Madison County Red Raiders

reprinted from The Madison County Journal May 6, 2010 edition

by Ben Munro

“All of them,” the seventh-year Red Raider football coach said.

Madison County, which lost 19 seniors from its 2009 team that went 5-5, has begun the first phase of assessment for next year.

“All the positions are wide-open,” Owens said. “There was a lot of graduation.”

The team started spring practice Monday but was forced indoors due to heavy rains. Players were introduced to basic offensive and defensive sets and went through individualized drills.

Owens said around 75 rising 10th through 12th graders reported for the first day of practice. Around 45 rising ninth graders participated in a separate workout last week at the middle school.

Owens said he and his staff will look extra closely at the rising sophomore class to see which players are ready for varsity action next year. They’ll also determine just how much the rising upperclassmen have improved.

While there’s much to assess this spring, Owens doesn’t see this session as bigger than any of the others since he’s been in Danielsville.

“Nah, they’re all important,” Owens said. “You’re always answering different type questions. But it’s second verse, same as the first. It’s here we go again.”