Madison County Red Raiders

Reprinted from the Madison County Journal September 7, 2006, edition BY Ben Munro
The Raiders just watched a field goal sail wide Friday night to give them another win over a rival, Franklin County. Hopefully, Madison County will incite another rivalry this weekend when it revisits nearby foe, Elbert County. Friday, the Raiders do battle in the 25,000-seat Granite Bowl, a stadium the program hasn’t visited in 10 years, against the nearby Blue Devils which they haven’t played since 1997. A Raider-Blue Devil series is just a natural fit and thanks to this year’s region restructuring, it allowed the Raiders to schedule an additional non-region foe. And why not those guys from the “Granite Capital of the World?” There’s already a proximity tie — Elbert County is just across the river. There’s a coaching tie — head coach Randell Owens’ old office was the Granite Bowl. And there’s past history — both used to be members of 8-AAA. As it stands now, Madison County and Elbert County are locked on each other’s schedules for two years. But maybe, if the gates for the game are good and a barn-burner or two emerges from this two-year stint, there will be future meetings. Who knows? This might be fun for the two communities who share Hwy. 72. Hopefully, the Raiders and Blue Devils can build a rivalry with the same success that Madison County and Franklin County have rebuilt theirs: Five straight games, four which have gone down to the wire. As far as that series goes, Madison County has to be enemy no. 1 for Franklin right now — four Lion losses in a row, three of which could have possibly gone the way of Franklin County. Talk about torture north of the county boarder. That’s why rivalries are fun — when you win, that is. See this week's (September 7, 2006) edition of The Madison County Journal for more indepth details about Friday's game.