Madison County Red Raiders

reprinted from The Madison County Journal online September 3rd, 2010 edition

by Justin Poole

Anyone who was expecting Flowery Branch to waltz over the Madison County Red Raiders last Friday night was sorely disappointed as the Red Raiders’ defense put up a fight against the visiting Falcons.

While Flowery Branch would come out on top, 21-0 over Madison County, the Red Raiders made a strong effort, which pleased head coach Randell Owens to see the team battling for all four quarters.

“I was very pleased with the effort and the enthusiasm of our kids,” said Owens. “They battled for four quarters and they never let down, or laid down and fought as hard as they could right to the end.”

Taking lessons from last week’s loss, Madison County looks at eliminating turnovers and concentrating on ball control during practice as the Red Raiders prepare to hit the road heading to Salem this Friday night.

While Salem fell to Heritage during last week’s opener, Owens is expecting to see the Seminoles bring lots of pressure Friday night and be similar to what the Red Raiders have already faced against Flowery Branch.

“Defensively it will be similar; they will try to bring pressure,” Owens said. “They are very athletic and will be a wing-T team offensively. They had some trouble with their kicking game against Heritage, but we will see how much correction they make there.”

According to Owens, the key for Madison County to overcoming the Seminoles on Friday will be focusing on fixing the things they can control - themselves.

Eliminating mistakes on the field is the primary goal and Owens said the team is studying the film from last week’s game to find all of the mistakes that can be corrected before Friday night.

Looking at the breakdown between the Red Raiders and Salem, Madison County is 2-4 in the series against Salem, having defeated the Seminoles 21-16 last year.

With both teams 0-1 after the first week, the hunger for a win is gnawing at both teams. Last week Heritage defeated Salem 24-7.

Madison County will still have to battle on Friday, because as Owens added, Salem has a lot of talent and will be looking for the win, same as the Red Raiders.

Friday’s game is the first away game for Madison County. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. in Conyers.

For more Red Raiders' football, see the print edition of the Madison County Journal.

Region standings after Week 1 (Region,Overall)

Heritage (1-0,1-0)
Flowery Branch (1-0,1-0)
Apalachee (1-0,1-0)
Clarke Central (0-0,1-0)
Rockdale Co. (0-0,1-0)
Cedar Shoals (0-0,0-1)
Winder-Barrow (0-0,0-1)
Loganville (0-0,0-0)
Madison Co. (0-1,0-1)
Hab. Central (0-1,0-1)
Salem (0-1,0-1)