Madison County Red Raiders

reprinted from The Madison County Journal May 21, 2009 edition
 
by Ben Munro

Sure, fans would have loved an offensive shootout, but coach Randell Owens said Madison County is better off with the defense struggle it witnessed Friday.

The Red topped the Gray 7-0 in the annual spring game, the only touchdown coming in the closing seconds when Jacob Owens hit Patrick McCrary for a 60-yard touchdown.

“If our offense had gone out there and blown our defense out, I would have been very concerned,” Owens said.
Owens told his troops not to be discouraged by the lack of offensive fireworks.

“Defense, you’re ahead and you should be,” he said during the postgame huddle. “It takes longer to build a bridge than blow one up.”

Other than the Jacob Owens-to-McCrary highlight, defense and turnovers dominated the other 59:58 of Friday’s spring game, which culminated two weeks of practice.

After a series of fourth-quarter turnovers by both sides, the Red got the ball back with 39 seconds left, but faced a third-and-long and time dwindling.

But Jacob Owens dropped back and found McCrary, a first-year senior, down the right side of the field. The 6’4” McCrary snagged Owens’ pass around the Gray 20 and sprinted to the end zone, ensuring that the spring game wouldn’t end in a scoreless tie.

McCrary, a standout on the school’s basketball team, is trying his hand at football.

“Yeah, he did some good things,” Owens said.

The Red missed a prime scoring opportunity earlier in the fourth quarter.

Bradley Raines, another basketball player donning pads, caught a 25-yard pass in the fourth quarter, setting the Red up at the Gray five. But Donavan Carey forced a fumble to kill the drive.

“He did some good things,” Owens said of Carey.

Madison County, 2-8 last year, now breaks for the summer, during which workouts are voluntary.

The offseason program includes weightlifting sessions, tackle-free passing league scrimmages and a team camp at West Georgia.

The team will officially reconvene in August for preseason practice.

“That’s the big thing, just what kind of commitment will they make between now and August when we have mandated required workouts?” Owens said. “That’s when you find out where their heart is.”

The season opener is Sept. 4 against Rockdale County.

SPRING NOTES

•Rover Tray Curruth “stood out on film,” according to Owens, during spring workouts. “If he’ll work hard over the summer and continue to get stronger, he might could help us here,” he said.

•Stan Maxwell had a nice catch on a slant for good yardage in the spring game, Owens noted. Maxwell (6’3”) is a part of a tall trio of receivers, along with Raines (6”3”) and McCrary (6’4”).

“They all run well,” Owens said. “If you get the ball to them in space, they’re capable of doing things with their athleticism.”

•Defensively, Bracken Turner, Cedric Bush, Pressley McKeever did a good job in coverage in the secondary, Owens said.