Madison County Red Raiders

Reprinted from the Athens Banner Herald September 30, 2006, edition

Madison rides 'The Tractor' past Clarke
By Craig Peters|craig.peters@onlineathens.com
Story updated at 12:58 AM on Saturday, September 30, 2006
Madison County 34, Clarke Central 21
Clarke Central had a couple of big runs, but Madison County had a big runner. Brent Russell plunged for a 1-yard score midway through the first quarter to give Madison County a lead it never surrendered.
The 6-foot-2, 295-pound bulldozer later scored a two-point conversion and added a 7-yard score early in the second quarter of the Red Raiders' 34-21 win over the Gladiators on Friday at Billy Henderson Stadium.
Madison County (4-1, 1-1 in Region 8-AAAA North) relied on a combination of long and short passes by Jarrod Owens, who made frequent check-offs at the line and also ran the spread and triple option to keep the Gladiators (3-2, 1-1) guessing. "The Pittsburgh Steelers may have had 'The Bus' (Jerome Bettis), but we've got 'The Tractor,' Owens said in reference to Russell.
"Seeing (Russell) score his first touchdown was like watching a kid eat ice cream for the first time," said senior quarterback Jarrod Owens, who also ran for two touchdowns.
Russell said he expected the ball the first time but thought he would be a decoy the rest of the night. "That one time he faked it to me, nine of them jumped on me and (Owens) just walked in," Russell said.
Clarke Central's Terence Scruggs put the Gladiators on the board with a 41-yard scamper and added a 13-yard run in the second half, and Darreion Robinson scored from 65 yards out, but the Gladiators never trailed by less than 10 in the second half.
Owens completed 12 of 20 passes for 170 yards with one interception. He ran 14 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Scruggs led the Gladiators with 89 yards on 10 carries and caught three passes for 22 yards.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," Scruggs said. "We made mental mistakes, and Madison County executed. The mistakes frustrated first-year coach Leroy Ryals so badly he called for time in the first half and ran out to the field to provide detailed instruction on defense. "We had seen that same (two-point conversion) formation for five weeks on film and just looked like we were in la-la land," Ryals said.
Clarke Central's J.B. Erickson recovered his onside attempt on the opening kickoff, but few bounces went the Gladiators way after that. Madison County's Jack Orr bounced a 45-yard field goal off the right upright and through and successfully pooch kicked each kickoff. The Red Raiders recovered one of those.
The Gladiators tried to rally late, but Lejacque Martin sacked Coleman to create a fourth and long with just more than four minutes left. Clarke Central used a platoon at quarterback. Marques Coleman went 5-for-12 for 95 yards, and Beau Evans went 5-for-14 for 66 yards. Each threw an interception.
Madison County defeated Clarke Central for the third straight time. Red Raiders coach Randell Owens. The previous two meetings - both Red Raiders' victories - had been decided by two points, but Clarke Central committed 13 penalties for 62 yards. Although the total penalty yardage, was not large, the Red Raiders capitalized with points.
"Everybody said, 'What are you doing? You can't compete with a region schedule, make the playoffs or compete against the Clarke County teams.' I said, 'I guess I'm just stupid,' " Randell Owens said.
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 093006

Reprinted from the Madison County Journal September 28, 2006, edition
Raiders Try to Keep Winning Ways Alive Against Traditional Powerhouse

BY BEN MUNRO
If people say that Clarke Central has had troubled times the past couple of years, Madison County might have played some part in that perception. Head coach Randell Owens said that he’s sure that tradition-rich Clarke Central has taken some heat from those around it for a pair of consecutive one-point losses to the Raiders. “Losing to Madison County has taken a lot out of them the past two years,” said Owens, whose team won 8-7 in 2004 and 21-20 in 2005, both in dramatic fashion.
That said, the Raiders go for a three- game winning streak this Friday when Madison County faces Clarke Central on the road at 7:30 pm. Meeting what might be a very motivated. Clarke Central football team now under the direction of former LSU assistant Leroy Ryals comes as part of what Owens pegged as the “Killer Alley” segment of the Raider football schedule. When looking at the slate at the beginning of the year, Owen said the toughest stretch would come when his Raiders played Dacula, Clarke Central and Habersham Central consecutively. Right now, they’re in the middle of it. “We’ve got them back-to-back-to-back with no break,” Owens said.
Madison County tries to get back on track after a draining loss to fifth-ranked Dacula where it led after three quarters and proved it could play with one of the best teams in the state. Now, the team must bounce back from the disappointment of coming up short. “The question is: Will they have the maturity to put (the Dacula loss) on the shelf and get ready for the next gamer’ Owens asked.
Clarke Central’s athleticism should only make regrouping tougher. Owens said that Gladiators -— who boast standouts like running back Darreion Robinson and 6’5” receiver Jo Hurst — have the best skill people the Raiders will see all year and the ability to break for a touchdown from anywhere on the field. In fact the Gladiators returned four kickoffs for touch downs in its 24-20 win over Cedar Shoals this year. ‘No lead is big enough,” Owens said.
Clarke Central owner of 306 wins since 1970, 14 region titles and three state crowns — off to a 3-1 start, blowing out Loganville 48-6 this past weekend. Not only is Madison County hurting figuratively after the loss to Dacula, but it’s hurting literally with several players nursing injuries. That poses quite a challenge to a Raider team fighting for second place in the sub-region. With one loss in 8-AAAA play to the sub-region leaders, Madison County still controls its own destiny for second place and getting past Clarke Central yet again would be a huge step in that direction.
But the tradition-rich Gladiators want to make sure the Raiders’ hold on this series is short-lived. Owens said Clarke Central will be plenty fired-up to atone for the past two seasons. “We’ve played each other twice and we’ve never lost to them,’ Owens said. ‘‘I’m sure they’re aware of that.” Added Owens: “They’ll be ready for war.”
Published in the Madison County Journal on September 28, 2006 edition.