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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).