Madison County Red Raiders

WINDER - Looking nothing like the team from a year before, Winder-Barrow fell painfully short of ending a three-year losing streak to Madison County, falling 35-29.

"I can not say enough about how much Winder-Barrow has improved," Madison County head coach Randell Owens said. "They are a completely different football team."

Madison County jumped out early with a 12-play drive that culminated in a 6-yard touchdown run by Jacob Owens on a naked bootleg. Winder-Barrow quickly tied the game with a gutsy fourth-down attempt.

On fourth-and-2 from near midfield, the Bulldoggs ran a play-action fake and quarterback Christian Davila hit Trent Demeritte - the basketball stars' first ever football game - up the left sideline for a 46-yard touchdown.

The teams traded touchdowns before Jamal Cooper returned the ensuing kick 83 yards for a touchdown to put Madison County up 21-14 at the half.

Late in the third quarter the Bulldoggs got on the board when Erin Hendricks blocked a punt in the end zone. The ball bounced off Hendricks' arm and through the back of the end zone for a safety to make it 21-16 in favor of the Red Raiders at the end of the third.

Madison County seemingly put the game away when wide receiver Bracken Turner lined up at quarterback and threw only the second pass of the game for the Red Raiders. Turner hit Patrick McCrary on the right sideline and McCrary then broke two tackles and ran 77 yards for the score to put Madison County up 28-16.

Winder-Barrow refused to go away, pulling back to 28-22 on an acrobatic 78-yard catch by Demeritte that put the ball on the Red Raider six. Tyler Coleman scored on the next play.

The Red Raiders quickly went three-and-out. On third-and-1 from the Madison County 46-yard line Bulldoggs back Kendrick Davis broke through the line and went in for the score, the extra point put the Bulldoggs in the lead 29-28 with 5:37 to play.

"This win is huge," coach Owens said. "Our kids never got down, they just kept fighting, never hung their heads and got a big win."

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, September 05, 2009

GAME REPORT

? Turning Point: It is hard to pick just one in a game that had so many twists, but McKeever's interception put the Red Raiders on the 1-yard line for the game winning TD.

? Key Stat: Interceptions. Davila had a pretty good overall game, but he did throw three picks in 29 attempts.

? Impact: Madison County evens its overall record at 1-1 and moves to 1-0 in Region 8-AAAA. Winder-Barrow loses its season and region opener falling to 0-1, and has now lost four straight to Madison County.