Happy Birthday To Hannah!!!!!

March 18, will be my daughter's 14th birthday!!!

I love you and I'm very proud of you Hannah for everything you have accomplished over the years and I am very proud and honored to be your dad!! Remember that you can always accomplish anything you set your mind to do and I know that there are great things ahead for you in the years to come! Thank you for making me smile and for understanding that even though I'm not a perfect dad- I'm always there for you!!

Jonathan Bridges, "Raiders of Yesteryear"

By Dallas Bordon

Jonathan Bridges

Jonathan Bridges

Sports Played: 1994-97

Sports played: Football and soccer

Former Red Raider Jonathan Bridges is currently a Physical Education teacher at Rock Quarry Elementary in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is also the Athletic Director for Rock Quarry Middle School. He is in his 9^th year teaching and first year as Athletic Director. Bridges has also been an assistant and head soccer coach as well as a special teams coach on the varsity level.

He received a Bachelor in Education degree in 2003 from the University of Alabama and later received a Masters in Education degree from West Alabama in 2006. Bridges is married to his wife Kelly of five years and they have one daughter, Isabelle, who is 14 months old.

While at Madison County, Jonathan played football under Coach Scott Conner in 1994 and Dale Smallen in 1995-97. He played soccer under coach Tad Carithers in 1995, Randy Young in 1996 and Sam Rafal in 1997-98. “My football memories would be the fun all the guys had on the teams together and how each had their own identity,” said Bridges who was named All Northeast Georgia Place Kicker in 1996. Bridges also remembers the smell of the grass on Friday nights when the team would break through the banner at the beginning of the game. “Only coaches and people that played can understand that smell,” said Bridges. He also recalls the pride of putting on the Red Raider uniform on Friday nights.

A memory that was less fun for Bridges included practicing in the heat of the summer during the off season.

While playing soccer for the Red Raiders, Bridges recalls being on the first team to make the playoffs in school history after beating North Hall, region champions, in the season finale. Other memories Bridges recalls during his soccer days as a Red Raider included scoring two goals against West Hall his junior year and the heartache of losing to North Hall in the playoffs his senior season. “I remember the heart our team had every year-we were not as talented top to bottom as some of the teams in the region but they hated playing us because we would fight tooth and nail, scraping our ways to victories,” said Bridges.

Also in the list of memories for Bridges was the times spent running hills for Coach Carithers during the freshman year. 

This column was published in the Madison County Journal March issue. To subscribe to the Journal visit www.mainstreetnews.com

Former Raider athletes, we're looking for you!

Where Are They Now?

Jay Booth was part of Madison
County's state championship
basketball team in 1988.

The following is a feature for the Madison County Journal in Georgia.

We are looking for you! It’s time to re-live those glory days of high school athletics.

If you are a former athlete (male or female) of Madison County High School in Danielsville, Georgia five years ago or more, we would love to hear from you and feature you in “Raiders of Yesteryear” on the sports page of The Madison County Journal. The Journal is one of five newspapers published by MainStreet News in Jefferson, Georgia.

If interested, e-mail Dallas Bordon at dallasb32@yahoo.com and include the years you played at Madison County, the sports played, coach’s names, list any awards you won in that sport, any memories of your playing days good or bad, if you played college sports after your high school days and any other information you would like to send. We also ask that you give us some details of where you are today and your occupation. If you e-mail a photo, we ask that it’s a clear picture and that you list names in the photo. This feature spotlights former athletes from Madison County High school in Danielsville, Georgia home of the Red Raiders.

Baseball, it's more than just a game

Column published in last week's Madison County Journal. To subscribe to the Journal visit www.mainstreetnews.com

The scoreboard in Greenwood's Legion Stadium were I
work.

By Dallas Bordon

“Baseball is what gets inside you. It’s what lights you up, you can’t deny that.” This was a quote from Tom Hanks when he played the role of Jimmy Dugan in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own. This was a movie about a women’s professional baseball team that was formed when the men who played in the pros went off to war.

For us who love the game of baseball know this quote is true and can now get excited because it’s almost here. As the season of America’s pastime approaches I can’t help but think about memories of my own that this sport brings to mind. There were memories I have from playing this great game and also those I have from working around the game. I remember back to age 11 & 12 when I was not only playing Little League but a time I held my first job in this great pastime of ours. During those two years of my life I held a job as the scoreboard operator for the Greenwood (South Carolina) Braves, then a single “A” affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. I don’t quite recall how I managed to land this job but it was something I’ll never forget. There were no electronic wireless scoreboards in Legion Stadium where my best friend and I worked. There were only metal squares with numbers painted on them that we would hang under each inning on a huge scoreboard that sat on top of the left field wall. We accessed this scoreboard with a ladder that was attached to the outfield wall and we would sit in chairs on a wooden platform just beside this long scoreboard. We had access through a very small opening to climb inside to place each inning’s score similar to what you might see at Fenway Park in Boston but much smaller.

The Scoreboard from behind where we placed the numbers
after each inning.

It wasn’t just the memories of placing those old metal numbers behind each inning that made this job fun. It was our involvement with the game and players we met during those two years. Some that actually made it to the majors later on. I can remember the old public address announcer that sat in a booth high above the old grandstands trying to get the crowd pumped between innings. I would think of how great of a game baseball actually was and how lucky I was just to be part of it even if my place was sitting on an old metal chair some nine feet above the field.

Often times my friend and I would get to the ballpark early enough just to talk baseball with the players and even talk them into giving us baseballs or cracked bats. Former Atlanta Braves like Steve Bedrosian, Brett Butler, and Rafael Ramirez were our everyday favorites that we would chat with prior to the game. Just to sit and listen to them talk about the game and how much fun baseball was to them. We’d also hear their individual stories of how hard it was to make it to the point of where they were at that time in their career. These were stories and times my friend and I would have given up any night on the little league field just to be part of. This was an experience for us that went beyond the game itself and one that we understood the importance of taking in each moment we had with those players.

Our view of left center field from
the scoreboard.

I guess we knew deep inside that they pretty much used us as runners at times in the early hours before batting practice but we didn’t care. We got that hint when they would send us to get them a hotdog from concessions before the stadium opened to the public. We didn’t mind because we were always awarded with baseballs or bats that might have had a small crack and were unusable to the players. Needless to say, I had a box full of baseballs and several cracked bats at each season’s end. Baseball is a great game, but for two young boys it was more than just a game. It was an experience and memories that will last for a lifetime. 

Emmanuel Lions receive at-large bid to National Tourney

The Emmanuel College men's basketball season isn't over yet. The Lions have advanced to the NCCAA national tournament March 13-17 in Indiana after receiving an at-large bid. Emmanuel enters the tournament as the number 6 seed and will play number 3 Trevecca Nazarene (TN) on Wednesday at 10:15 am. Trevecca is the Mid-East Champions.
visit www.goeclions.com for more.

MCHS Homecoming of 1996 (Flashback)

Flashback photo of the 1996 Madison County High school Homecoming Court. I took this photo in October of 96 while working for The Comer News/Danielsville Monitor.

Photo By Dallas Bordon

On Friday, October 18, Madison County will hold its annual Homecoming sponsored by the Student Council. Two freshmen, three sophmores, four juniors, and five seniors will make up the 1996 Raider Homecoming Court. Each contestant will be introduced prior to the 8:00 kickoff of the Raiders/West Hall game with the crowning of the 96/97 Homecoming Queen and Maid Of Honor taking place at halftime. Arrive early for a good view of the Madison County Homecoming Court. The contestants are: Brooke Holloman, Catie Hawks, Erica White, Christie Peck, Brooke Osley, Kelli Wood, Stacy Moore, Aishia Hunter, Jenny Beck, Heidi Self, Carrie Fitzpatrick, Ashley Daniels, Kim Butler, and Tara Benton.