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August l5, 20l8
Mary Persons Year in Review 20 1
By Will Davis
publisher©mymcmet
Augki 7, - Macon
Lee County 21
Mary Persons 17
For the second straight year the Bull—
dogs opened the season in the Corky Kell
Classic at Mercer, and this time MP nearly
upset a Class AAAAAA powerhouse be—
fore falling to Lee County 2 1 ~17. A 43-yard
Alex Rivera field goal gave the scrappy
Dogs a 17—14 lead in the third quarter,
and MP was on the 8—yard—line with a
chance to go up 10 early in the fourth. But
Lee County held and then marched 92
yards on eight plays to score the winning
touchdown. MP stayed in the game despite
being hammered in the statistics in part
thanks to three fumble recoveries, and
courtesy of a 78-yard return for a touch-
down by Bralen Harvey off a botched field
goal.
Aug. 25,, 2017 ' Forsyth
Mary Persons 28
Jackson 7
The Bulldogs won their fifth straight in
the Backyard Brawl —-— or perhaps it should
now be called the Bulldog Bowl with
a smothering defense leading the way to
a 28-7 victory over rival Jackson. Getting
his first home start, junior quarterback
JT Hartage was a crisp 14 of 19 passing
with two TDs, both to Rashad Hughley.
Ladondre Buckner added two running
scores in the second half as the Bulldogs
amassed 331 yards of offense in a dominat—
ing performance. A highlight in the home
opener was the unveiling of the new video
scoreboard at Dan Pitts Stadium.
Sept. 1, 2017 Forsyth
Mary Persons 34
Washington 8
MP improved to 2-1 on the year with a
34-8 mercy—rule beat—down of Washing-
ton. J.T. Hartage had another stellar per—
formance, throwing for TDs to Condarius
Alford and Antoine Davis and running for
a third. Alex Rivera added two field goals
in a rout. The only blemishes for the Bull-
dogs were four turnovers, including three
fumbles, in the contest.
Sept. 8, 2017 Forsyth
Mary Persons 52
Forest Park 0
The Bulldogs notched the third-biggest
blowout in program history with a 52-0
whitewash of Forest Park. J.T. Hartage
threw three first-half touchdown passes,
to Antoine Davis, Condarius Alford and
Donovan Hogan, and Bralen Harvey ran
for two more as MP built a 42—0 halftime
lead. With a mercy—rule running clock
in the second half, MP got lots of players
some valuable experience. But the sec—
ond half highlights came from a 24—yard
fumble return for a touchdown by Albe-
yon Fields and a 54-yard field goal by Alex
Rivera.
Dad, Mom,
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Katelyn, Meme Poppa
Sept. 15, 201 7 - Forsyth
Peach County 35
Mary Persons 14
Tied 14—14 at the half, Mary Persons
wilted in the second stanza against a fast
and powerful Peach County team, los-
ing 35- 14. The Bulldogs got on the board
first when Peach County botched a field
goal try and Daniel Lavelle scooped it and
rumbled 74 yards for the score and it was
7—0. Later in the first quarter, Hartage later
hit Antoine Davis on a 16-yard touchdown
pass and for the second year in a row, the
Bulldogs had a two—touchdown lead on
Middle Georgia’s top program. But as in
2016, when MP blew a 20—0 lead, the Tro-
jans would have the last word. Or words.
They ripped off 35 straight points, rolling
up 391 yards of offense against a pretty
stout MP defense.
Sept. 29, 2017 - Griffin
Mary Persons 42
Spalding 18
Mary Persons established itself as the
favorite to win a third straight Region
2-AAAA title with a 42-18 road win over
Spalding in the region lid-lifter. Bralen
Harvey and Tre Slaton each ran for two
touchdowns and J.T. Hartage threw two
more as the Bulldogs rolled up 501 yards
of offense. Quen Wilson was the rushing
leader with 108 yards and Ladamian Sands
and Jatorian Hansford led the defense with
six tackles each. MP’s only blemish was 10
penalties for 100 yards.
Oct. 6, 2017 Forsyth
Mary Persons 28
Upson—Lee 21
Antoine Davis intercepted an Upson-Lee
pass at the goal—line with just four seconds
left to secure a nail-biting 28—21 win over
the Knights in an instant classic at The Pitt.
Former MP quarterback Justin Elder made
his first trip to Forsyth as the head coach
at Upson-Lee and he almost pulled off the
upset over his alma mater. The Knights
converted an incredible three fourth
downs and advanced to the MP six-yard-
line in their bid to tie the game until Davis’
heroics. Adding insult to Elder’s injury,
quarterback J.T. Hartage broke his school
record for most passing yards in a game
by throwing for 297 yards. Hartage threw
for all four MP touchdowns, including two
to Ladamian Sands, and one to Deadrek
Alford, who caught nine passes for 170
yards. Sands caught the game-winner with
7:40 left in the game.
Oct. 20, 201 7 Forsyth
Mary Persons 28
West Laurens 9
The past two years, Mary Persons and
West Laurens had played close games with
the region title on the line. That didn’t
happen in 2017 as the Bulldogs hammered
the Raiders 28—9 in a Homecoming rout.
Quen Wilson had his best game of the year
to date, rushing 11 times for 130 yards and
three touchdowns including a 67—yarder
on the second play from scrimmage. The
win put the Bulldogs one win away from a
as
‘LOVE Yo
third straight region title.
Oct. 27, 2017 Perry
Mary Persons 47
Perry 21
Mary
Persons
clinched its
third straight
Region
2-AAAA title
with a 47-21
road win over
Perry, the first
Three-Peat for
the Bulldog
program
since 1992—
94. The win
also clinched
at least two
home playoff
games for MP.
Quen Wilson
again led the
Bulldogs with
eight carries,
144 yards and
three touch-
downs. J.T. Hartage ran for two scores
as well as the Bulldogs racked up 435
yards of offense. Antoine Davis had three
catches for 120 yards and a touchdown as
MP trounced the hapless Panthers. Perry
did score 21 second-half points as coach
Brian Nelson cleared his bench. The team
learned an hour after the game that How-
ard had lost, meaning they were indeed
region champs again.
Nov. 3, 2017 Macon
Mary Persons 17
Howard 14
Mary Persons extended its region win—
ning streak to three seasons and 16 games
as it capped the conference schedule with
a 17—14 win over Howard. The Bulldogs
haven’t lost in Region 2—AAAA since 2014.
MP’s defense had to do most of the work
against the Huskies, as Bralen Harvey
scored the game‘winning touchdown on
a 68-yard fumble return in the second
quarter. The defense then shut the door in
the second half on Howard, giving up just
154 total yards. Harvey scored on offense
as well and then Alex Rivera added a 32-
yard field goal for the difierence maker.
Jatorian Hansford led the defense with
eight tackles. ‘
Nov. 10, 2017 - Forsyth
Mary Persons 27
Carver (Columbus) 0
The Bulldogs opened the 2017 play:
offs with a workmanlike 27-0 shutout of
Carver, advancing to Round 2 for the sev—
enth straight season. J.T. Hartage got the
scoring started on an 88—yard touchdown
scramble. Hartage later threw a TD pass
to Deadrek Alford and Alex Rivera kicked
two field goals, including a 54-yarder, as
MP coasted into the Sweet 16.
Nov. 17, 2017 - Forsyth
Mary Persons 39
Baldwin 14
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MP’s former region foe Baldwin returned
to Forsyth for a Round 2 playoff game
without its top player, who was suspended.
Yet the Bulldogs found themselves trailing
for the first time in two months, 13—9, in
the third quarter. That’s when MP woke up.
and went to work. Quen Wilson, Bralen
Harvey and J.T. Hartage all rushed for 100
yards as the Bulldogs amassed 484 yards of
offense, most of it in the second half. Hart—
age had two touchdowns, the MP defense
recorded two safeties, and Alex Rivera
added two field goals in what became a
rout.
Nov. 24, - Forsyth
Mary Persons 51
Jefferson 32
The Bulldogs advanced to the state
semifinals for the second straight year with
a 51-32 win over Jefferson in a shootout at
Dan Pitts Stadium. Quen Wilson exploded
for 210 yards and four touchdowns as MP
amassed 440 yards of offense. Deadrek
Alford caught two TD passes as well, as
J.T. Hartage was his typically efficient self
passing, going 10 of 13 for 164 yards. Tre
Slaton led the defense with 11 tackles.
Dec. 1, 2017 - Forsyth
Blessed Trinity 28
Mary Persons 7 '
It was Country vs. Catholic as Per—
sons hosted Blessed Trinity in its first state
semifinal game at home since 1993. The
Bulldogs had beaten Blessed Trinity in the
quarterfinals in Forsyth in 2016, but the
home folks went away disappointed this
time as the eventual state champion Titans
got a 28-7 victory. A stout BT defense held
MP’s normally potent rushing attack to
' just 59 yards on 29 carries and the Titans
sacked quarterback J.T. Hartage five times.
Despite that, MP only trailed 14—7 going
into the fourth quarter on the strength of
Deadrek Alford’s leaping touchdown catch
just before half. But BT added two scores
in the final period to extend its margin.
The Bulldogs ended another spectacular
season with an 11-3 record. Blessed Trin—
ity went on to beat rival Catholic school
Marist to win the state title. MP had fallen
to the eventual state champ in the semifi-
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