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The Madison County Journal
INSIDE THTS WEEK
Pickers back for week 3
Check out picks for the third week
of The Madison County Journal
Pigskin Picker
3B
IB
Thursday, September 17, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
Middle School
Football
MCMS can’t
overcome
second-half
deficit in loss
A tough second half
cost the Madison County
Middle School football
team in a 30-14 loss to
Hart County Saturday.
Down 8-6 at the break,
the Mustangs (2-1) fell
behind
22-6 and
couldn't
make up
the dif
ference as
MCMS
dropped
its first
game of
the year.
Madison County trav
els to Franklin County
today (Thursday).
Though Madison
County lost by 16 points,
coach Tim Drake noted
that the loss “was really
a touchdown game.”
The Mustangs pulled
within 22-14 of Hart
County with a 15-yard
touchdown pass from
Wesley Johnson to
Malik Freeman, set up
by a 35-yard pass to Eric
Williams (who added
the two-point conver
sion on the touchdown),
and had its chances to
pull even with Hart
County late.
But dropped passes,
including one on a fourth
down, ended a potential
game-tying drive.
Hart County tacked
on a touchdown with 45
seconds left.
“Overall, our energy
was good,” Drake said.
“Our guys never quit or
laid down. They battle
and put themselves in
a position to tie the
game.”
Madison County had
— See MCMS on 2B
COMING
UP
■ @
Franklin
Co. today
(Thurs.), 5
p.m.
Cross Country
Brakhage,
Owensby
lead pack
Tuesday
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Corey Brakhage led all
Madison County High
School runners Tuesday
with a third-place finish
(19:30)
and
Dalton
Owensby
added a
fourth-
place
showing
(19:54) as
the boys team finished
second in a three-team
home meet.
Madison County (42
points) edged Stephens
— See Meet on 2B
COMING
UP
- @UGA
Inv. meet,
Saturday
Dalton Owensby post
ed a 19:52 Tuesday,
the second-best time
for the Raiders in
a three-team home
meet. Ben Munro/staff
Abby Atkinson tags a runner during recent action. The Raider
softball team is off to a school-best 17-1 start. Ben Munro/staff
Softball
‘Cenergetic’ Raiders are 17-1
Softball team off to best
start in school history
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
There's plenty of words one could use to describe
a team off to a school-best 17-1 start.
Coach Doug Kesler likes “cenergetic.”
“Our whole is a lot better than our parts,” Kesler
said. "We don’t have any stud players, but we’ve
got a bunch of good kids.”
Madison County’s best softball teams through
the years haven’t boasted this kind of resume after
COMING UP
m @Apalachee. today (Thurs.), 5:55 p.m.
18 games. The once-beaten Raiders, ranked no. 3
in Class AAAA, carry an 11-game winning streak
into today’s (Thursday’s) game with Apalachee.
“We know that we’ve got a chance to win every
game, but at the same time, we know what we’ve
got to do to win the game,” Kesler said.
The Raiders, whose key subregion matchup
Tuesday with Habersham Central was rained out,
are coming off a 5-0 run in the always-tough Shaw
Invitational.
— See Softball on page 2B
Prep Football Week 4
Cedar Shoals @Madison Co., Fri., 7:30 p.m.
Matt Dean tries to fight free from the grasp of two Monroe Area defenders last week in Madison County’s 45-15 victory. The Raiders face Cedar
Shoals in a key region contest this Friday. Ben Munro/staff
•INSIDE: Madison County blasts Monroe Area 45-15 behind 526 yards of total offense, PAGE 3B
Turning point of the season?
MCHS faces crucial
matchup with Cedar Shoals
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
M adison County offensive lineman John
Gunnells didn’t downplay his excite
ment for Friday’s matchup with Cedar
Shoals.
In fact, the left tackle has kept an eye on this
FRIDAY’S OPPONENT
■ Team: Cedar Shoals
■ Coach: Xarvia Smith (second year at Cedar
Shoals, 9-6; fourth year overall, 12-23)
■ Last week: Madison Co. 45, Monore Area 15;
Cedar Shoals 39, Winder-Barrow 13
■ Last year: Cedar Shoals 25, Madison Co. 6
■ Series: Cedar Shoals leads 4-1
matchup for a few weeks now.
“I’ve been fired up for this game since the begin
ning of the year,” Gunnells said shortly after last
week’s victory over Monroe Area.
That’s because if Madison County (2-1) is going
to make a move, this is as good a time as any to do
it, Gunnells said.
“Because this is the turning point of the year,” he
said. “If you lose this one, things could start teeter
ing a bit.”
A mere look at the region standings shows how
important this matchup is for the Raiders.
Madison County is locked in a three-way tie for
third place in 8-AAAA with Cedar Shoals (2-1), this
Friday’s opponent; and Salem, next Friday’s oppo-
— See Football on page 2B
Volleyball
Solid offense keys volley Raiders’ third win
Behind an efficient offensive attack, the
Madison County volleyball team downed East
Jackson (25-19, 25-20) Tuesday at home for its
third victory of the year.
“We had an amazing night of offense,” coach
Kristen Delay said. “We had several blocks and
numerous kills. The girls worked hard for every
point and never gave up.”
Madison County (3-11), however, dropped a
match to a region foe, Winder-Barrow (25-17,
25-17) the same night.
Prior to that, the Raider volleyball team lost a
pair of home matches last Thursday (Sept. 10) to
Hart County (25-19, 25-18) and Heritage (25-9,
25-6).
The volley Raiders face Salem on the road
Tuesday and play their final home match
Wednesday (Sept. 23) against Loganville at 5
p.m.
Shannon
Cavanagh
plays a ball
close to the
net during
Madison
County’s
loss to Hart
County last
Thursday
(September
10).