Madison County Red Raiders

reprinted from The Madison County Journal online edition, September 25, 2008

The Madison County High School football team can ill-afford to dwell on its turnover-filled loss to Cedar Shoals last Friday.

Not it if the Raiders hope to survive in this region, their coach says.

“Every game is going to be a dog fight with a lot on the line, so you can’t afford to look back,” Randell Owens said. “If it was good, you can afford to rest on your laurels. If it was bad you can’t afford to really look back at it. You’d better be totally focused on the next one.”

The Raiders’ arduous Region 8-AAAA schedule continues this week with defending region co-champion Salem in Conyers.
Five teams in 8-AAAA have either 2-1 or 2-2 records in what’s traditionally an erratic region. Rockdale County, a bottom feeder last year, is the surprise leader of the region with a perfect 3-0 record. Madison County and Salem are two of those teams mired in the middle-of-the-pack with 2-2 records.

Following an 0-2 start, the Seminoles beat Loganville, 10-7, and then topped Monroe Area 24-7 last week, pulling away late. Salem rushed for nearly 250 yards in the win.

Owens expects “the same old” Salem team that he’s grown accustomed to.

“They’ve got explosive backs and big, strong linemen … They’re a good looking bunch of boys. (They’re) athletic,” he said.

Meanwhile, Madison County looks to climb above .500 in the region standings at the halfway point.

“We’ve made it a little harder on ourselves,” Owens said, “and this is probably the toughest schedule that Madison County has ever had with every game being a region game and as much parity as there is in the region this year.”

After the disappointing 19-point loss to Cedar Shoals last Friday — in which Madison County turned the ball over six times — the Raiders returned to the practice field Monday.

There, Owens said his team “went back to work.”

“We did the same thing we always do,” Owens said. “But just not as light-hearted.”

NOTES: This Friday’s game will be played on Salem’s campus this year since the Seminoles now have a football stadium … Madison County is six victories shy of its 200th all-time win. The Raiders are 194-311-6 according to Georgia High School Football Historians web page ... Defensive lineman James Anglin is out for this week’s game, however starting safety Bracken Turner should be available against Salem. Turner sustained a severe bruise to his shin in the first quarter last week and was sent to the emergency room to check for a possible fracture.