Madison County Red Raiders

reprinted from The Madison County Journal online edition, October 2, 2009

by Ben Munro

MT. AIRY -- The Red Raiders put five touchdowns on the scoreboard Friday night. They wouldn’t need near that many.

Facing a Habersham Central offense that had scored a combined 73 points in its last two games, the Madison County defense rose to the challenge — and then some — picking off three passes and surrendering just 75 total yards in leading the Red Raiders (5-1) to a 35-6 win.

“We had a pretty good week of practice and came out and did our thing,” said MCHS linebacker Donavan Carey, who intercepted one of those passes. “It was a pretty good defensive game all-round — the defensive line, linebackers and secondary.”

It was the Red Raiders’ fifth win in a row and first in Mt. Airy since 1982. That ‘82 team ended up going to the postseason, and if this Madison County team continues to play defense like it did Friday, it could be making playoff arrangements, too.

Madison County, which led 14-0 at the half, limited Habersham Central (3-3) to just 33 yards of offense and one first down in the first half. The Mt. Airy Raiders didn’t move the chains until a first down pass with 27 seconds left before halftime.

“The kids did a heck of a job ... I’m very proud of them,” MCHS defensive coordinator Mike Haynes said.

The Red Raider defense also hemmed up Habersham Central standout running back David Griffin.

Griffin romped for 282 yards and five touchdowns last week against Loganville, but Madison County held him in check all evening. Habersham Central managed just 23 yards on the ground.

“We worked all week on wrapping-up and getting everyone to the ball,” Carey explained.

It was a defensive play that got the Red Raiders going in their first win over Habersham Central since 2005.

Matt Dean’s second quarter interception and return to the Habersham Central nine set up Madison County’s first score, a one-yard touchdown run from Jacob Owens that put MCHS up 7-0. The Red Raiders built a comfortable 21-0 lead by the third quarter, before Habersham Central scored its only points of the night with a touchdown with 5:54 left in that period, leaving the shutout as about the only thing the Red Raider defense didn’t accomplish Friday. The six points allowed were the least Madison County has surrendered since a 34-0 win over Monroe Area last year.

When asked how Friday’s Red Raider defensive performance rated during his time as a player, Carey said it ranked right up there.

“Top three — definitely,” said Carey, who’s a senior.

Offensively, Madison County continued to put the big play to use. Jacob Owens, who was 8-of-13 for 110 yards, threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Cooper in the second quarter to put the Red Raiders up 14-0, and Kendrick Butler opened the second half for Madison County with a 68-yard touchdown to increase the advantage to 21-0.

Madison County answered Habersham Central’s lone score with a pair of late touchdowns to earn its second-most lopsided win of the year. Dean scored from one yard out with 3:31 left to put MCHS up 28-6, and Butler raced in from 26 yards out with just 1:15 remaining to give the Red Raiders a 29-point lead.

Butler finished with 94 yards rushing and has 197 on the ground in his last two games.

Not only did the Red Raiders prevail in their game, Clarke Central lost to Rockdale County, putting Madison County in sole possession of second place in Region 8-AAAA.

The Red Raiders move on to face Loganville (3-2) at home Friday at 7:30 p.m. as they remain in serious contention for both the state playoffs and region title.

reprinted from The Madison County Journal online edition

by Ben Munro

Fact: Madison County has had a different leading rusher three different times in five games this season.

While that nugget may interest statistics enthusiasts, the guys carrying the ball couldn’t care less who gets that honor.

“We don’t have a back sitting back there going, “‘Man, you need to get the ball to me; I need to be carrying the ball every down,’” Raider coach Randell Owens said.

The unselfish attitude in the backfield has certainly paid off.

Madison County (4-1) has won four straight games, rushing for at least 200 yards in the last three, and finds itself in a tie with Clarke Central for second place in Region 8-AAAA heading into Friday’s game with Habersham Central.

After struggling with the ground game in 2008, Madison County has been able to pound the ball in 2009, with opponents unable to key in on just one ball carrier.

Last year’s leading rusher finished with just 254 yards. This year, two players, Jamal Cooper (208 yards) and Kendrick Butler (260 yards), have already eclipsed the 200-yard mark in just five games, while Stan Maxwell (186 yards) is approaching it. Meanwhile, quarterback Jacob Owens leads Madison County with six rushing touchdowns.

The selfless attitude extends beyond the backfield.

As the Raiders have become more ground-oriented, it’s meant less opportunities for receivers like Patrick McCrary, who’s caught only two passes in the last two games.

Owens said he even apologized to McCrary during a victory over Cedar Shoals Sept. 18. McCrary, who spent most of that evening blocking against the Jaguars, told Owens he had no problem with the conservative game plan and the coach appreciates that.

“We’ve got a lot of guys with that attitude that are playing just real unselfishly right now,” Owens said.

Paired with that unselfishness is a vastly improved offensive line paving the way for the running game.

Raider linemen receive weekly grades for their performance and five received “winning grades” of 70 percent after Madison County’s 21-16 win over Salem.

Owens might have to start posting these numbers in the locker room given the recent interest. Not long after Madison County’s victory last week, players were inquiring about grades.

“‘How did I grade out?’ It’s almost like you study all week for a test and bug the teacher, ‘Did I pass?’” Owens said.

This is just another indicator that this senior-laden offensive line takes its job seriously. Owens said the unit is intent on atoning for last year.

“They knew that was a weakness last year,” Owens said. “They’ve really taken it on themselves to work to try to improve week-by-week.”

This all has created problems for Madison County’s opponents. In years’ past, Madison County has been “right-handed” or strong-side oriented. But instead of running to one side of the offensive line this year, the Raiders now attack both sides equally.

Combined with several capable ball carriers, Madison County has a broader range of attack.

“It puts you in a position where you can try to call the play versus what the defense is lined up and doing as opposed to having to sit there and say we’ve got to get it to this particular player on this side of the line,” Owens said.

Madison County hopes that trend continues into the second half of the season as the Raiders are in the thick of the region title race.

But this much appears evident through five games: The Raiders are concerned with the bottom line, not headlines.

“It just goes back to the old thought of saying, ‘It’s amazing what you can get done when nobody cares who gets the credit,’” Owens said.

reprinted from The Madison County Journal September 26, 2009 online edition 

by Ben Munro

MCHS moves to 4-1 with 21-16 win

Madison County celebrated homecoming night by remaining red-hot in September.

The Raiders, who haven’t lost this month, built a 21-2 lead over Salem during the third quarter and held off the Seminoles for a huge 21-16 win.

The victory moved Madison County’s record to 4-1 as the resurgent Raiders remain tied for second in 8-AAAA.

“That’s huge, especially after the past couple of years,” Madison County safety Bracken Turner said. “Starting off 4-1 is something we needed. It’s something the community needed. I think they were starting to get down on Madison County football a little bit.”

Kendrick Butler ran for 112 yards on just 10 carries in the win while quarterback Jacob Owens had touchdown runs of 18 yards and one yard. Stan Maxwell also threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Patrick McCrary as Madison County ended a two-game losing streak to Salem.

The Raiders led 21-9 until the closing moments of the game when the Seminoles threw a seven-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left.

Madison County's defense held Salem to just 76 yards in the first two quarters as the Raiders took a 14-2 lead into halftime.

The turning point of the game came in the third quarter when Salem drove to the Madison County one-yard line where the Raiders turned back the Seminoles with a goal line stand. Madison County then moved 99 yards for a touchdown, capped off by a one-yard plunge by Owens to put the Raiders up 21-2.

Turner said he and a Raider assistant coach were calling the defensive stop “probably the biggest goal line stand in Madison County history,” noting that Salem ran six plays inside the Madison County five but couldn’t score.

“That pretty much sealed it for us,” Turner said.

The Raiders ran for over 200 yards for the third straight week, racking up 244 yards on the ground.

Salem 0 2 7 7 -- 16
MCHS 14 0 7 0 -- 21

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Butler 10-112, Cooper 15-49, McCrary 3-48, Maxwell 2-18, Dean 2-11, Turner 1-5, Owens 12-1-2 TD
PASSING -- Owens 4-10, 84 yds; Maxwell 1-1, 14 yds., 1 TD
RECEIVING -- Butler 1-44, McCrary 2-34-1 TD, Cooper 1-15, Turner 1-5

Apalachee 20, Rockdale Co. 14
Madison Co. 21, Salem 16
Clarke Central 14, Heritage 10
Hab. Central 42, Winder-Barrow 35
Loganville 35, Cedar Shoals 7

Apalachee 4-0
Madison Co. 4-1
Clarke Central 4-1
Salem 3-2
Hab. Central 3-2
Loganville 2-2
Cedar Shoals 2-3
Rockdale Co. 1-3
Winder-Barrow 1-3
Heritage 1-4
Monroe Area 1-4

reprinted from The Athens Banner Herald September 25, 2009 edition

Staff Reports on September 27, 2009

Red Raiders Rolling On

After going 2-8 last season, Madison County is proving that it is a legitimate threat to grab a playoff spot in Region 8-AAAA with a 21-16 win over Salem on Friday.

The Red Raiders have done so with a more balanced offense. In their past three games, the Red Raiders' running game has picked up and led the team to a 4-1 start.

Against Salem, running back Kendrick Butler had his best game of the season with 103 yards on nine carries.

Owens completed 4 of 10 passes for 84 yards and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Patrick McCrary in the first quarter. McCrary caught two passes for 34 yards.

Owens also put points on the board on the second play of the game with an 18-yard run, and scored again on a 1-yard rush in the third quarter.

Kendrick Butler rushed 10 times for 112 yards for Madison County (4-1, 4-1 in Region 8-AAAA), which will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Habersham Central.