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August 17, 2022
liReporter
Page 15
MP posted best season since ’18 last year
Here’s a look back at the
Mary Persons’ 7-4 season
in 2021, compiled by Park
Davis:
Mary Persons 42
Towers 0
The Mary Persons
Bulldogs started the 2021
season strong with a domi
nant 42-0 win over the
Titans. The Dogs launched
early, scoring 28 in the first
quarter and 14 in the sec
ond. The Towers defense
had a phenomenal perfor
mance, holding the Titan
offense to a total 72 yards
and 6 first downs. The
Dogs didn’t score in the
second half after putting in
substitutes. They relied on
the rushing game, with 248
of 324 yards being from the
ground. Senior placekicker
Tripp Shipman was perfect
on PATs, being 5 for 5. This
put the Bulldogs at 1-0.
Mary Persons 42
McDonough 28
The Bulldogs put another
home win on the sheet
against the McDonough
War Hawks. The Hawks
kept up with the Bulldogs
for almost the whole first
half. However, with a
under a minute to go in the
half, the Dogs converted
a fourth down, scored, re
covered a pooch kick, then
scored again on sophomore
RB Duke Watson’s 15 yard
run as the half ended. Wat
son went on to score two
more touchdowns, putting
on a peak performance and
setting a school record of
6 touchdowns in a game.
Junior QB Logan Hickman
went 8 for 14 passing with
96 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Bulldog defense held
the Hawks to 14 points in
each half, and KT Watson
lead with 8 tackles. The MP
offense secured the win
with 14 points in the sec
ond half, and the Dogs won
42-28 to advance to 2-0.
Newnan 39
Mary Persons 32
After a rough 44-7 loss
for MP in 2020 against the
AAAAAAA Newnan Cou
gars, MP headed to Drake
Stadium for revenge. The
Dogs held on strong for
the 47 minutes, and when
faced with a 4th and 1 with
a minute to go, the lights
went out in the stadium.
When the lights came back
on, Duke Watson ran for
the first down. And with
17 seconds left, QB Logan
Hickman threw up a pass
into the endzone, but it was
intercepted by the Cougar
defense. This put MP at
2-1. Despite the tough loss,
the MP offense put on a
steller performance led by
Duke Watson and Logan
Hickman, again. The of
fense put up 519 yards, 260
by Watson and 242 passing
by Hickman. The teams
went back and forth scor
ing, making it a shootout.
It came down to the last
second, but even with the
loss, many were proud of
how the Dogs competed.
Peach County 35
Mary Persons 13
In the region opener
against Peach County, the
Dogs fell to the Trojans,
putting them at 0-1 in
region play. MP held on
for the first half, keeping
the score at 7-14, with a
touchdown from junior QB
Logan Hickman to senior
WR DJ Martinez. However,
the Trojans put their foot
on the gas in the fourth
quarter, scoring 21 points.
MP couldn’t keep up and
scored one touchdown in
the fourth. This was the
second straight week that
the first round against the
Burke County Bears. The
Bears’ offense rolled up 594
yards, with 438 being rush
yards. MP couldn’t keep
their ground as 35 of the
Bears’ points were in the
first half. The game wasn’t
all bad though. Sopho
more RB Duke Watson,
who had an offer from
Liberty University, passed
the all-time single-season
school record for rushing
yards with 1,716 yards. The
previous record was 1,663
yards set by Alvin Toles
in in 1980. The Dogs had
two touchdowns, both by
Watson. The Dogs couldn’t
recover from their first half
mistakes, and their season
sadly ended. The Bears
wound up losing to Carver
in the state quarterfinals.
MP finished 7-4, 5-2 in
region.
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the Dogs fell short in the
fourth quarter. Hickman
led the offense, going 13
for 16 passing. JT Owens
led the defense with eight
tackles. Punts went back
and forth between the
teams with senior punter
Tripp Shipman punting
five times, averaging 51
per punt. While the Dogs
kept up for 36 minutes,
they couldn’t complete the
comeback, putting them at
2-2,0-1 in region.
Mary Persons 47
Central 16
The Bulldogs did not hold
back against Central aveng
ing a devasting loss on
Homecoming to the Char
gers in 2020. MP launched
early, scoring 34 in just the
first half. At the start of the
second half, Central started
to drive down the field, but
junior DB Champ Brantley
intercepted a Central pass.
He took it to the Central
44, paving the way for
Duke Watson to score a
15-yard touchdown for the
Dogs. Duke Watson and JT
Owens led the offense for
a combined 246 yards and
5 touchdowns. The Dogs
swept the Chargers 47-16,
got their revenge and ad
vanced their record to 1-1
in region.
Crisp County 49
Mary Persons 14
Again, the Bulldogs were
embarrased on Homecom
ing night, this time by the
Crisp County Cougars.
MP started the game off
strong, taking a 7-0 lead
when Duke Watson ran 7
yards into the end zone.
This lead didn’t last long,
as Crisp junior QB Ahmad
Brown ran 55 yards to the
house. It didn’t stop there.
The Cougars scored 42 in
the first half, and it didn’t
help that the Dogs had 5
turnovers. Both teams took
advantage of their rushing
game. The Dogs rushed for
184 yards out of a total 235
yards, and Crisp rushed for
238 out of a total 317 yards.
MP was swept under the
rug, putting them at 3-3,
1-2 in region.
Mary Persons 48
Pike County 14
MP flipped the script on
the score of their previous
week’s loss to the Cougars
and whooped the Pike
County Pirates 48-14. This
was a much-needed region
victory to help MP make it
into the playoffs, and it felt
good after a Homecoming
loss. The Bulldog offense,
led by QB Logan Hickman,
RB Duke Watson, and WR
DJ Martinez, had a whop
ping 469 yards against the
Pirates defense. With help
from the powerful of
fensive line, Hickman was
15 for 20 passing for 244
yards. After a struggling
first quarter, MP went full
throttle. They scored 21
in the second quarter and
20 in the third. The Dogs
finished strong, advancing
to 4-3,2-2 in region.
Mary Persons 32
Upson-Lee 24
After a much needed
off-week, the Bulldogs ad
vanced to 5-3, 3-2 in region
with a close win against the
Upson-Lee Knights. The
two Region 2-AAA teams
went back and forth, and
Upson-Lee scored first.
That was their only lead
of the night. After a 14-11
halftime lead for the Dogs,
the offense took the ball
down the field after Duke
Watson’s 27 yard kickoff
return. The offensive drive
allowed senior kicker Tripp
Shipman to make a 27 yard
field goal, advancing the
lead to 17-11. The Knights
began to drive down the
field on the next drive, but
junior DB Champ Brantley
intercepted a Knight pass,
followed by an offensive
touchdown. Upson-Lee
attempted a comeback, but
they couldn’t catch up after
MP recovered an onside
kick late in the fourth
quarter.
Mary Persons 23
Jackson 21
The Bulldogs had a
miracle win over their
top rival, the Jackson Red
Devils. Like the 2020 game
against the Red Devils, the
game came down to junior
QB Logan Hickman, and
he completed the pass to
sophomore Ty Dumas.
Jackson led most of the
game, maintaining a 21-17
lead near the end of the
fourth. The Red Devils hit
the gas early, scoring 14 in
the first quarter. But MP
didn’t let this last as they
scored 10 in the second
and held Jackson to 0. It
was a 14-10 Jackson lead
at half. Both teams scored
in the third quarter. Then
in the fourth, the Jackson
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defense had a goal line
stand against the Bulldogs,
followed by a defensive
stand for the Dogs. This
allowed Hickman to throw
the game winning touch
down pass to Dumas,
advancing MP’s record to
6-3,4-2 in region, clinching
a playoff spot. The Bulldog
offense was led by RB Duke
Watson with 28 carries and
118 yards, and the defense
was led by Griffin Morris
and Champ Brantley, both
with 6 tackles each.
Mary Persons 28
Americus 26
After clinching the
playoff spot in the previous
week’s down-to-the-wire
win against Jackson, MP
headed to Alton Shell Sta
dium to play the Americus
Panthers, who were 1-8
at the time. The Dogs put
away the scare and beat
the Panthers 28-26. They
were disappointed with
how they played, but it was
a win nonetheless. They
should be grateful that the
MP offense went to work.
The Bulldogs had 393 total
yards, and they were led by
Logan Hickman, who went
12 for 16 in pass comple
tions with 149 yards and
two touchdowns, and Duke
Watson, who carried the
ball 28 times for 249 yards.
They picked up the slack
of the MP defense, who
allowed 457 total yards
by the Panther offense. If
it wasn’t for the missed
PAT by the Panthers in the
second quarter, the game
would’ve felt more tense
for the Dogs and their fans.
However, the Dogs pulled
through, advancing to 7-3,
5-2 in region.
Burke County 48
Mary Persons 21
The Bulldogs finished
their 2021 season with a
devastating playoff loss in
l/\le are iff jaronof of yon! Gnjoyyonr
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