason scrimmage.
Until then, Owens and his staff will continue to
prepare for what they think they’ll face in the Aug.
28 opener.
“The first game is tough, a lot of unknowns,”
Owens said.
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