Newspaper Page Text
Page 2
August 17, 2022
Dogs
^Reporter
hungry for more than 7-4
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
The Mary Persons Bull
dogs will feature a 4-year
starting quarterback, the
best receiving corps its had
in years and one of the top
running backs in Georgia
as they try to improve upon
last years 7-4 record and
return MP to its traditional
glory.
But head coach Brian
Nelson (91-31 in 10 years
at MP) said the biggest
challenge this off-season is
filling three big holes left
on the offensive line due
to graduation, including
two seniors, Austin Starr
and Jarvis Germany, who
are now playing college
football.
In going 7-4 last year, the
Bulldogs had their best
season since 2018. That
was good, but still not the
kind of success MP enjoyed
from 2015-18, when the
Bulldogs won four straight
region tides. In that span
MP won at least 11 games
every year and went to
the Final Four twice. In
fact Nelson won at least 9
games in each of his first
7 years as head coach. The
success had made him
one of the hottest young
coaches in Georgia high
school football. But over
the past 3 seasons, MP has
never won more than 7
games, and even had a los
ing record and missed the
playoffs in 2020.
Nelson said a lot of that is
due class size. The Bulldogs
had just 13 seniors in 2021,
and only 11 in 2020. Back-
to-back classes with not
many football players was
a big reason for the recent
swoon.
The good news is that
appears to be changing,
big-time. MP has its most
players ever this fall, 106,
including 42 freshmen.
And it appears that will
continue. There are 85 boys
playing football at Monroe
County Middle School,
thought to be the most-ev-
er. Nelson and his coaches
have been scrambling to
find uniforms, equipment
and middle school coaches
to handle the growing
number of boys playing
football.
But only 11 of those MP
boys can play at one time,
and they’re the ones who
will determine whether
the Bulldogs can return to
the top of the heap. Senior
quarterback Logan Hick
man returns for his final
year, and has started since
he was a freshman. He’s
on the cusp of breaking JT
Heritage’s all-time career
record for passing yards.
Hickman has thrown for
4,323 yards and 39 touch
downs in 3 years at MP,
and needs just 400 more
yards to break Hartage’s
record. He has gotten better
each year. Last season he
had 15 touchdowns and
only 6 interceptions. Nel
son said Hickman is a hard
worker who has had a great
off-season and has become
a better leader. Nelson said
he likes the fact that after 3
years under center, Hick
man has been tested in
close games like that wild
one against Jackson last
year when Hickman threw
a game-winning TD as
time expired.
Hickman will also have
to replace some top targets
this year. MP lost 3 of its
top 4 receivers from last
year. Jake Lavinka and DJ
Martinez, who led the team
in catches, graduated, and
the No. 4 receiver Seth Da
vis transferred to FPD. But
Kham Littie, already a ter
rific MP basketball player,
is showing great potential
as a football receiver now
and joins already estab
lished ones like Ty Du
mas, Maury Lowe, Carter
Campbell, Nemo Jones and
Gavin Martin to give MP
its deepest receiving corps
in years.
And when MP isn’t
throwing, it can hand off to
junior Duke Watson, last
year’s All-Region offensive
player of the year. Watson
rushed for 1,716 yards,
averaging 156 yards per
game, and 25 touchdowns
last year to lead the Bull
dog offense. Nelson said
Watson, who already has
offers from Georgia Tech
and Marshall, hasn’t rested
on what he did last year but
worked hard to get stronger
and faster.
Defensively, MP has a
new coordinator in Clint
Kent after Kip Burdette
took the head job at West
Laurens. Kent switched
from a 3-man to a 4-man
front and favors a more
attacking style. Nelson
calls senior linebacker
OJ Evans his most vocal
leader on the field, with
senior linebacker Brandon
Alford, who has an of
fer from Austin Peay, and
senior cornerback Champ
Brandey leading the way.
But MP will have to replace
big defensive lineman
Jordan Atkins, who moved
to Augusta.
Coaches and players have
changed this year for MP,
and so has the schedule.
The GHSA at first put MP
in a Columbus-area region
that would have included
some long road trips. But at
the last minute, the Bull
dogs were moved back into
Region 2-AAA, only with 3
schools removed. So Mary
Persons has just four other
teams in its region and only
one of them will miss the
playoffs.
See PREVIEW • Page 6
AUTO SERVICE CENTER
WWW.RAFFIELDTIRE.COM
HAVE A GREAT
SEASON
MARY PERSONS!
Complete Auto Care
Low Tire Prices
We employ
ASE certified
technicians
MACON
120 Riverside Pkwy. 486 MLK Jr. Blvd.
478-474-4119 478-743-1525
7020 Peake Rd. at Zebulon Rd.
478-405-5588