Newspaper Page Text
The Madison County Journal
INSIDE
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
The MCHS boys’ bas
ketball team is off to an
11-2 start PAGE 2B
IB
Thursday, December 31, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com
A wish list
for 2010
The year in sports 2009
gave us plenty to talk about:
Tiger Woods (his golf game
now seeming tame compared
to other aspects of his life),
the Steelers winning a Super
Bowl thriller, Alabama whip
ping Florida for the SEC
crown and the Lakers and
Yankees again standing tall
among their peers.
So here’s
my wish list
for 2010.
This
column is
being writ
ten as Urban
Meyer
resigned as
Florida's
head coach
and then
came back
with a "not
so fast"
opting for a leave of absence
instead. Should make for an
interesting 2010 in the SEC
as Georgia tries to become
relevant again in the confer
ence.
Flere's the wish list for
2010:
•A Bulldog victory over
Georgia Tech in 2010. The
ugliness between the two
schools is arguably at its
worst in years. Yellow Jacket
coach Paul Johnson, doing
his best impersonation of a
Georgia Tech fan, did noth
ing to stay above the fray
with some pointed comments
after UGA’s 30-24 victory in
November.
•Another title for Kobe
Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau
Gasol and company. The L.A.
I-akers are the most entertain
ing NBA franchise, so here’s
hoping they get another tro
phy. For those keeping score,
that would make 11 titles for
L.A. coach Phil Jackson.
•Brett Favre flat-out telling
us he'll play in 2010 instead
of his usual summertime waf
fling. Besides, who’s going
to take another "retirement"
seriously?
•Georgia avoiding uniform
changes in 2010. Wearing
odd black helmets and pants
as a motivational tactic
against Florida was a Cocktail
Patty foul.
•Tiger Woods returning
to the PGA Tour. His image
has taken a major nosedive,
but come on, who wants to
see Scott Verplank win the
Masters?
•At least a .500 record for
new University of Georgia
basketball coach Mark Fox
this season. That's quite a
stretch given the Bulldogs'
cast of players and the fact
that they reside in a stacked
SEC East. But Fox’s Dogs
already have a quality win
(Illinois) and are running the
same triangle offense the L.A.
I-akers employ. So that’s a
start.
•The Atlanta Braves putting
together some sort of postsea
son run in 2010.
•LeBron James signing
with the New York Knicks in
the offseason. King James"
contract is up with Cleveland
after this year, and a game as
big as LeBron’s belongs in
the Big Apple.
•Dale Muiphy's induction
to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
It won’t ever happen, but for
what it’s worth, consider this:
his offensive numbers are
comparable to hall of famers
Ryne Sandberg and Gary
Carter.
•Embattled Georgia
quarterback Joe Cox mov
ing on to coaching in 2010
if that’s what he wants to
do. Though Cox struggled
mightily at times this year,
we saw glimpses late of what
Cox could have done with
the luxury of a good tunning
game to back him up.
Through it all, we could
appreciate Cox's candor and
his guts.
Ben Munro is a reporter for
The Madison County Journal.
Ben Munro
From the
sports desk
Sports Story of the Year, 2009
Katie Bolin
tags a
Logan ville
runner out
at the plate
during the
Region
8-AAAA
tournament.
In 2009, the
Madison
County soft-
ball team
won its first
region cham
pionship
since moving
up to Class
AAAA and its
third region
crown over
all. The Red
Raiders,
who fin
ished with a
27-4 record,
advanced to
the Sweet 16
in the state
tourament.
Ben Munro/staff
The Madison
County High
School girls’
basketball
team won
its second
region cham-
pionshp in
three years
in February,
beating
Clarke
Central for
the Region
8-AAAA title.
The Lady
Raiders,
who fin
ished 24-6,
advanced to
the Sweet 16
of the state
tournament.
Ben Munro/staff
Big year for the ladies
MCHS softball, girls’ basketball teams win region titles in 2009
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetne ws .com
M adison County High School will
remember 2009 as a banner year in
female athletics with region titles in two
major sports being added to the trophy case.
The Lady Raider basketball team (24-6) claimed a
region title in February, while the softball team (27-4)
won its region title in October.
Combined, the two programs went 51-10 in 2009,
with each advancing to the Sweet 16 of their respec
tive state tournaments.
The region titles were also a solid way for both pro
grams to close the decade. The softball program won
three region titles in the 2000s, while the basketball
program won two.
In basketball, Madison County didn’t hit its stride
immediately but was a force by the time the region
tournament rolled around.
Following a frustrating overtime loss to Cedar
Shoals Jan. 9, Madison County reeled off 13 straight
A PAIR OF CHAMPIONS
girls’ basketball softball
•’09 Record 24-6 27-4
•winning streak 13 games 18 games
•Region title def. Clarke Cent. def. Apalachee
•State tourney: Sweet 16
Sweet 16
wins, including a 51A0 Feb. 20 victory over rival
Clarke Central for the region title.
Madison County beat the Lady Gladiators three
times during the season.
The 11-point victory over Clarke Central in the
region finals avenged a 71-50 loss to the Lady
Gladiators in the 2008 region title game.
In the state tournament, Madison County beat
Hillgrove 74-66 Feb. 20 to advance to the Sweet 16
for the third consecutive season, but lost 67-60 to
eventual state champion Southwest Dekalb in the
Sweet 16.
Madison County’s 24-win season was its third
straight with at least 20 victories, and the Lady
Raiders’ trip to the state tournament was its fourth
straight.
Individually, Courtney Freeman surpassed 2,000
career points in 2009 and went on to sign with
Appalachian State, wrapping up a prolific high school
career.
On the softball diamond, Madison County locked
up the program’s first region title since 2001 and the
first since the school moved up to Class AAAA.
The softball team’s 27 wins were second-most in
the program’s history.
The season included an 18-game winning streak
that lasted from Aug. 22 to Oct. 9.
One of the highlights of that stretch was Madison
County’s 5-0 run through the always-tough Shaw
Invitational in Columbus to win that tournament.
Madison County lost just one game to a region foe
the entire year, falling to Apalachee 4-3 during the
first game of the 8-AAAA finals. The Red Raiders,
who had one loss to give in the double-elimination
tournament, rebounded and won the second game 3-0
— See Sports story of year on Page 2B
•INSIDE: See Page 2B for other noteworthy moments in Madison Co. sports in 2009
Decade’s best: Madison County sports 2000-2009
The Madison County Journal has select
ed its all-decade list for county sports
from 2000-2009.
Football: 2005. It was a close call,
but Randell
Owens' 2005
team (7-4)
gets the nod
over his 2006
squad, which
actually had a
better record
(8-3). The 2005 team broke a 22-year
state playoff drought and came oh-so-
close to upsetting Rome High School in
the first round that year.
Softball: 2001. For all of Madison
County's success
on the softball
field in the 2000s,
Doug Kesler’s
2001 team (30-7)
was the best.
The Red
Raiders won 30
games and came one victory shy of a
Class AAA state title.
Basketball: 2008 (girls). Madison
County’s resurgence in girls’ basketball
was never more evident than in 2008
when the Lady Raiders advanced to the
Class AAAA Final Four during a 25-7
campaign. But it took an amazing come-
back to get there. Madison County rallied
from a 17-0 deficit against Mays in the
quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.
Once there, Madison County lost by a
point to eventual state runner-up Fayette
County, 45-44.
Baseball: 2004. The Red Raiders won
the region
champion
ship with an
18-3 record in
8-AAAA play
in the final sea
son at MCHS's
old baseball
field. Long
time Madison County baseball fans still
remember Conrad Carey’s game-winning
— See Decade on Page 2B