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PAGE 2B — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 24. 2009 Madison Co. JV boys enter Christmas break at 2-4 MILLER CATCHES 10 LB. BASS Madison County’s Grant Miller, 9, recently caught this 10 lb. 2 oz bass. He was fishing in a private pond in Warren County and he caught it on a purple Culprit plastic worm. Sports shorts Madison Co. youth basketball score update Here are the scores from week one basketball action at the Madison County Recreation Department. WEEK ONE 8-and-under girls: •Pink Panthers 10. Lady Dawgs 5 •Lady Hawks 8, Peaches 4 8-and-under boys: •Comets 10, Panthers 8 •Bulldogs 10, Eagles 9 •Gators 11, Raiders 8 •Yellow Jackets 10. Hawks 8 10-and-under girls: •Lady Dawgs 23, Dazzling Divas 12 •Tomboys 20, Dynamites 16 10-and-under boys: •Tigers 17, Buzzards 12 •Raiders 46, Blazers 14 12-and-under girls: •Ninjas 21, Shooting Stars 11 •Lady Tigers 22, Sparks 9 12-and-under boys: Tar Heels 42, Jackets 27 Gladiators 49, Hawks 17 Gladiators 31, Spurs 7 WEEK TWO 8-and-under girls: •Pink Panthers 10, Peaches 1 •Lady Hawks 10, Lady Dawgs 0 8-and-under boys: •Eagles 18, Comets 15 •Bulldogs 19, Hawks 3 •Raiders 16, Panthers 9 •Gators 20, Yellow Jackets 9 10-and-under girls: •Lady Dawgs 12, Dynamites-8 •Tomboys 21, Dazzling Divas 12 10-and-under boys: •Tigers 22, Raiders 13 •Buzzards 32, Blazers 12 12-and-under girls: •Shooting Stars 18, Sparks 14 •Lady Tigers 19, Ninjas 13 12-and-under boys: •Jackets 37, Hawks 31 •Tar Heels 30, Spurs 14 •Gladiators 39, Jackets 36 Basketball 101 starts Jan. 5 The Madison County Recreation Department will offer Basketball 101 again for four weeks on Tuesday nights at Hull-Sanford Elementary School beginning Jan. 5. Classes run from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. The fee is $35, which includes a basketball. The class is open to 5-and-6-year-olds. Class participants work on drills designed to improve their ball handling and teach them dif ferent types of passes and the correct shooting form. Theresa Bettis will again instruct the class. Space is lim ited and pre-registration and pre payment are required. For more information, contact the recre ation department at 706-795- 6270. 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 individuals, and the top fishermen from the organization have the opportunity to compete against members of other federated Bass Master clubs in the state. Those interested can contact club president Wendell Smith at 706-247-6073 or vice president Darren McElroy at 706-340- 2024. Sunrise Golf Club holding scrambles Sunrise Golf Club is holding a flighted scramble Friday morn ings at 9 a.m. Men and women of all ages and skills are welcome. All players receive discounted prices and prizes will be award ed. For more information, call Sunrise Golf Course at 706-788- 2720. Minor Leaguer, former UGA pitcher available for lessons Stephen Dodson, a former University of Georgia player and current minor league pitcher, has joined the staff of the Diamond Club, a local baseball and soft- ball instruction facility. Dodson went 7-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 25 appearances for the Asheville Tourists, a single A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Dodson will work with the Diamond Club until March when he has to report for spring train ing. Dodson pitched for UGA’s 2008 team that advanced to the College World Series and finished second in the nation. He was a second-team All-SEC selection that year. Colorado drafted him in the 10 th round in 2008. The Diamond Club is locat ed on Hwy. 29, just south of Danielsville. Subvarsity Basketball The Madison County junior var sity boys’ basketball team heads into the Christmas break on the heels of one of its most complete performances of the year. Madison County moved to 2-4 with a 72-40 rout of Loganville last Tuesday (Dec. 15) behind 21 points from Trey Carruth. Alex Jordan added 14 points, including four three-pointers. “Although that (2-4) is not where we want our record to be, we played pretty well the last few games before our break,” coach Bryan Bird said. Madison County’s stout defense helped set up its offense in the 32-point romp over the JV Red Devils. “Against Loganville, we put Patrick McCrary also had 15 points and Trae Burton scored 10 as Madison County won its third straight game. Crouse enjoyed the rowdy road element of the game, noting that 50 to 75 Aquinas students filled the stands just as the boys' contest tipped-off. "They were cheering and they were on us from the get-go ... I thought this would be a great atmosphere for us to play in,” Crouse said. Madison County built a 41-30 lead after three quarters and was able to hold off Aquinas (4-2). Crouse again praised his team's defensive effort as it held another foe under 60 points. "Our defense was again big for us,” Crouse said. ‘The press was working for us. We were getting the ball in transition.” The night wasn't without areas for improvement. Madison County still turned the ball over too many times, didn’t hand out many assists and didn’t convert in transition as much as Crouse would have liked. But it was still another win for a program that’s off to its best start in at least a decade. Crouse noted that there was plenty of red in the stands for Friday's game, too, despite it being two hours away on a rainy night. it all together offensively and defensively,” Bird said. "We were aggressive on defense and on the boards, which led to a lot of easy transition baskets for us.” With a comfortable lead, the team was able to play its entire roster. Everyone who dressed out scored. “It’s a great feeling for a team when everyone is able to contrib ute that way,” Bird said. Madison County entered the game following recent losses to Rockdale County (Dec. 11) and Franklin County (Dec, 12). Against Rockdale County, Carruth scored 22 points and Quinton Thomas added 17 in a 56-52 loss. “Eventually, their (Rockdale Reserve post player Terrell McCrary puts up a shot dur ing a recent Red Raider vic tory. Ben Munro/staff “Our people showed up two hours away,” Crouse said. "They were very, very supportive.” Madison County shoots for its fourth straight win upon its return from its Christmas hiatus when it faces Athens Academy Monday. Crouse is not sure exactly yet what he'll see from the nearby Spartans, other than a sound bas ketball team coached by former University of Georgia standout James Banks. “Their kids will be very fun damental and very disciplined,” Crouse said. Offensively, Athens Academy possesses “kids capable of shoot ing it,” Crouse said. And considering that Aquinas did a good job keying on McCrary, County’s) size inside took over for them on the offensive boards, and that was the differ ence in the game,” Bird said. "We could not keep them off the offensive boards.” Against Franklin County, Curruth scored 15 points and Jordan added 12 in another four-point loss. Madison County strug gled against the Lions’ zone defense, "We got off to a hot start in the first half, but their 2-3 zone got to us in the second half,” Bird said. “We did not attack the basket aggressively enough, and our outside shots that went in the first half did not go in the second half.” Crouse expects opposing defenses - including Athens Academy — will continue to focus on the 6’5” post player who has over 1,000 career points. “I think we're going to need to be prepared for that more as time goes on,” Crouse said. The winner of the Madison County-Athens Academy game faces the winner of Oconee County and Providence Academy. Should both the Red Raiders and Oconee County advance in the winners' bracket, Madison County would face former Red Raider player and assistant coach Michael Youngblood, who’s now head coach at Oconee County. “That would be a tough reunion of sorts,” Crouse said, noting that the two have coached against each other, but only in scrimmages. The Oconee tournament field includes two Region 8-AAAA teams, Monroe Area and Apalachee, and two Class AAAAA squads, Collins Hill and South Gwinnett. “We could end up playing some one in our region,” Crouse said. “It will be a good tournament.” MCHS 61, Aquinas 52 MCHS 14 16 11 20 — 61 Aquinas 9 15 6 22 — 52 Scorers: Raines 19, P. McCrary 15, Maxwell 13, Burton 10, T. McCrary 4 Boys’ basketball.. • continued from page IB Girls’ basketball.. • continued from page IB to Louisville. With 6’3” center Christy Robinson to compliment McCurty in the frontcourt, Madison County faces a huge obstacle in this open ing-round game. “Absolutely,” Lampe said. “It will be a good test for our posts and our help side, too.” But Northwest Whitfield isn’t one-dimensional. The Bruins have outside shooters to accompany their inside attack. “They have good three-point shooters,” Lampe said. "If you let them loose, they’11 light it up.” The Lady Raiders and Bruins have one common opponent, Loganville, Northwest Whitfield lost its season opener to the Lady Red Devils, 50-45 in overtime, while Loganville routed Madison County 64-47 in Danielsville Dec, 15. Northwest Whitfield’s only other loss came to Parkview. Madison County is coming of its 67-12 obliteration of Class A Aquinas over the weekend, but that victory offered little substance for Madison County to build on. “We didn’t get anything out of 1 Bray Construction, Inc. I • New Homes • Remodeling • Vinyl Siding • Masonry Work • Concrete Finishing (706) 789-2313 that game really ... We did what we were supposed to do,” coach Dan Lampe said. Kayla Freeman scored 17 points to lead Madison County. Lauren Smith added 13. If nothing else, the Aquinas game gave Madison County a chance to get back on the court after the Loganville loss. “That was good,” Lampe said. “We had worked on some things in practice that we hadn’t tried in a game. So from halftime on, we worked on stuff we hadn’t done yet.” Madison County's game against Northwest Whitfield will be its fourth against a ranked foe this year. The Lady Raiders are 2-1 in its three previous games against ranked competition. Madison County also beat Salem 58-39 this year, which was unranked at the time, but has since risen to no. 7 in the Class AAAA poll. Lampe said he enjoys Christmas tournaments because they allow his team to play schools from out side Madison County’s region and outside northeast Georgia. He also hopes it can serve as a The Madison County Solid Waste Transfer Station holiday closures are as follows: CHRISTMAS Thursday, December 24,2009 Friday, December 25,2009 NEW YEAR’S Friday, January 1,2010 springboard for the 2010 portion of the schedule. Madison County starts subre gion play Jan. 8 following the holiday tournament. The goal is for the Lady Raiders to be playing their best basketball by February when the 8-AAAA tournament starts. Madison County is 19-3 during the month of February the last three seasons. “We hope that tradition con tinues,” Lampe said. “We really haven’t hit our stride yet. We’ve seen glimmers.” Dr. Neelagaru, M.D. (Dr. Neel) Dr. Neel is: • Associated with Northeast Georgia Heart Center in Gainesville, Georgia. 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