Newspaper Page Text
November 5, 2014
PAGE 5B
^Reporter
Bulldogs
continued from page IB
ran for a 35-yard gain out to
midfield. From there, three more
MP runs moved the Bulldogs
down to the Braves' 28-yard-line,
where Johnston connected with
senior J.T. Stokes on the right
sideline. Stokes then shook a
tackle attempt by the
Baldwin cornerback
before juking back
inside, breaking a
second tackle and
racing across the
goal line. Hampton
missed the extra
point try, but MP
still took a 13-0 lead
with 1:22 left in the
first quarter.
After Baldwin
punted on the open
ing play of the sec
ond quarter, MP
again secured excel
lent field position at
Baldwin's 40-yard-
line. Four plays later,
Johnston connected
with Bledsoe once
again on a 36-yarder
in traffic over the
middle to advance
the ball to the
Baldwin 2. Senior
fullback Quen
Shannon then did the
rest, running for a
two-yard score.
Hampton's point
after gave MP a 20-0
lead with 9:57 left in
the second quarter.
But MP was not finished being
aggressive on special teams. The
Bulldogs successfully executed
their second onside kick of the
half when senior John Perkins
recovered Hampton's kickoff. With
MP taking possession at the
Baldwin 28, it appeared the
Bulldogs were poised to go up four
scores. And that's exactly what
happened. On the seventh play of
the drive with MP facing a 4th-
and-18 from the 19, Johnston
picked up more than just the first
down. The senior hooked up with
Bledsoe for the duo's 11th touch
down of the season on a pass over
the middle. Alex Rivera's extra
point gave MP a remarkable 27-0
lead with 7:30 left in the second
quarter in what many fans
thought would be a competitive
game.
Baldwin went on a long drive for
the rest of the first half, moving
the ball 75 yards in 16 plays down
to the MP one-yard-line. Facing
4th-and-goal from the 1, Thomas
took a handoff and was slammed
to the ground in the backfield by
Davis and a host of other
Bulldogs to keep the Braves'
scoreless at the half.
Led by Johnston's 130 passing
yards and three touchdown toss
es, MP outgained Baldwin 256 to
118 in total yards in the first half.
However, the Braves got the ball
first to start the second half, and
they showed they weren't going
down without a fight on Senior
Night. Thomas ran a stretch play
left for 20 yards on first down.
Two plays later, junior quarter
back Felix Jones fired a beautiful
high-arching pass down the left
sideline, hitting receiver Brandon
Goodman right in stride for a 53-
yard touchdown. A successful
extra point narrowed MP's lead to
27-7 just 47 seconds into the sec
ond half.
But the Braves weren't finished
getting back into the game.
Baldwin's defense stoned High,
who missed much of the first half
after taking a hard hit early in
the game, for a loss of five on first
down. Then, Johnston made his
only mistake of the game, throw
ing a pick almost directly into the
arms of Baldwin's Shelton
Graves. It was Johnston's first
interception in the past seven
games.
Starting at MP's 17-yard-line,
the Braves turned to their star
tailback. After an incomplete pass
on first down, Thomas carried the
ball on five consecutive plays, cap
ping the six-
play drive
with a leap
ing one-yard
touchdown
over the top
of the MP
defensive
front. A suc
cessful extra
point try
turned what
appeared to
be a rout
into a 13-
point game
at 27-14
with 8:28
still to play
in the third
quarter.
But MP's
offense has
been stellar
in all eight
of the
Bulldogs'
wins this
season, and
Friday was
not any dif
ferent.
Starting at
its own 40-
yard-line,
MP head
coach Brian
Nelson put
the ball in
the hands of
his own
standout
running
back. High
ran for 18
yards on
first down,
and then
carried it
eight more
times in a
row until
MP reached
the Baldwin
12-yard-line.
Facing 3rd-
and-3,
Johnston
bootlegged
right and hit
an open
Davis for an
eight-yard gain. High then did the
rest, one-upping Thomas' previous
score with an acrobatic leap over
the top, flipping and nearly land
ing on his feet for a four-yard
touchdown. Alex Rivera's extra
point put MP back up 34-14 with
4:03 left in the third quarter.
High said Johnston's early suc
cess throwing the ball helped him
in the second half.
"At first they were really keying
the run game, but we started
throwing it and we started
opening them up," High
said. "And then we started
hitting them with the run
and driving down the field."
MP's defense then rose to
the challenge and matched
the play of the Bulldogs'
offense. Senior safety Quen
Head intercepted a Jones
pass into double coverage on
the first play of Baldwin's
next drive. Stokes then
made MP's third sensational
play in less than a minute of
game time when he one-
handed a Johnston throw
down the far sideline for a
29-yard reception. Five
straight MP runs moved the
Bulldogs back into the end
zone again as Brown capped
the drive with an 11-yard
touchdown run in which he
ran left and then broke two
tackles en route to paydirt.
Rivera's extra point put MP
up 41-14 with 1:26 left in
the third quarter, and for
the sixth game in a row, the
rout on was at last.
After Baldwin's Thomas
fumbled the ensuing kickoff
back to MP, the Bulldogs handed
the ball four straight times to
High, who capped a 22-yard drive
with a one-yard touchdown run.
The only intrigue on the drive
was whether MP would score
before the end of the third quar
ter, enabling the GHSA's 30-point
mercy rule to go into effect. When
High was stopped on the one-
yard-line after a three-yard gain,
it appeared the answer would be
no. But realizing the situation,
Nelson signaled for a timeout
with four seconds left in the peri
od to stop the clock and give his
team one more play. High then
scored on the final play of the
quarter, allowing for a running
clock throughout the fourth quar
ter. Rivera's extra point put MP
up 48-14.
Nelson said he wanted the run
ning clock to avoid any injuries
for his team with a big game
looming next Friday.
Both teams scored once more in
the fourth quarter. Jones connect
ed with receiver Ja'tavious Harris
on a 33-yard touchdown pass mid
way through the final period.
Then, on the ensuing kickoff,
Brown scored MP's final touch
down with an electric 85-yard
kickoff return straight through
the middle of Baldwin's kick cov
erage unit to provide the final 55-
21 margin.
For the game, MP outgained
Baldwin 409 to 286 in total
yardage. MP ran for 242 yards,
led by High's 149 yards and two
touchdowns on 27 carries. Brown
was MP's second-leading rusher
with 61 yards and a score on
seven carries. Johnston had one of
his most impressive games,
throwing for 167 yards and three
touchdowns on 7 of 13 comple
tions. He also had the one inter
ception. Bledsoe was once again
Johnston's top target with 102
yards and two touchdowns on four
receptions. Stokes added two
catches for 57 yards and a TD.
Nelson said his team is playing
well in all three phases entering
its final regular season game.
"The offense and the defense are
kind of feeding off each other, and
the offense did a great job
tonight," Nelson said. "We faced a
little adversity there in the second
half. For six or seven minutes
there in the third quarter, they
rallied and got a couple of touch
downs. That's a credit to Coach
Hannah and Baldwin that they
never gave up. And then our
offense responded right back, and
that was huge. So I think they're
just gaining confidence and build
ing momentum. And when you've
got a senior-heavy team like that,
those things are going to happen
sometimes."
Thomas led Baldwin in rushing
with 137 yards and a touchdown
on 29 carries. Jones threw for 117
yards and two touchdowns and an
interception on 4 of 9 completions.
He also added 20 yards rushing
on six carries.
Nelson said wanting to keep
Baldwin's offense off the field was
a major reason for the two onside
tries in the first half.
"We always look to try to steal a
possession here or there," Nelson
said. "But it's just fortunate that
it worked out for us tonight."
MP vs. Baldwin
TEAM STATS
MP
B
First Downs
14
13
Rushing yds.
242
169
Passing yds
156
117
Total yds.
398
286
Att-Comp-Int 13-7-1
9-4-1
Fumbles-Lost
1-0
3-2
Penalties
11-106
10-86
MP 13 14 21 7 - 55
B 0 0 14 7 - 21
BULLDOG SCORING
■ Malik Bledsoe
- 39-yard reception
(Josh Hampton kick)
■ J.T. Stokes
- 28-yard reception
(PAT failed)
• Quen Shannon
- 2-yard run
(Josh Hampton kick)
■ Malik Bledsoe
- 19-yard reception
(Alex Rivera kick)
• Dee High
- 4-yard run
(Alex Rivera kick)
• Keri Brown
-11-yard run
(Alex Rivera kick)
• Dee High
- 1-yard run
(Alex Rivera kick)
• Keri Brown
- 85-yard kick return
(Alex Rivera kick)
Individual MP Stats
OFFENSE
RUSHING
Carries
Yds.
Dee High
27
149
Keri Brown
7
61
Quen Shannon
3
20
Zach Harvey
1
5
Jaquavious Sims 1
3
Jatori Sims
1
2
Jake Johnston
1
2
Malik Bledsoe
1
1
Kendrell Taylor
1
0
Vic Henderson
1
-1
PASSING
Comp. Att. Yds.
Jake Johnston
7
13 156
RECEIVING
Rec.
Yds.
Malik Bledsoe
4
102
J.T. Stokes
2
46
Demarcus Davis 1
8
PUNT RETURNS
Ret.
Yds.
Keri Brown
1
9
KICK RETURNS
Ret.
Yds.
Keri Brown
3
91
DEFENSE
Tackles Assists
Quen Shannon 6
Brett Brewer 6
Quen Head
K. Pennamon
Tre Weaver
John Perkins
Keri Brown
Malik Herring
PUNTS
Punts Yds. Avg.
Drew Pack 1 42 42.0
INTERCEPTIONS
Ints Yds. Avg.
Quen Head 1 17 17.0
FUMBLES RECOVERED
No. Yds. Avg.
Dan O’Neal 1 0 0.0
J. Sims 1 0 0.0
MP senior running back Keri Brown, taking a handoff
from quarterback Jake Johnston, rushed for 61 yards
and a touchdown in addition to an 85-yard kick return for
a score on Friday night. (Photo/Richard Dumas)
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