Madison County Red Raiders

Believe it: Raiders are in A day later, Madison County learns its 22-year playoff drought is over Story Photos Quarterback Jarrod Owens (12) and the Madison County Red Raiders learned Saturday that they qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1983. Monira Al-Haroun Silk/Staff Click thumbnails to enlarge By John Kaltefleiter | john.kaltefleiter@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 12:19 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2005 Madison County can officially exhale. The Red Raiders' 22-year playoff drought is over - just barely. Less than 12 hours after the Red Raiders defeated Cedar Shoals on Friday night, coach Randell Owens got the word at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday that the 27-13 victory was enough to put the Red Raiders into the postseason for the first time since 1983. Madison County, Habersham Central and Rockdale County, along with outright region champion Salem, will represent Region 8-AAAA in the playoffs. Following an impromptu playoff seeding meeting in the afternoon, Madison County was declared as the fourth seed and must travel to face eighth-ranked Rome (9-1). Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Friday. Rockdale County garnered the No. 2 seed and Habersham Central received the third seed. The seeding was determined by drawing three numbers. There was mass confusion after Friday night's games as to which Region 8-AAAA teams had secured the final three playoff spots. With Salem as the undisputed region champion, Heritage, Madison County, Rockdale County and Habersham Central all finished region play with 6-3 records. Because the first tiebreaker - head-to-head - was not applicable because none of the four teams had a clear-cut advantage, the second tiebreaker was implemented. The No. 2 tiebreaker from the Georgia High School Association's rulebook goes by winning percentage against teams from the same classification, region or non-region. By that measure, Heritage was eliminated because it was the only team of the four that played 10 games against Class AAAA opponents. The Patriots suffered a 14-7 season-opening loss to Griffin, giving them a .600 winning percentage. The other three teams had a .666 winning percentage because the only AAAA teams they played were from 8-AAAA. "I've never been involved in anything like this," said 8-AAAA's GHSA representative Tommy Stringer on Saturday morning. "The bottom line is that the region didn't have anything set up to deal with something like this, and (the region) had to use the (rulebook)." Friday night, Stringer initially believed that a head-to-head tiebreaker could be used in a four-way tie for three playoff spots, which would've made Habersham Central the No. 2 seed, Heritage the No. 3 and Rockdale County the No. 4. Madison County would've been left out. But GHSA executive director Ralph Swearngin determined that was incorrect. Heritage coach Al Pellegrino was incensed. Conversely, Owens, Heritage's head coach just two years ago, was pleased with the final outcome, saying that his team earned and deserved a chance to keep playing. "It's huger than huge for this community," he said. "They need this." Since Owens took over the Madison County program in 2004, the Red Raiders have posted back-to-back winning seasons, which had not happened since the 1982-83 seasons. Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 103005