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Reporter
1B November 21, 2012
Pigskin Picks Page 3B-4B
Terry Johnson Page 4B
School Page 5B-6B
Church , Page 7B-8B
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County sports
Bulldogs looking for ‘sweet’ victory
MP to face Syrupmakers in Cairo in Round 2 Friday
BY RICHARD DUMAS
Mary Persons at Cairo
Friday, Nov. 23 • 7:30 p.m.
West Thomas Stadium, Cairo, Tickets: $12
Last met: NA
Prediction: MP 17, Cairo 14
Directions: Take I-75 South. Get off the interstate at Exit 99
and turn right onto Hwy. 300 south of Cordele to Albany.
Then take U.S. 19 from Albany to Camilla. In Camilla turn
right on to Broad Street, go through downtown, turn left at
the intersection of GA Hwy. 112 and this goes straight to
Cairo. GA 112 intersects (dead ends) into U.S. Highway 84.
Take 84 to the second traffic light (a Rite Aid is on the right)
turn right onto 5th Street N.E., proceed south, cross over an
overpass and go about two blocks and the school will be on
the left. All of the fast food restaurants are on U.S. 84.
Many Mary Persons
Bulldogs' supporters traveled
to Allatoona in the second
round of the 2011 state play
offs not sure if the program
was yet ready to compete with
the top teams in the state.
Despite squandering a late
lead in a 14-7 loss, the
Bulldogs' performance that
night indicated that MP foot
ball was very close to return
ing to the form that brought
the school 15 region titles in
30 seasons between 1968 and
1997.
Just one year later, despite
returning just six starters
from the 2011 squad and mov
ing up a level in classification,
MP is right back where it was
a year ago, squarely in the
thick of the state playoff race.
This time, the Bulldogs will
travel to Cairo in the second
round of the AAAA playoffs
with their sights set on even
more. A win over the Region 1-
AAAA champion
Syrupmakers, who are 9-2 in
2012, would give Mary
Persons its first state quarter
final appearance since 1998,
the first season after the
retirement of legendary head
coach Dan Pitts.
Beating Cairo, who entered
the playoffs ranked 7th and
8th, respectively, in the AJC
and Associated Press polls,
will be a significant challenge
for the Bulldogs. The
Syrupmakers are one of the
state's top powers, having won
12 region championships since
1990, including five in the past
six years. The Syrupmakers
have won three state champi
onships in their history,
including most recently in
2008.
Cairo head coach Tom
Fallaw won his 100th game
Friday night when the
Syrupmakers defeated visiting
Riverdale 24-13 in the first
round. Fallaw, who is in the
10th season of his wildly suc
cessful tenure at the school,
was a candidate for the MP
head coaching job during the
2012 off-season prior to the
hiring of current MP coach
Brian Nelson.
According to the Clayton
News Daily, the Syrupmakers
actually trailed Riverdale 7-6
at the half before rallying in
the second half. Senior Cairo
running back P. J. Davis
rushed for a 55-yard touch
down to give the Syrupmakers
the lead for good.
Cairo's offense, which is com
posed mostly of I-formation
and single back sets, is led by
quarterback Donald Thomas
and receivers Deonta Dismuke
and Zay Donaldson.
The Syrupmakers' typically
imposing, speedy defense
yielded 243 passing yards to
Riverdale quarterback Asania
Aderhold, according to a recap
of the game published by the
Clayton News Daily.
Mary Persons is led on
offense by tailback Nick
Davis, who has rushed for
1,246 yards and nine touch
downs. MP quarterback
Jordan Banks has passed for
1,031 yards and six touch
downs while completing 52
percent of his passes. Banks
is only 88 yards and five
completions away from tying
the MP school records for
most passing yards and com
pletions in a season, respec
tively.
MP special teams have also
improved in recent games.
After struggling with kick
coverage for much of the sea
son, the Bulldogs have limit
ed opponents' return yards
recently. MP senior kicker
Kenny Miller has made five
of seven field goals and 27 of
28 extra points while also
serving as the team's kickoff
specialist. Return man
Akebren Ralls has also been a
force, returning two punts for
a touchdowns while averaging
17 yards per punt return and
28 yards per kick return.
MP's defense has been
enhanced by the excellent
play of its linebacker rotation.
Junior middle linebacker Tra
Taylor leads the team in tack-
See PREVIEW page 2B
MP dominates Statesboro 40-14 in playoff opener
ball in outgaining Statesboro 342
to 145. MP's running game was
particularly effective, rushing for
222 yards as Davis returned to
form after battling a sprained
ankle for the past three games.
Not to be outdone by its offensive
counterparts, the MP defense also rose
to the occasion, forcing three Blue
Devils turnovers and holding
Statesboro's potent wishbone attack to
just 121 rushing yards.
MP coach Brian Nelson said he knew
his team had a chance to be good before
the season, but he did not know every
thing would fall into place as effectively
as it has in 2012.
"We had some question marks coming
in, but I mean they've gelled together
and come together a little bit," Nelson
said. "I think that's helped, and we've
got a little scheme down where we're
not doing a bunch of different things,
and they're able to know their assign
ments and blocking rules and stuff.
They've really come together as a team,
and it's kind of showing now."
If the Bulldogs had not fumbled twice
in the first half, the game could have
been an even bigger blowout. MP suf
fered its first fumble on its second play
from scrimmage when junior Akebren
Ralls was stripped of the ball. The Blue
The Bulldogs locked hands as they prepared for Friday night’s game against Statesboro
in Round 1 of the state playoffs. Team unity helped MP take a dominating 40-14 win.
(Photo/Kim Holderfield)
Devils quickly cap
italized on Ralls'
error, executing a
four-play, 36-yard
scoring drive to
jump in front 6-0.
Statesboro run
ning back
Sherrodric Ralls
capped the drive
with an 11-yard
touchdown run
around right tack
le with 8:11 left in
the first quarter.
The Blue Devils
kicker missed the
extra point, so the
Blue Devils clung
to a six-point lead.
MP would
respond on its next
series. Starting at its own 26-yard-line,
Davis got the MP ground game going on
the first play of the drive, sprinting
down the field for a 21-yard gain. Four
plays later, he broke another long run,
this time running for a 25-yard pickup
to the Statesboro 9-yard-line. The
ini
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The junior linebacker had five tackles,
including two sacks, in MP’s 40-14 first
round state playoff win over Statesboro.
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Bulldogs were unable to punch the ball
into the end zone from there on the next
three plays, but on fourth-and-goal from
the one, senior quarterback Jordan
Banks executed a perfect quarterback
See MP page 2B
BY RICHARD DUMAS
Led by senior running back
Nick Davis' 168 yards, the Mary
Persons Bulldogs romped
Statesboro 40-14 at Dan Pitts
Stadium Friday in the first round
of the AAAA state playoffs.
The victory was the first home
playoff win for the Bulldogs since
2003, as well as the first playoff
win of first-year head coach
Brian Nelson's career. MP, 9-2
overall, will now travel to Cairo
at 7:30 p.m. on Friday to take on
the Region 1-AAAA champion
Syrupmakers. It will be the first-
ever matchup between the two
tradition-rich programs. Cairo
advanced to the second round
with a 24-13 first-round win over
Riverdale.
The Bulldogs dominated the
Blue Devils on both sides of the
Statesboro vs. MP
TEAM
STATS
S
MP
First Downs
9
20
Rushing yds.
121
222
Passing yds
24
120
Total yds.
145
342
Att-Comp-Int
10-4-1
14-9-0
Fumbles-Lost
2-2
2-2
Penalties
7-60
2-14
S 6 0 0 8 - 14
MP 7 10 7 16 - 40
BULLDOG SCORING
• Jordan Banks
- 1-yard run
(Kenny Miller kick)
• Terri Dewberry
- 2-yard run
(Kenny Miller kick)
• Kenny Miller
- 23-yard field goal
• Akebren Ralls
- 37-yard fumble recovery
(Kenny Miller kick)
• Terri Dewberry
- 2-yard run
(Kenny Miller kick)
• Kenny Miller
- 21-yard field goal
• Demario Webb
- 12-yard run
(Hunter Lamb kick)
Individual MP Stats
OFFENSE
RUSHING
Carries Yds.
Nick Davis
29
168
Terri Dewberry
7
24
Demario Webb
2
19
Dee High
4
18
Josh Mays
1
1
Jordan Banks
3
-4
Akebren Ralls
1
-4
PASSING
Comp. Att. Yds.
Jordan Banks
9
14 120
RECEIVING
Rec.
Yds.
Macey Zellner
3
37
Nick Davis
2
.31
Malik Bledsoe
1
19
Terri Dewberry
1
18
Josh Mays
1
11
Akebren Ralls
1
4
PUNT RETURNS
Ret.
Yds.
None
KICK RETURNS
Ret.
Yds.
Akebren Ralls
3
117
DEFENSE
Tackles Assists
Quen Shannon 3
Quen Head
Tra Taylor
Josh Mays
J. Scandret
Keven Jones
Akebren Ralls
Dee High
D. Davis
Heath Warren
D. Shannon
R. Patterson
L. McComb
John Perkins
PUNTS
Punts Yds. Avg.
J. Banks 1 32 32.0
INTERCEPTIONS
Ints Yds. Avg.
Tra Taylor 1 32 32.0
FUMBLES RECOVERED
No. Yds. Avg.
A. Ralls 1 37 37.0
Dee High 1 0 0.0
MP’s Butler signs with Valdosta State
BY RICHARD DUMAS
Mary Persons senior
Morgan Butler signed a
letter of intent to play a
college sport Thursday
morning, but it might not
be the one you would
think.
Butler, a competition
cheerleader for MP,
signed an offer to play
college softball at
Valdosta State University,
which won the 2012
Division II national
championship.
Though Butler does not
play softball for Mary
Persons, she impressed
VSU coaches with her
performance on the
Georgia XTreme 18 Gold
travel ball squad, which
also includes MP stand
outs Robbi Grier and
Katie Rowland.
Butler said she's very
excited about the oppor
tunity to play at Valdosta
State. She said Thomas
Macera, the Wildcats'
coach, was the biggest
reason she chose the
school.
Butler said of Macera:
"He's all about winning. .
. He's just a really good
guy."
Butler said she has
played softball since she
was seven years old, play
ing catcher and third
base. She said she loves
hitting and added that
hitting is one of her
biggest strengths.
David Butler, Butler's
father, said the opportu
nity to play in college
means his daughter's
hard work has finally
paid off.
"It’s a very exciting
day," David Butler said.
MP athletic director
Brian Nelson said it is a
great opportunity for
Butler from both an ath
letic and an academic
standpoint.
Nelson said, "It's a good
accomplishment anytime
you can earn a reward for
all your hard work."
Butler's 2012 MP com
petition cheerleading
team finished an out
standing eighth in AAAA
at the state meet in
Columbus on Nov. 10.
MP senior Morgan Butler signed a letter of intent Thursday to
play softball at Valdosta State University. Front row from left:
David Butler (father), Morgan Butlera and Kelley Butler Freeman
(mother). Back row, from left: Ed Beshel (Georgia Extreme trav
el team coach), Matt Brown (Georgia Extreme travel team
coach), Zach Butler (brother), Payton Butler (sister), Ricky Free
man (stepfather), Penny Pitts (MP cheerleading coach) and Bri
an Nelson (MP athletic director). (Photo/Richard Dumas)