Madison County Red Raiders

Madison County at Salem in Conyers Reprinted from the Athens Banner-Herald November 10, 2006 edition By Jon Page | jon.page@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 12:36 AM on Friday, November 10, 2006 DANIELSVILLE - Jarrod Owens could take each snap tonight and run. And win or lose, the senior quarterback will have the second-best single-season passing performance in Madison County history. For the second straight season, Owens eclipsed the record formerly held by Chris Smith, Madison County's quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Smith threw for 1,362 yards 14 years before Owens shattered the mark by throwing for 2,008 yards last season. "His dad (coach Randell Owens) joked with him about midway through (last) season," Smith said. "He said: 'We're just going to start running the ball, so you can't break it.' I said, 'No, I want to be a part of it.' "Jarrod is a special young man. If I was going to see somebody break it, I wanted it to be him." Owens has completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 1,624 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He has thrown for 4,361 yards in his career, which might be another record, but Madison County's official career records are unavailable. Smith was the Athens Banner-Herald's Player of the Year in 1991, and Owens said his coach is still popular. "I dog him all the time because half the girls at our school think he's the most gorgeous thing ever, including my girlfriend," Owens said. "She (brought) him cookies on gameday once. She didn't bring me cookies." Smith was happy to concede his record to Owens, but he would not say Owens is a better athlete. Owens runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. Smith said he ran it in 4.5 seconds in high school. "As far as knowledge of the game, he knows a lot more than when I was playing (here)," said Smith, who went on to play at Presbyterian College. "You can tell he's learned a lot from his dad. He does a great job of running that offense. ... He's just an extension of us when he's on the field." Not only was Smith faster, Owens said Smith has a stronger arm. "I don't know how old he is, but he can still hum that thing," Owens said. "He can launch it. We'll have little contests. He'll throw it really hard, and I'll try to throw it harder. Or we'll try and hit somebody in the facemask. It's fun." Owens' passing numbers have dropped compared to last season, but he's leading Madison County in rushing with 359 yards and nine touchdowns because the Red Raiders often run the triple option inside the 10-yard line. Preparing for tonight's region playoff game against Salem put Randell Owens in a sentimental mood. "It's been a hard week for me," he said. "We've got to win because this can't be it. I can't be through coaching (Jarrod) and having him on the field." Smith feels the same way. "I'm used to having somebody with a lot of experience playing that position," Smith said. "Next year, we're going to have to start over with somebody who hasn't taken a varsity snap or completed a varsity pass. It's going to be interesting." Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 111006