Newspaper Page Text
The Madison County Journal
IB
Thursday, November 26, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
Time
to give
thanks
It’s again that time of
year to pass along thanks
for all we have. Here’s
my personal gratitude list,
both sports and non-sports
related:
•Georgia's football sea
son is almost over. I mean
this in the nicest way, but
it’s been a train wreck.
•Technical support. I
don’t even know what a
firewall is, so I need all the
help I can get.
•A.J. Green. If not for the
talented
(and cur
rently
injured)
no. 8, the
Bulldogs
might
very well
be 3-8
head
ing into
Georgia
Tech.
•Historic
preservation. I hate seeing
old buildings bulldozed to
the ground.
•3:30 p.m. kickoffs at
Sanford Stadium. The
perfect medium. You
have time to eat before
the game. You have time
to watch the primetime
games afterward.
•Locally owned restau
rants. In a country that's
increasingly becoming
homogenized, they’re the
heartbeat of a downtown.
•The skill of guys like
Kobe Bryant, LeBron
James and Tiger Woods.
On any given day, we wit
ness greatness in our own
time.
•Independent rock music.
Rock has died as a genre,
but there’s still some good
stuff recorded out there
away from the major
labels.
•Good football color
commentators. Keen
insight from guys like
Gary Danielson (CBS) and
Todd Blackledge (ESPN)
allows us to see all things
we normally wouldn’t
catch watching the game
live,
•My iPod. It’s gotten me
through many a grueling
jog-
•Fantasy football (sur
prisingly). Never before
have I cared about how
many rushing yards
Maurice Jones-Drew has.
•Fireplaces. Central heat
is a marvel of modern
man, but it just isn’t winter
without burning wood.
•Stats. Madison County
High School does a great
job of getting a wealth of
numbers out to us here at
the paper.
•Little League umpires.
As long as parents are
allowed to attend games,
these umps have the most
dangerous job in America.
•A night of television
watching. As you get older,
it replaces those nights out
on the town.
•Thanksgiving. The most
underrated of all holidays.
•The privilege of eating.
A simple action that should
never be taken for granted.
•Coaches who don’t
mind fielding stupid ques
tions. If these guys weren’t
around, I might not get too
many stories written.
•Animal shelters. When
there’s nobody left to care
about our four-legged
friends, they do.
•ESPN Classics. A
Georgia game from 1986
can come to life again.
•Family and friends who
put up with me.
Ben Munro is a reporter
for The Madison County
Journal,
Ben Munro
From the
sports desk
Middle School Wrestling
MCMS wrestlers take second in Hart Co. tourney
The Madison County Middle School
wrestling team continued a season of firsts
Saturday, placing second in the Hart County
Middle School Invitational in Hartwell.
It was the first time an MCMS wrestling
team had earned a tournament trophy and
eclipsed a week-old school record for the
team's highest placement in a tournament,
having placed fourth at the season-opening
Oglethorpe Junior Patriot Tournament.
The Mustangs cruised to a 3-1 record
in the team-format tournament, defeating
COMING UP
•MCMS vs. Heritage, Oconee
Co. @ home, Tuesday
Stephens County, Hart County and Elbert
County. The only loss was to eventual tour
nament champion Banks County. After
Banks’s 4-0 record and MCMS's 3-1 finish,
Stephens County finished 2-2, Elbert was
1-3 and host Hart County was 0-4.
Dustin Howard, competing in the 160-
lb. division, won all four of his matches
for the Mustangs, while Parker James had
three wins at 91-lbs. Dylan Haney and
Kyle Crawford split the four matches at
120-lb., and both wrestlers went undefeated.
Other multiple winners were Devin Shelton
at 77-lbs., Blake Seagraves at 1121bs.,
Christian Dean at 200-lbs. and Montaga
Maddox, who was unbeaten in two matches
in the 265-lb. weight class.
See MCMS on page 2B
Prep Basketball
Stan Maxwell soars to the hoop Friday night in Madison County’s 81-59 season-opening victory over Southwest
Atlanta Christian Academy. Photo by Zach Mitcham
Flying high
MCHS boys hoops
team off to 2-0 start
Note: Results from Madison County’s
Tuesday night game against Dacula in
MCHS's tip-off tournament weren ’t avail
able due to early holiday deadlines.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County High School boys’
basketball coach Steve Crouse is taking
the “so far, so good” approach to his
team’s early-season
success.
The Red Raiders
are off to a 2-0 start
with convincing vic
tories of Southwest
Atlanta Christian and
Towers.
“We’re pretty excited about that so far,”
Crouse said. "We started off 2-0 last year,
so we don’t have our head in the clouds
yet.”
The Red Raiders — who faced Dacula
COMING UP
•vs. Salem
@ home,
Tuesday,
7:30 p.m.
Patrick McCrary scored 30 points and
grabbed 10 boards in Madison County’s
season-opening win. Photo by Zach Mitcham
Tuesday night in the second round of the
Madison County Tip Off Tournament but
results weren’t available at press time —
return to the court Tuesday at home
against Salem at 7:30 p.m.
Heading into the Dacula game,
Madison County had beaten
Southwestern Atlanta Christian, a
Class A school, 81-59 Friday at home
and Towers, a Class AAA team, 71-52
on Saturday.
Crouse is enthused but not totally sat
isfied with the two victories that came
by a combined 41 points.
“We’re not playing great, but we’re
playing well and our defense is play
ing good,” Crouse said. “And we knew
defense was going to have to be the key
from the start.”
Against Southwestern Atlanta
Christian, Madison County senior
Patrick McCrary had a monster perfor
mance, scoring 30 points and grabbing
10 rebounds as the Red Raiders cruised
to 22-point victory on opening night.
McCrary was a perfect 10-for-10 from
the floor.
The Raiders jumped out to a 17-5
lead, followed shortly after by a thunder-
See Boys’ basketball on page 2B
Girls’ Basketball
MCHS plagued by early-season shooting woes
Note: Results from Madison County's
Tuesday night game against Jonesboro
in MCHS's tip-off tournament weren’t
available due to early
holiday deadlines.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The Lady Raider
basketball team has
started the season with
an odd statistic for a squad that's deep at
the guard position.
COMING UP
•vs. Salem
@ home,
Tuesday, 6
p.m.
Madison County (1-1), as of press time,
hadn’t hit a three pointer this season.
The Lady Raiders went scoreless from
behind the arc in a 39-35 loss to Southwest
Atlanta Christian Friday and beat Newton
County 42-40 despite going 0-for-15 from
the three-point line.
“And they were wide-open three’s,"
coach Dan Lampe said. “There’s not one
that was ill-advised. Every single one
came through an offensive set.”
The team hopes those shots start to fall
in December. Madison County returns to
See Girls’ basketball on page 2B
Madison County guard Sam LaZear battles
for a loose ball Friday. Photo by Zach Mitcham