Madison County Red Raiders

Reprinted from the Madison County Journal November 9, 2006 edition A Trip to State Must Go Through Salem BY BEN MUNRO State playoff berths aside, it wouldn’t take much for Randell Owens to get motivated to play Salem, a former cross-town rival of the coach when he was at Heritage. Then, throw in the fact that the Raiders can pull off a state playoff encore this year with a win over the Seminoles, and you have one fired-up coach for Friday’s contest. “I’m just sorry I don’t have any eligibility left,” Owens quipped. Madison County has qualified for one playoff, but not the Class AAAA variety mind you. That’s what this weekend is all about for eight region teams. Welcome to week 10 in a brand new 8-AAAA which has implemented its own mini-eight team bracket to determine which teams move on to state. The top four teams from each sub-region face-off. The four winners from Friday move on to the Class AAAA playoffs. Madison County is just a win away from becoming only the fourth postseason team in Raider history. But it must beat a team that’s been to the Big Dance the past two seasons, Salem, to do that. “I’m kind of excited about it,” Owens said. “To put it as an understatement, I’m excited about it. Just to be playing in a big game and knowing winner-take-all and if you win you’re in and loser packs it up, you’ve got a lot on the line. I haven’t had any problem getting our coaches to work this weekend. I hope that carries over to our players on the field.” The teams fight for postseason rights Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Conyers. The Seminoles’ 21-3 loss to Cedar Shoals locked it into a second seed and the region playoff game with Madison County. The Raiders, who clinched a three seed last week in a win over Jackson County, had no problem disposing of its last scheduled opponent of the season, beating Winder-Barrow 30-7 Friday. Sure, Madison County beat the Bulldoggs for the first time since 1987, breaking a 19-year drought against a once-common foe. But the win meant a little more than that in terms of school history. With seven regular season victories, the Raiders have joined company with the 1983, 1991 and 2005 teams. One more victory and this team can call itself the second-most successful squad in a half century of Madison County football. Only the 1982 team won more than eight regular season games. Of course, one more win and Madison County can call itself a playoff team. Raider head coach Randell Owens didn’t like the region playoff system to start with, but since the formula might catapult Madison County to a second-straight trip to the state playoffs, he’s warmed up to the idea. In many sub-divided regions in the state that don’t use a playoff, the Raiders’ third-place finish would have locked it out of the post season. But under this one, they still have a chance. Looking back now, he feels the region has done the best job it could trying to manage a tough situation with a 13-team league. “Initially, I didn’t like it,” Owens said. “But I do now as I look at how it’s come down.” Owens has already won 20 games at Madison County in three seasons but none over Salem, a two-time defending region champion. Madison County was blown out 36-7 and lost 28-24 in its past two meetings with the Seminoles which are 29-6 over the past three years. Owens said Salem is a very good and athletically gifted team and is wary of the Conyers schools’ speed. But he felt that the Seminoles’ two region titles and consistency the last two years won’t scare the Raiders off. “Is that in of itself intimidating? Not really,” he said. He noted that Madison County beat the two teams that beat the Seminoles last year. This year, Salem finished second in a sub-region to a Cedar Shoals team which didn’t play the top three teams in the Raiders’ sub-region. Both Madison County and Salem have four sub-region wins. Expect to see Owens turn his team loose in this one, especially with so much on the line. “The people who don’t like to see the ball in the air won’t like it,” Owens said. “There’s no reason to hold back.” Owens is 2-3 against Salem in his stops at Heritage and Madison County and said he has a “strong opinion” of the Seminoles based on his time in Conyers. “There’s a pretty strong rivalry with this game,” Owens said. “I know it’s only in my mind. You know, having been there, I have a real personal feeling about them.” What’s ahead after Friday? Madison County would play a Region 5-AAAA representative if it beat Salem Friday. Other than that, that’s all that’s know as the state playoff picture is a big puzzle right now. Owens said he’s worked out 16 different scenarios for what could unfold after Friday night’s region playoff round. In fact, Madison County could end up a two seed if it wins and Dacula, Clarke Central and Eastside also win. The coach said the four coaches of Region 8-AAAA’s state playoff teams will meet with Region 5-AAAA representatives to sort out the seedings. Region 5-AAAA consists of Cherokee, East Paulding, Hillgrove, Sequoyah, South Paulding, Woodland, Alexander, Chapel Hill, Douglas County, Lithia Springs, Osborne and Pebblebrook. Reprinted from the Madison County Journal November 9, 2006 edition