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PAGE 2B — THE MADISON COUNTY (GAf JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 31.2009
Sports shorts
POOLE BAGS 8-POINTER
Bailey Poole, 11, son of Randy and Vanessa Poole, recently
shot this eight-point buck, his first ever, behind his house.
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 different
types of passes and the correct
shooting form.
Theresa Bettis will again instruct
the class. Space is limited and pre
registration and pre-payment are
required. For more information,
contact the recreation department
at 706-795-6270.
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.
Sports story of the year ...
continued from page IB
to take the title.
At state, Madison County beat
Sandy Creek in the first round
before falling to Sequoyah in the
Sweet 16.
Amid all the victories, Madison
County learned in September that
its cumulative grade point aver
age from 2008-2009 was tied for
the best in the nation. Madison
County was featured on GPB’s
“Prep Sports Plus," for its scho
lastic and athletic success.
The postseason accolades mir
rored the results on the field.
Eight players were all-region
selections with Katie Bolin earn
ing co-Player of the Year honors
and Erin Gibson being named the
region’s Pitcher of the Year.
Five Red Raiders earned all-
state honors.
Holiday Basketball tournaments
Red Raiders rout Warriors to move to 11-2
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Madison County enjoyed its highest offen
sive output of tire season Tuesday in a 90-71
victory over host Oconee County in tire second
round of the Warrior Holiday Classic.
Bradley Raines scored 23 points and had
seven assists, while Stan Maxwell added 19
points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Madison
County upped its record to 11-2.
Tire Red Raiders have now reached double
figures in victories for the first time since the
2004-2005 season.
Madison County was to take on South
Gwinnett Wednesday in tire Warrior Holiday
Classic championship, but results weren’t avail
able at press time. South Gwinnett advanced to
the Elite Eight in Class AAAAA last season.
Tire Red Raiders carried a five-game winning
streak into that contest.
Madison County heated up from the outside
in its victory over Oconee County, drilling nine
three-pointers.
“There's a lot of times that we don’t even
shoot nine three's,” coach Steve Crouse noted.
Trae Burton hit three of those three-pointers
in the second quarter as he scored 15 points.
Madison County, which jumped out to a 24-8
first quarter lead, was able to score in the paint
was well with post player Patrick McCrary
adding 17 points.
Madison County had 28 assists in tire game
versus only 14 turnovers.
“We’ll take that two-to-one assist to turnover
ratio anytime," Crouse said.
The game pitted Crouse against former
Madison County High School player Michael
Youngblood, who’s now the head coach at
Oconee County.
Youngblood is also a fomier assistant coach
at MCHS, working under Crouse earlier this
decade.
“His whole family was there, so I got to see
his younger brother, Chad, who played for me
... It was good to get the win, but it’s good to
see him do well and have success over there
and get to watch him coach,” Crouse said.
•MCHS 63, Athens Academy 43 (Dec.
29): Madison County cmised to its 10 th vic
tory of the year with a 63-43 victory Monday
over Athens Academy in the Warrior Holiday
Classic at Oconee County High School.
Tire Red Raiders led 26-13 after a quarter and
41-21 at tire half.
“I was really pleased with our effort right out
of the box,” Crouse said.
Bradley Raines led Madison County with 15
points and six rebounds, while Stan Maxwell
had a good floor game with 14 points, six
boards and four assists.
Patrick McCrary added 10 points and six
rebounds and Trae Burton hit two three point
ers and scored 10 points. The sophomore also
had five steals.
Lady Raiders stifle Grayson
Madison County sought an easy victory
against Grayson in the second round of the
Deep South Classic, and that’s exactly what
it got.
Kayla Freeman scored a season-high 23
points Tuesday and grabbed 12 boards in a
57-38 rout of tire Class AAAA Lady Rams at
Brookwood High School.
Madison County was to face the winner
of the Brookwood and Winder-Ban'ow on
Wednesday (results weren’t available at press
time).
Lady Raider coach Dan Lampe said his
team’s goal against Grayson was to lead by
enough points after three quarters to bring the
GHSA's mercy rule into effect in the fourth
quarter. Madison County (9-4) led 52-21 at the
end of the third period, and the teams played an
abbreviated final quarter.
“Yeah, you expect to win this one, so we did
what we wanted to accomplish," Lampe said.
Madison County buried Grayson early by
taking a 17-1 lead after a quarter.
Guard Lauren Smith led the defensive effort
with seven steals. She also scored 16 points.
Madison County’s defensive pressure forced
Grayson into several five-second violations
when it tried to in-bound the ball and 10-second
violations when Grayson hied to bring the ball
up the floor.
“I felt our defense really stepped up and put
together three good quarters," Lampe said.
Madison County returns to tire court Jan. 8
for its subregion opener against Cedar Shoals.
Lampe said his team’s schedule to this point
basically serves to build for the subregion
schedule.
“We're kind of looking at all these games
right now like preseason games,” he said.
Lampe noted that his team will have the
entire week to prepare for tire Jan. 8 game with
Cedar Shoals since there’s no game Tuesday.
“I like having that long week of practice,” he
said. "We can get some things accomplished.”
•Northwest Whitfield 49, Madison Co. 42
(Dec. 28): Madison County held Northwest
Whitfield standout Quaneisha McCurty to just
four points but couldn’t slow the Lady Bruins'
transition game in a 49-42 loss Monday in the
Deep South Classic.
Madison County led 21-19 at the half in a
back-and-forth game, but trailed 32-31 heading
into the fourth quarter. Northwest Whitfield
outscored the Lady Raiders 17-11 in tire final
quarter, hitting several free throws down the
stretch to salt away the victory in this battle of
top 10 teams.
Much like Madison County’s loss to
Loganville Dec. 15, the Lady Raiders gave up
too many lay-ups and three-pointers off fast
breaks.
"The only time they really scored was
when we missed a shot and they transitioned,"
Madison County coach Dan Lampe said.
The defensive breakdowns stem from too
many players trying to ball-hawk after a missed
shot, rather than getting back on defense,
Lampe explained.
Lampe said there's a fine line between being
playing instinctively and playing disciplined.
"We're making mistakes because we’re too
aggressive,” he said.
Shantydra Arnold led the Lady Raiders with
14 points. She was 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
Kayla Freeman added 13 points and Lauren
Smith had 10.
Boys
MCHS 90, Oconee Co. 71 (Dec. 29)
MCHS 24 21 21 24 — 90
OCHS 8 19 20 24 — 71
Scorers: Raines 23, Maxwell 19, P. McCrary
17, Burton 15, McKeever 6, Parrish 5, T.
McCrary 3, Robinson 2
MCHS 63, Athens Academy 43 (Dec. 28)
MCHS 26 15 20 2 — 63
AA13 8 7 15 — 43
Leading scorers: Raines 15, Maxwell 14,
McCrary 10, Burton 10
Girls
MCHS 57, Grayson 38
MCHS 17 20 15 5 — 57
GHS 1 14 6 17 — 38
Scorers: K Freeman 23, Smith 16, Glaze 7,
Arnold 6, Sorrells 2, LaZear 2, Brown 1
NW Whitefield 49, MCHS 42 (Dec. 28)
MCHS 6 15 10 11 — 42
NWW118 13 17 — 49
Scorers: Arnold 14, Freeman 13, Smith 10,
Glaze 3, LaZear 2
... Other noteworth worthy moments of 2009
Decade
• •• continued from page IB
The Madison County Recreation Department’s 12-and-under
boys basketball all-stars won a state title in 2009.
•MCHS boys’ basketball team
nearly makes state tourney
appearance: An 8-18 Madison
County High School boys' basket
ball team nearly stunned no. 1 seed
Rockdale County in February in
the region tournament, a victory
which would have propelled the
Red Raiders to the state tourna
ment for the first time in 12 years.
Madison County led 23-20 at the
half and later rallied from a 52-48
deficit in the waning moments to
force overtime before falling to the
Bulldogs, 61-58.
•MCHS wrestlers well-rep-
resented at state: Six Madison
County High School wrestlers qual
ified for the newly-implemented
state sectionals and five of them —
Tyler Adams, Michael Kilpatrick,
Cody Phillips, Isaac Ruiz and Chris
Savage — advanced to the state
tournament in February. Adams had
a big year, especially, winning the
Region 8-AAAA 215-lb. champi
onship in February as a no. 4 seed.
•Rec dept, team claims county’s
first basketball title in 19 years:
Madison County’s boys' 12-and-
under recreation department all-star
basketball team defeated defending
champion Douglas-Coffee 65-56 in
March for the Class B state title.
Malik Freeman scored 29 points
in the finals. Madison County went
6-0 in all-star play in its march
toward to the championship, the
recreation department's first in bas
ketball since 1990.
•Rifle team on-target again:
Madison County High School’s
rifle team finished ninth in the state
in March by shooting a 1,121 at the
state meet.
•Both tennis teams reach state:
Both the Madison County’s boys'
and girls' teams reached the Class
AAAA state tournament this past
April. For the girls, it marked their
12" 1 straight trip to state. For the
boys, the trip ended a two-year state
tournament hiatus.
•Cooper, Hall excel on the
track: Jamal Cooper won the boys'
region 200 meters in April and fin
ished third in the state in May in that
event, while Alexis Hall won the
girls’ region triple jump.
•MCHS girls’ golfers make
state: The Madison County High
School girls’ golf team won the
Region 8-AAAA tournament and
finished 12 th at the state tournament
in April. Cortney Boggs took region
low medalist honors.
•MCHS baseball team makes
back-to-back postseason appear
ances: The Madison County High
School baseball team posted its
second straight 20-win season and
second consecutive state playoff
appearance this past spring. The
Red Raiders went 20-5 in the regu
lar season and finished second in
Region 8-AAAA, earning the right
to host the first-ever playoff series
at the new Red Raider Field. But
the team fell to Sprayberry 2-1 in
the best-of-three series, extending
a Madison County cold streak in
postseason play. The Red Raiders
haven't won a playoff series since
2003.
•Little softball all-stars finish
LORD &Q$tepk
'em
FUNERAL HOMES
MADISON CHAPEL
963 Hwy. 98 East • Danielsville, GA 30630
706-795-5116
EAST:
4355 Lexington Road
Athens, GA 30605
(706) 546-1587
FAX (706) 548-7984
WEST:
1211 Jimmy Daniel Road
Bogart, GA 30622
(706) 549-3342
FAX (706) 549-3499
OGLETHORPE CHAPEL:
503 Main Street
Crawford, GA 30630
(706) 743-5030
FAX (706) 743-3994
second in state again: Madison
County’s Little League softball all
stars lost 6-1 to Warner Robins in
the rubber game of state finals in
July, falling short of a state champi
onship for the second straight year.
Still, Madison County went 7-2 in
all-star competition, outscored its
foes by an aggregate 93-15, won
another District 7 championship
and even met Gov. Sonny Perdue
in July.
•MCHS football team miss
es playoffs after 5-1 start: The
Madison County High School foot
ball team turned its fortunes around
in 2009 after a two-win campaign
last year, but didn't reach the state
playoffs. The Red Raiders started
out 5-1 but lost their last four games
to finish 5-5. Madison County, how
ever, remained in state playoff con
tention heading into the final week
of the season.
•MCMS secures softball four-
peat: The Madison County Middle
School softball team continued its
dominance in region play by win
ning its fourth straight NEGIAA
crown, beating Jefferson 9-1 this
year for the title in September.
grand slam against Newton
County in a colossal matchup
that helped the Red Raiders win
the region title that year.
Rec Dept.: 2002, Senior
League baseball. The Madison
County Recreation Department
produced a few state champion
ships in the 2000s, but who will
forget the senior league all-star
team's run in 2002? Led by
future UGA standout and first-
round draft pick Joshua Fields,
the team won the state title and
lost in the southeastern regional
finals by one run. A victory
would have propelled it to the
Senior League World Series.
Noteworthy: Rifle team,
tennis. Madison County High
School won the state riflery
championship in 2001 with a
score 1,160. That record stood
for seven years before being
tied in 2008 by Union Grove,
Crystal Dove’s individual score
of 295 in 2000 is still tied for
the state’s all-time best mark ...
On the tennis court, the MCHS
girls’ program reached the state
tournament every season this
decade, while the boys went
seven of 10 years.
Athlete: Courtney Freeman
(2005-2009). Freeman, a four-
year starter for the Lady Raider
basketball team, scored over
2,000 points in her prolific
career. More importantly, she
helped lead a program that won
just one game the season prior
to her arrival to four straight
appearances in the state tourna
ment.
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