Newspaper Page Text
The Madison County Journal
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Final picker standings
Journal editor Zach Mitcham has
claimed this year’s Pigskin Picker
championship.
2B
IB
Thursday, December 10, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS. com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
The Madison County High School football team will again play a
straight-region schedule in 2010. Ben Mumo/staff
Region Realignment
8-AAAA won’t play subdivided football schedule
INSIDE: MCHS likely to open 2010
with Flowery Branch, PAGE 2B
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The new-look Region 8-AAAA may be subdi
vided, but its member schools won’t play a subdi
vided football schedule.
By maintaining 11 teams — 8-AAAA lost
Monroe Area but picked up Flowery Branch —
the region will again play a straight-region football
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
•Region 8-AAAA voted 6-5 to play
another straight-region football
schedule. Madison County voted
schedule as it has the past two seasons.
The region approved that move Wednesday with
a 6-5 vote.
Madison County head football coach Randell
— See Realignment on 2B
NEW REGION
8-AAAA
Subregion A
Apalachee
Clarke Central
Flowery Branch
Hab. Central
Madison Co.
Winder-Barrow
Subregion B
Cedar Shoals
Heritage
Loganville
Rockdale Co.
Salem
Softball
Girls’ Basketbal
MCHS
boasts five
all-state
selections
Madison County softball
players continue to rack
up the awards following a
27-4 season.
Five Red Raiders earned
all-state honors, with
Katie Bolin and Samantha
LaZear both being named
to the first team, while Erin
Gibson and Haley Peeples
were second-team selec
tions.
Olivia Duncan was an
all-state honorable mention
pick.
Coach
Doug
Kesler said
he put that
into con
text for his
players.
"You're
compet
ing against
all of the
Class
A A A A
players in
the state...
It’s really a
big honor
for them,’’
Kesler
said.
With
five Red
Raiders making the all-
state list, this is likely the
most selections Madison
County has enjoyed in a
single year.
"We haven’t had that
many in one year, I don’t
think,” Kesler said.
Madison County also
held its team awards ban
quet last week. Those tak
ing home awards were
Bolin (co-MVP), Gibson
(co-MVP), Duncan (offen
sive MVP), LaZear (defen
sive MVP), Ariel Bates
(Most Improved).
There was no coaches'
award winner this year,
"because everybody on the
team would have probably
deserved that,” Kesler said.
Madison County also
boasted 12 National
Fastpitch Coaches'
Association All-American
academic selections.
They include Abby
Atkinson, LaZear,
Brandi Osborne, Bolin,
Timia Skelton, Elizabeth
Whieldon, Cortney Boggs,
Peeples, Bates, Emily
Mann, Renee Ellisor and
Duncan.
LAZEAR
Prep Basketball
Bradley Raines, shown here in Madison County’s game with Monroe Area
Friday, scored 21 points in the Red Raiders’ Tuesday victory over Heritage.
Ben Munro/staff
MCHS 6-1 after
two close victories
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetne ws .com
T hough its last two wins came
with no style points attached,
the Madison County boys' bas
ketball team is off to its first-ever 6-1 start
under coach Steve Crouse.
Madison County rallied to beat
Brookwood, 62-59, Saturday in
Danielsville and then outlasted Heritage
Tuesday, 62-57, in another tight affair at
home.
“I want the guys to be encouraged,”
Crouse said of his team’s start. “We just
don’t need to get complacent.”
Madison County’s 6-1 start will be put
to the test Friday when the Red Raiders
take on a 6-0 Rockdale County known
for suffocating man-to-man defense and
full-court pressure.
‘They’ll pressure us as soon as we get
off the bus,” Crouse said.
Madison County moves on to a non
region rivalry game at Franklin County
Saturday and returns home for another
region matchup with Loganville Tuesday
for alumni night.
Bradley Raines led Madison County
with 21 points Tuesday, hitting four three-
pointers against Heritage, as the Red
Raiders moved to 2-1 in subregion play.
Patrick McCrary, who's been battling
back problems, chipped in 14 points and
12 boards one game after reaching the
1,000-point mark for his career.
Dominique Parrish added nine points
with three three-pointers. The team was
8-of-20 behind the arc on the night.
Madison County led 46-45 at the
end of three quarters but fell behind by
three points twice in the fourth quarter.
The Red Raider defense, however, sur
rendered only three points in the last
3:44, while Madison County took over
offensively. Raines drilled a three-pointer
with 3:35 left to tie the contest at 54,
and Madison County closed the game
by hitting six of its last seven free throw
attempts.
‘That was big for us late in the game,”
said Crouse, whose team was 18-for-26
on the night from the charity stripe.
Madison County survived a prolific
shooting night from Heritage’s Jelani
Archer, who hit seven three-point
— See Boys’ basketball on 3B
COMING UP
•@Rockdale Co., Fri., 8:30 p.m.;
@Franklin Co., Sat., 7:30 p.m.;
vs. Loganville, Tues., 7:30 p.m.
Lady Raider
coach still
trying to
gauge team
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Despite a 5-2 record and
a quality win over Salem,
Madison County girls’ basket
ball coach Dan Lampe is still
trying to size
up his squad
seven games
into the sea
son.
The Lady
Raiders
recorded a
lopsided vic
tory Tuesday
— beating
Heritage
60-41 — but
Lampe didn’t
get many answers in a victory
over a struggling foe.
“It’s hard to get a good gauge
of this team,” Lampe said.
“There’s definitely a lot we
need to work on.”
He might have a better under
standing after this next three-
game stretch.
After a Friday matchup with
an improved Rockdale County
team, Madison County faces
Franklin County Saturday and
Loganville Tuesday.
Both the Lady Lions (4-1) and
Lady Red Devils (3-3) went to
the state tournament last year.
The Loganville game could
be very telling, in particular, as
the Lady Red Devils are one of
the best teams on the other side
of Region 8-AAAA, along with
Salem.
“That will be a great indicator
game,” Lampe said.
As for this past Tuesday,
— See Girls’ basketball on 3B
COMING UP
•@Rockdale
Co., 7 p.m.;
@Franklin
Co., 6
p.m.; vs.
Loganville,
Tues., 6
p.m.
KeKe Chappell fights for a
rebound Friday in Madison
Couty’s win over Monroe
Area. Ben Munro/staff
Madison County wrestler Matt Dove picks up a victory during
Saturday action at the Panther Invitational. Ben Munro/staff
Wrestling
Raiders finish 15th at Panther Inv.
INSIDE: MCMS wrestling
team hosting tourney, PAGE 3B
Madison County finished 15 th out of
25 teams over the weekend at Jackson
County’s Panther Invitational in its first
big tournament of the young season.
The Red Raiders, who wrestle this week
end in the Morgan County Invitational,
finished with 55 points.
Both Kyle Bates (152-lb.) and Kyle
Gordon (215-lb.) advanced to the semifi
nals of their respective weight classes but
COMING UP
•@Morgan Co. Invitational, Sat.;
vs. Washington-Wilkes, Tues.
lost. Bates went 2-2 in the tournament, as
did Gordon.
Cody Phillips went 2-0 in the 119-lb.
class but wasn’t able to finish the tourna
ment.
Madison County returned to action
Tuesday night against Banks County, but
results weren't available.
As for the Panther Invitational, three
wrestlers — including Cody Phillips —
finished with winning records. Colton
Phillips went 3-2 in the 125-lb. class,
while Matt Dove was 3-2 in the 285-lb.
division.
Madison County's other participants
included Caleb McCain (1-2 in 135-lb.
class), Jesse Truelove (0-2 in 140-lb. class),
Kyle Himsl (0-2 in 145-lb. class), Steven
Resby (1-2 in 171-lb. class) and
— See Wrestling on Page 3B