Announcement
Reprinted from the Madison County Journal August 25, 2006, edition
Owens says Atlanta-area school taking Friday exhibition with Raiders very seriously
BY BEN MUNRO
Like Allen Iverson, Chamblee might not be talking about practice. The Bulldogs might be talking about the game.
With the GHSA granting schools one 48-minute preseason scrimmage in order to simulate a real game, the Bulldogs appear to be taking advantage of that opportunity with tomorrow night’s (Friday’s) warm-up with Madison County.
“They’re taking it real serious,” Raider head coach Randell Owens said. “They came up here and scouted our (intra-squad) scrimmage.” The two teams will meet at 7:30 p.m. at Red Raider Field as they tune up for their season openers. Madison County opens with Franklin County Sept 1. Chamblee takes on South Atlanta Sept. 2.
But Chamblee might be ready to pull out all the stops this Friday. The two teams exchanged film last Wednesday and Owens said Chamblee was eager to get footage of the Raiders. “They were chomping at the bit to get film swapped,” he said.
Owens said he expects the Bulldogs to leave their starters in longer Friday than he plans to leave his. “They‘re approaching it big-time serious,” he said. “We know they’re coming with the attitude that they’re approaching it like a ball game,” Owens added.
The Raiders are certainly getting a quality foe to spar against. Chamblee, now a Class AAA team, went 9-3 and advanced to the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs last year. In fact, Madison County would have matched up with Chamblee last year in the postseason if the Raiders had gotten past the first round.
Owens joked that the Bulldogs look like they might be trying to play out that scenario Friday night. “They’re like, let’s look at it like what would have happened if we (the Raiders) had beaten Rome,” Owens said.
One scenario is clear: Chamblee will test Madison County’s ability to slow a speedy team.
The Bulldogs are led by tailback Roddy Jones who ran for 1,654 yards last year and 24 scores. Jones, who clocks a 4.5 in the 40, has been offered scholarships by Georgia Tech, Duke and Maryland. Owens also noted that four Chamblee players attended a college combine that his son, Jarrod, attended this summer. “The college coaches are looking at more of their guys than our guys,” Owens said.
As for Madison County, there’s mixed emotions about the weight of Friday. While Owens said his team wants to compete every time it steps on the field, the Raiders’ main focus is on personnel and preparation. The third-year coach said
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