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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. l’ ' f x #|T ‘fty - fty JBoy ft ..j®. . T jljf • Ar A EC “ W i > T tVt t\i $. if , •mi&Jm 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,” r* m m m m m m m m m m m IT ./ w w w w w w w w w w w 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 w RED RAIDER SOFTBALL J •. ID 1 Jb™ Li "jj vW ftcft J ikjs, a ‘ A £0.4 jm i Lj ■> * V) 5>j (1 "z® _ v / t • 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. 1850 Epps Bridge Pkwy. • Athens, GA Fittings Bag Evaluations Repairs Putting Green Equipment Apparel