Madison County Red Raiders

Reprinted from the Athens Banner-Herald November 4, 2006 editionMadison County 30, Winder-Barrow 7 By Adam Rosenberg | sports@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 2:13 AM on Saturday, November 4, 2006 WINDER - On a night when the temperature was near freezing, it was understandable that the Madison County offense needed a quarter to warm up. After an ice-cold first quarter, the Red Raiders started to sizzle in the second, scoring 23 unanswered points on their way to a 30-7 victory over Winder-Barrow at W. Clair Harris Stadium. Red Raiders quarterback Jarrod Owens threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns, to lead a pass-happy offensive attack, and the Bulldoggs were shut down. "They were only rushing three guys, and I had a lot of time to read the defense and throw underneath," said Owens, who also ran for 58 yards and a touchdown. Madison County (7-2, 4-2 in Region 8-AAAA North) will play Salem at Evans Stadium on Friday in the region playoff. Both offenses struggled to begin the game, turning the ball over three times between them. However, Owens and the Red Raiders got going in the second quarter. The Bulldoggs (1-8, 0-6) fumbled a snap on a punt, and the Red Raiders were there to pick it up. Jarvis Long scored on a 1-yard run on the ensuing drive to open the scoring. Madison County caught the Bulldoggs sleeping on the kickoff and recovered an onside kick at the 38-yard line. One minute later, the Red Raiders scored again on Owens' 3-yard run. As it did all game, the Red Raiders held the Bulldoggs and Owens threw a 10-yard strike to Jesse Boleman to put Madison County up 23-0. To start the second half, Owens accounted for 120 yards on one drive. The Red Raiders committed several penalties, but each time the Red Raiders were backed up, he made up for it with a clutch pass, including a 27-yard touchdown strike to Aldreakis Allen. "My receivers did a great job tonight. I had some misreads, but they adjusted on some balls and made some tough catches on a very cold night," Owens said. While the Madison County offense was impressive, the Bulldoggs couldn't find a rhythm. Despite throwing for 134 yards and a touchdown, Bulldoggs quarterback Greg Dixon threw three interceptions. Winder-Barrow's one bright spot came when Dixon connected with Taylor Bradberry for an 81-yard touchdown in the game's closing minutes. Allen led the Red Raiders with seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. GAME REPORT • Turning Point: Following a blocked punt, the Red Raiders scored on a Jarvis Long touchdown run and never looked back. • Key Stat: Jarrod Owens' 229 passing yards and two touchdowns were two much for the Bulldoggs to overcome. • Impact: The Red Raiders will play Salem in the Region 8-AAAA playoffs. Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 110406

Reprinted from the Madison County Journal November 2, 2006 edition by BEN MUNRO Madison County @ Winder-Barrow, Friday, 7:30 p.m. Ask Raider head coach Randell Owens what’s there to play for Friday and he’ll tell you plenty. Granted, Madison County is already locked into a three seed out of its sub-region but he believes his team can hurt itself Friday, as far as momentum goes, for the Nov. 10 region playoffs if it falters against Winder-Barrow in its final sub-region game. “We’re putting a lot of focus on it in that we’ve got to improve this week to have a chance to win game 10,” he said. As for week 10, the top four seeds out of the sub-region will face off with the top four seeds out of the other sub-region next weekend and the winners of those games will move on to the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs. With Madison County’s 36-17 win over Jackson County this past Friday, the Raiders are assured of at least a chance to play for a return trip to the state playoffs after breaking a 22-year postseason hiatus last fall. Madison County faces the loser of Friday’s Cedar Shoals-Salem showdown in the region playoff. But Owens points to Friday’s objectives in Winder first. Other than trying to win and peak for game 10, there’s historical motivation riding on this matchup, too. Madison County, who hasn’t played the Bulldogs in nine years, has the chore of trying to beat Winder-Barrow for the first time since 1987. That means nearly all the current Raiders weren’t even born the last time Madison County — which has lost eight in a row to the Bulldogs — won in this series. Owens said he’s sure to let his players know that. “We’ll throw that one out there,” Owens said. “… This is a game we haven’t won in 19 years.” Then, the Raiders have their sights set on matching last year’s win total. At 6-2, that’s one win away from being a reality. But the team’s ultimate goal is to surpass the program’s record of 10 wins set 24 years ago. “We want to put it out there to try to be the winningest team in school history,” Owens said. “That’s one of the team goals. (Winning Friday) gets you closer to it.” From a tactical standpoint, Owens felt his team struggled defensively against Jackson County’s wing-T offense, giving up nearly 200 yards rushing. Since Madison County will inevitably face a wing-T team in either Cedar Shoals or Salem next week in the region playoffs, it will see if it can first stop Winder-Barrow who also operates out of the wing-T. “It’s an opportunity to get better against something that we’re going to see that’s going to determine whether we’re taking up equipment and playing basketball or whether we’re going on to the playoffs,” Owens said. Madison County faces a Winder-Barrow team that’s won just once and is mired at the bottom of the 8A-AAAA sub-region standings. Still, Owens said his team can’t be looking past this game. Winder-Barrow nearly knocked off talented Clarke Central See other stories about MCHS football at the paper edition of The Madison County Journal Reprinted from the Madison County Journal November 2, 2006 edition