November 14, 2018 Page 5B
R i3orter
By Dumas
forsyth@mymcr.net
The Mary Persons Bulldogs will be seek-
ing a state quarterfinal berth for the third
straight year when they host Woodward
Academy in the second round of the AAAA
state playoffs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Dan
Pitts Stadium.
The Bulldogs, 11-0 overall (5-0 Region
2-AAAA), appear to be peaking at the right
time heading into a challenging playoff
stretch. MP is coming off of its most lopsided
playoffwin in program history in a 59-0 first-
round victory over Richmond Academy.
Meanwhile, Woodward Academy, 7-4
overall (5-2 in Region 4-AAAA), almost
scored as many points in Round 1 as the
Bulldogs, beating Carver (Columbus) 55-40
in a road upset to advance to the second
round.
The winner of Friday night's showdown
will face either Marist or St. Pius in the
quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 23. IfMP faces
Marist, the game would be played in Forsyth
and ffit's St. Pins, the location would come
down to a coin flip.
Woodward has been a state football power
for decades and is currently the sixth-win-
ningest program in state history, reaching
700 wins in its regular season finale victory
over Luella on Nov. 2. The War Eagles have
captured 15 region championships in their
storied history, including two state rifles in
1970 and 1980, respecrively. Like MP, Wood-
ward went mostly silent for two decades after
winning back-to-back region rifles in 1996
and 1997. But also like the Bulldogs, the War
Eagles have burst back on the state scene
with a vengeance in recent years, winning
four straight region championships from
2014-17 under current head coach John
Hunt, including back-to-back state semifinal
appearances in 2014 and 2015 when Wood-
ward was led by current UGA star Elijah
Holyfield.
The Bulldogs and War Eagles have met
twice, in 2008 and 2009, when the two
programs' briefly shared Region 4-AAA.
Woodward Academy took the first meet-
ing 28-9 in College Park in 2008 before MP
bounced back with a 14- 7 win in Forsyth in
2009. In a defensive slugfest in which the two
teams combined for just 233 total yards, MP's
Meshari Walton was the Dogs' star in the
2009 win, rushing for a team-high 83 yards,
including a game-winning, fourth-quarter
touchdown. Remarkably, that 2009 Wood-
ward team featured three eventual NFL
players in Andrew Adams, Henry Anderson
and Iuwan Thompson.
In addition to football stars, Woodward
has been a breeding groun, d for state and
national politicians through the years,
including former U.S. senator Phil Gramm
and current Georgia state senator Burt Jones.
Former UGA dean William Tate, former first
daughter Amy Carter and former Coca-Cola
Company president Robert Woodruff were
also Woodward alums.
The 2018 War Eagles are led on offense
by senior running back Tahj Gary, who has
rushed for 1,054 yards and 11 TDs while
averaging 10.2 yards-per-carry. The 5'9",
212-pound senior, who has rushed for
more than 3,000 career yards, is committed
to Virginia Tech and is the No. 66-ranked
senior in the state by 247sports.com. Gary is
also Woodward's leading receiver with 444
yards and five touchdowns on 21 receptions.
Joining Gary in the backfield is talented 6'4",
178-pound junior quarterback Mike Wright,
who has completed 63.6 percent of his passes
for 926 yards and 10 touchdowns despite
missing several games. Wright, a dual-threat
with offers from programs like Kentucky, ale
Miss and Boston College, is also Woodward's
second-leading rusher with 400 yards and 8
TDs on just 39 carries.
Woodward's defense has struggled at times
in 2018, yielding 40 or more points on four
occasions. However, the War Eagles have
an outstanding defensive back tandem of
juniors Jacorrei Turner and Hunter Sellers,
each of whom already have major college
offers.
The War Eagles also have
J orter Ii
an important weapon on i
special teams in senior kicker i
Marshall Golick, an all-state i
selection as a junior. Goiick e.
has converted on 6 of 9 field
goal attempts with a long of
According to AlC.com,
Wright ran for a 70-yard
touchdown on Woodward's
first play from scrimmage
against Carver (Columbus)
last Friday. Wright then threw
four first-half touchdown
passes, including two to Gary,
to put the War Eagles up 35-
14 at halftime. When Carver Friday, Nov. 16 7:30 p.m.
(Columbus) climbed to with-
in 42-26 in the fourth quarter, Dan F'Jtts Stadium Tickets: $10
the War Eagles tacked on two(available at United Bank)
Gary TD runs, 58 yards and
64 yards, respectively, to fin- LAST MEETING:
ishoffthewin. Oct. 23, 2009. MP 14 Woodward Aca. 7
Meanwhile, MP added to
its already historic campaign PREDICTION:
last Friday, pushing its all- Mary Persons 51, Woodward Aca. 31
time.best points total to 526.
The Bulldogs, who average
47.8 points per game, are
beating teams by an average tory with a left knee injury. However, Wilson,
of 37.4 points per game. who has run for a team-best 1,322 yards
MP senior quarterback J.T. Hartage has and 21 touchdowns, is expected to start on
completed 69.9 percent of his pass at- Friday.
tempts for a program-record Z397 Fards Defensively, MP is led by senior free safety
and 26 touchdowns with just three inter- Desmond Williams, who has a team-best 53
ceptions. Hartage's top target, senior wide tackles, including 41 solo, and a team-high
receiver De'Adrek Alford has a team-best five interceptions, including three returned
686 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on for TDs. Senior linebacker Ladamian Sands
28 receptions. Alford is just 31 yards away has also been coming on in recent weeks,
from eclipsing Chris Bowden's single-season moving up to No. 2 on the team in tackles
school record for receiving yards of 716, set with 51 (29 solo) despite missing almost all
in 2007 and two touchdowns away from of two games due to suspension early in the
breaking Malik Bledsoe's single-season season.
school record for receiving touchdowns of With a win on Frida); the Bulldogs would
12, set in 2014. reach 12 wins in a single season for only the
MP's other marquee offensive star, Quen fifth time in program history. MP has won
Wilson, missed most of the first-round vic- 11 games in each of the past three seasons.
S win
gles
The Reporter talked to
Todd Holcomb, prep writer
for the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution, about MP's
big playoff matchup with
Woodward Academy. Find
Holcomb's cover-
age at www.ajc.
com/sports/high-
school.
Q.) How does
this Woodward
Academy team
stack up talent- Holcomb
wise with the recent
War Eagle squads that have
gone deep in the state play-
offs, even pushing Carters-
ville hard in 20167
A.) The current Wood-
ward team is talented, but
much younger. The 2015
Woodward team that made
the semifinals was super
talented. It had Elijah Holy-
field (now Georgia), Max
Richardson (Boston Col-
lege) and Antone Williams
(Duke). Those guys are all
good college players now.
This team isn't at that level
but might can get there in a
year or two.
Q) Does Woodward's of
fense run more through the
multi-dimensional skill set of
quarterback Michael Wright
or the physical ground game
of tailback Tahj Gary?
A.) Before the season, I
would're said Gary. But
now, Wright is playing like
Cam Newton. He had five
TD passes last week and
rushed for 100 yards. So the
offense runs though Wright,
who makes the decisions.
But Ikl still say the best
player is Gar He might be
the best all-around running
back in the state if you con-
sider his ability to run, catch
and return kicks. He's dos-
ing in on 70 touchdowns for
his career. Great player. I've
always been a big fan of his.
Q.) Do you see similarities
in the way Woodward has
raised the bar under ]ohn
Hunt after two somewhat
dormant decades and the
way Brian Nelson has el-
evated the MP program over
the past several years?
A.) Good comparison.
Coach Hunt took over in
2011 at a school that had
some state rifles in its his-
tory but had been merely
good and not outstanding,
or relevant on the state level,
for over a decade.
They've made two
semifinals and
averaged 10 wins
since he came.
Very similar
deal with Coach
Nelson at Mary
Persons, which
also was pretty
good under recent staffs but
found a new gear with the
new coach. Both also came
from out of state. Hunt was
a great player at Florida
and had been
coaching on
college staffs with Steve
Spurrier. Nice resume.
Q) Does Woodward have
the necessary speed and
athleticism on defense to
keep MP'S explosive troika
of quarterback ].T. Hartage,
running back Quen Wilson
and wide receiver De'Adrek
Afford in check?
A.) I don't think speed
and athleticism are the cen-
tral issues. I think it's youth.
They have only one senior
who plays on defense.
Their leading tackler is a
sophomore. One of their
sophomores had four sacks
last week. Another of them
had two interceptions. But
they've had real trouble
stopping good teams.
There's no hiding that. It's
obviously a major concem
for Woodward in this game.
Q.) If MP advances on
Friday night, do you see
Marist or St. Pius as a bigger
obstacle in the Bulldogs'
quest to return to the state
semifinals for a third straight
year?
A.) Maybe St. Pius since
they l be the ones that
might get home-field edge.
Marist would have to travel.
St. Pius beat Marist 17-0,
but that was mid-Septem-
ber, and Marist played
Blessed Trinity to the wire.
Mary Persons deserves to
be in the conversation with
any team in AAAA, Marist
and St. Pius are much better
than anybody that Mary
Persons has played with the
exception of Peach County.
As far as matchups, note
that Marist runs the ball
most of the time, while St.
Pius runs the ball almost all
the time. Not sure which
M.E would prefer.
Q.) What is your predic-
tion on Friday night's MP-
Woodward showdown?
A.) Unless Mary Persons'
defense, which has not been
tested much this season,
suddenly can't stop a really
good Woodward offense, I
don't think that Woodward
will be able to keep up. But I
can see Woodward scoring
three or four touchdowns.
Might be a 42-28 kind of
thing.
CoAoRoE.
To benefit the
Cottage of
l
9
Monroe
Coo
Ride will begin at 11:00 AM from
524 Cabaniss Road
GA 31029
After-The-Run
at the Monroe Co. Moose
Raffl
ether
,dge
e Baskets, Prize Drawings, Free Food
Entertainment, Saturday 1:00 PM
& THE BOOTY
' ,nation at least $ 0
Let's make this a special Christmas
for all Monroe CounO, Kids!!!!
NA EZ/Z
For more info call 478-957-2853
No calls after 9 PM
This event for the sole purpose of helping Monroe Cout .ty children
at
Christmas. It is not sponsored by nor associated With any orgamzed motorcycle
club. Everyone is welcome to participate and we appreaate your generous
donations, however, we must ask that you leave any colors, attitudes and weapons
at home for this event. The organizer of this event is not responsible for any
loss or injury to any person or property.
