Madison County’s season goals are now unattainable, but the Raiders hope to make other teams miserable before the year is out.
Madison County (2-6) looks to knock off two teams with the state playoffs in their sights — Apalachee and Clarke Central — as the season winds down.
“Hopefully, they’ll step up to the challenge and represent well and have some fun taking the role of the spoiler here,” Raider coach Randell Owens said of his team. “Maybe we can’t get to the playoffs, but maybe we can have an impact on who does.”
First up is Apalachee, which Madison County faces Friday on the road.
The Wildcats started 5-1, but have lost their last two games, including a 20-0 setback to Heritage last week.
Owens described the new Region 8-AAAA team as very physical and athletic, one that runs the ball well, but can throw it when it wants to.
“They’re Wing-T … but when they actually open it up and go spread when they’re behind, they move the ball fairly well from the spread,” Owens said. “They’ve got some good athletes.”
Defensively, standout linebacker Chaun Gresham, who has committed to play for Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, leads Apalachee. Owens was able to watch Gresham from field level while scouting the Wildcats this past Friday and was impressed with what he saw up-close.
“He’s the real deal,” he said. “He does a great job of playing behind his pads and moving down the line and moving to the football and playing off blockers. He really unloads when he tackles.”
Meanwhile, Madison County used its off-week to try to rebound from five-straight losses, the last two of which the Raiders dropped by a touchdown or less. Madison County’s recent play in those two ill-fated contests has Apalachee coach Shane Davis wary of the Raiders.
“They have been competitive against some teams who are competing for the postseason,” he said. “They lost to Loganville late and played Heritage to a 7-0 game. Madison County has played well lately by simplifying their offense.”
With two games left, a week off, Owens said his players seem eager to get back to business.
And the business at hand is trying to pull off some upsets.
“I think for the kids it’s, ‘let’s get it on, let’s get going with it,’” Owens said.
