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By Richard Dumas
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Backfield
Mary Persons’ quarter—
back position is as settled as
it has been in perhaps any
‘ season of head coach Brian
Nelson’s seven-year tenure.
Senior J.T. Hartage is the
undisputed starter after a
record~breaking junior year
in which he was named the
Region 2—AAAA Offensive
Player of the Year.
In addition to his talented
right arm, Hartage is equal-
ly skilled at extending plays
‘ with his legs. After primar—
‘ ily staying inside the pocket
during the regular season,
Nelson unleashed Hartage’s
legs during the playoffs.
The quarterback responded
by bursting loose for an
(88-yard touchdown run in
‘a 27-0 first-round victory
over Carver (Columbus).
With a capable backup in
junior Trippe Moore ready ,
J ‘ if needed, expect MP of-
fensive coordinator Jason
L ‘ Morrow to allow Hartage
to carry the ball more in
2018. Nelson has always
lauded the numbers advan—
‘ tage of having a running
' quarterback, and Hartage
may be the first Bulldogs’
‘ QB in Nelson’s tenure who
is athletic enough to take
‘ advantage of that skill.
Moore, who sat out last
season while focusing
on baseball, serve as
Hartage’s primary backup
" although he is also expect-
ed to start at wide receiver.
, Junior limbo Finch, last ,
year’s top backup, could see
time as the third-string QB.
As always, MP’s offense
i
if
is highly predicated upon
its rushing attack, and
2018 will be little different.
Senior Quen Wilson has
rushed for 2,136 yards and
22 touchdowns in his first
three seasons and will be
the clear No. '1 back The
only thing that has slowed
down Wilson in his career
is injuries, but he said
his goal in 2018 is to stay
healthy and surpass former
teammate Zach Harvey’s
2016 yardage total of 1,472
rushing yards.
The backup running back
role could be the biggest
unknown on the offensive
side of the ball for MP in
2018 as the squad’s 2017
backups, Bralen Harvey,
Tre Slaton and Ladondre
Buckner, all graduated.
That trio combined for
1,229 yards and 13 touch—
downs, and Nelson said
they will all be missed.
All-purpose standouts
Antoine Davis and Des-
mond Williams will get
opportunities to carry the
ball, as will Lamar County
transfer Rico Harden. All
three of those players are
defensive starters as was the
case with last year’s reserve
threesome. Another pow-
erful Option in the back-
, field is senior Ladarnian
Sands, a starter at line-
backer, while sophomore
Adrian Hughley and fresh—
man DJ. Martinez bring
some of the same explosive
speed Wilson possesses.
“We’ve always had some
depth at tailback,” Nelson
said. “We probably don’t
have as much depth at
tailback as we’ve had:
The lone MP coaching
change of 2018 occurred
t.
in the backfield where
new running backs coach
Delvin Jordan, 24, replaces
the retired Clint Ashmore.
Jordan, a Pike County high
school standout, played
football at LaGrange Col-
lege before coaching as an
assistant at Rockmart.
Receivers
Mary Persons could have
its best receiving corp? in
the program’s history in
2018 as its top two pass
catchers, senior slot man
Antoine Davis and senior
flanker De’Adrek Alford,
are back for their respective
final seasons.
Davis, who transferred
from Tattnall prior to 2017,
emerged as quarterback
J.T. Hartage’s favorite target
a year ago. Davis set a
new program record for
receptions in a season with
47 while racking up 627
receiving yards and four
touchdowns, doing most of
his damage in the middle
of the field. Alford, who
primarily plays outside
the hash lines, is among
the most talented physical
receivers in program his—
tory. Alford’s inconsistent
junior year featured several
spectacular catches, includ—
ing circus touchdown grabs
in both the season opener
against Lee County and in
the season finale against
Blessed Trinity. In a 28—21
win over Upson-Lee on
Oct. 6, 2017, Alford had
one of the greatest single
games in MP history with
nine receptions for 170
yards and a touchdown.
MP head coach Brian
Nelson said he needs more
MP 2018 Varsity Football Sophomores
nights like that from Alford
for MP to thrive.
“He (Alford) can be as
good as he wants to be,”
Nelson said. “In terms Of
size and all that stuff, he
can be pretty good. It just
depends on what day it is
and what he feels like doing
sometimes.”
Junior Trippe Moore is
expected to start opposite
Alford on the outside while
Desmond Williams, who
caught five passes in 2017,
is expected to line up in
the slot alongside Davis in
multi-receiver sets. Other
receivers who will be in
the mix for playing time
include: senior Alex Kite,
who hasn’t played football
since middle school, and
junior Wyatt Currie. r
Junior Andre Jackson,
who primarily played line—
' backer a year ago, will get
the first crack to replace the
departed Rashad Hughley '
as the starting tight end.
Senior linebacker Lada-
mian Sands will also be a
factor as a reserve at tight
end after catching three
touchdown passes from
Hartage a year ago while
senior Kanidric Jones, an—
other starting linebacker, is
also expected to see playing
time.
Offensive Line
Perhaps MP’s most
unfortunate moment of
the pre-season came on
Aug. 3 when dependable
starting left tackle Nate
Howard went down in
a light contact drill with
a broken leg. 'Ihe junior
Howard, the team’s biggest
player at 6’6’”, 305 pounds,
Not pictured:
Sophomores:
Kaden Holliday #66
Conner Etheridge #76
Jamal Singleton #82
Freshmen:
Jarvis Germany #73
Jake Causey #94
.Talented receiving corps could lead to record-breaking year
was already receiving atten-
tion from major Division 1
programs after a standout
sophomore season. Perhaps
‘ the best—case scenario is for
Howard to miss a couple
of months, so senior Noah
Davis will be called upon
to fill Howard’s immense
shoes. Davis started at cen—
ter as a sophomore in 2016,
being named an all—region
selection, before missing all
of 2017 due to a major knee
injury. Davis was cleared to
play in early summer and
will be asked to assume the
critical spot as quarterback
J.T. Hartage’s blindside
protector. ,
Alongside Davis in the
starting lineup are four «
more seniors, all of whom
started a number of games
’ a year ago.'Desmond Jones
will be counted upon at left
guard while Charles Dean,
returns at center after an
season.
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excellent campaign in 2017.
Luke Byrne will be back in
the starting lineup at right
guard while right tackle
will be filled by Colton
Dingmore, who transferred
frOm Tattnall prior to the
2017 season. Byrne, Dean
and Dingmore all received
all—region recognition
along with H0ward in
2017.
Serving as the primary
backup along the offensive
line will be yet another
senior, Reggie Chambliss,
who MP head coach Brian
Nelson said had a solid olf-
Nelson said of his of—
fensive line: “All those guys
up there started justabout
every game last year, and
you’re talking about an All-
Region kid as a sophomore
coming back If he’s (Davis)
likehe was, then he can be
pretty good too.”
