Newspaper Page Text
WE HAVE IT COVERED IF IT'S PLAYED
• Reporter
1C
September 21, 2022
cSr MP aims to make Devils blue
Wed., Sept. 21
5 p.m.
Middle School Football @
Upson-Lee Middle School
Thurs., Sept. 22
4:30 pm
Gray Station ( - Monroe
County Middle School
5 pm
West Laurens High School
( - MP 9th grade Football
5:00 pm
Lamar County High
School ( - MP JV Football
6-7 pm
Peach & Baldwin County
( - Mary Persons
Varsity, JV Volleyball
6 pm
Gray Station Middle
School ( - MC Middle
School Softball ( - Banks
Stephens Middle
Fri., Sept. 23
7:30 pm
Columbus High ( - MP Var
sity Football (Homecoming)
Sat., Sept. 24
8 a.m.
Girls, Boys Varsity & JV
Cross Country
( - Greyhound Invitational
in Gray
Mon., Sept. 26
5 pm
Girls Freshman
Volleyball @ Tattnall Square
Academy
5 pm
Middle School Softball @
Pike County Middle
School
Keith Edge, left, and Ricky
Wilson, right, are announc
ing Mary Persons football
games on the SportsMic
app found on your phone.
They also host the coach
Brian Nelson Show at 7
p.m. on Mondays from The
Pickled Okra.
The Mary Persons Bull
dogs (3-1) return to action
after a bye week on Friday
to host a 2-2 Columbus
High team for Homecom
ing.
MP is coming off a 38-17
win over Haralson County
on Sept. 9.
The Blue Devils are 2-2
with wins over Jordan (55-
0) and Shaw (33-20) and
losses to Northside (42-7)
and Manchester (62-22).
In Class AAAA, Co
lumbus was 4-6 last year.
They are coached by Phil
Marino, who has been the
Blue Devils head coach
since 2011 but has only
led them to two winning
seasons.
It’s the first time the two
schools have met.
Columbus is small in
number. The roster lists
just 45 players, half what
MP has, and many play
ers must compete on both
sides of the ball. Coach
Brian Nelson said their
best player seems to be
the senior running back,
Brooklyn Davis, No. 24. He
had 193 yards rushing and
3 touchdowns in the win
over Shaw and has over 549
yards rushing and 8 TDs
for the season.
The Bulldogs are led by
junior running back Duke
Watson, who averages 172
yards per game. He has of
fers from Georgia Tech and
Kansas. The Blue Devils
haven’t held up well against
the run so Watson could
have a banner night Friday.
Nemo Jones has emerged
as a top receiver for
quarterback Logan Hick
man. Jones leads the team
averaging 66 yards receiv
ing per game. Hickman
has performed well too,
completing 61 percent of
his passes with only one
pick on the year.
Defensively, the Dogs are
led by junior linebacker
Jacobi Jones, who’s averag
ing 14 tackles per game.
MP was originally going
to share a region with Co
lumbus this season, but the
GHSA put MP back into a
Macon-area region instead.
Nelson said Homecom
ing is a distraction, but
said the kids enjoy it. He
reminded them that their
job for Homecoming is
to win the game, which
makes the week more fun
for everyone.
Columbus @ Mary Persons
7:30 p.m.
Dan Pitts Stadium
Teams have never met
Prediction: MP 35 Columbus 7
Tickets: $10 GoFan app
478.994.2358
www.mymcr.net
GAME
Bulldog football is
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
There’s a new way to fol
low Mary Persons football
games.
Starting this season
all games are now live-
streamed on the Sports Mic
application, which you can
download on your phone.
The broadcast team
includes two former MP
Bulldogs, Keith Edge and
Ricky “Hot Dog” Wilson.
Edge is the play by play
man. His main sport
was basketball but coach
Dan Pitts talked him into
playing football his senior
year in 1977. Edge said he
had a deal with Wilson,
Eddie Rowland and other
classmates — he would
play football and then they
agreed to play basketball.
Edge laughed that he kept
his side of the bargain but
the others did not.
Edge did well in his one
year of football, setting
what was then an MP
record with 7 interceptions
as a safety.
Edge said he’s having a
great time as the “Voice
of the Bulldogs.” He said
it started when another
on the web
former MP player, Greg
Elrod, asked him to be the
color commentator for the
season opener, the MP-
Northeast game at Mercer.
Elrod is a co-owner of
SportsMic, which streams
high school football games
mostly in Houston County.
Edge said yes, and in turn
asked Elrod to help him
start a podcast with MP
coach Brian Nelson. Thus
MP entered the streaming
world. Now the “Whoa
Nelly” radio show streams
at 7 p.m. on Mondays from
The Pickled Okra and the
games on Friday nights,
all on the SportsMic app.
Edge said the audiences
have rated second among
SportsMic games and said
listeners are staying for an
average of an hour and 20
minutes, meaning they’re
retaining listeners.
Because it was thrown
together at the last minute
they are simply promoting
big sponsors with the MP
Touchdown Club rather
than trying to sell new ads.
Edge’s sidekick, Wilson,
was the quarterback for MP
from 1975-77. His dad had
a dairy farm so Wilson said
going to football practice
was a welcome break from
farm chores. Wilson said
he and Edge, who work
together in the Monroe
County tax assessors office,
have been friends for so
long that they can finish
each other’s sentences.
Wilson said the 3-1
Bulldogs are young on
the offensive line but have
really good skilled players.
He said the defense is get
ting better and if they keep
doing so, the Dogs have a
chance to make the playoffs
and maybe more.
Wilson said he would
rather watch a good high
school football game than
any other level of the sport.
“It’s the purest form of
football,” said Wilson.
Wilson and Edge also de
ploy their dry humor into
their broadcasts. When
MP quarterback Logan
Hickman connected with
receiver Nemo Jones for his
second touchdown, Wilson
blurted out, “They found
Nemo again!”
Edge said they don’t get
paid to do the games, but
said that’s OK because
they’re having fun.
Lady Dogs end slide with
come-from-behind win
By Maxwell Nickel
s.maxwdl.nickel@mcschools.org
The Mary Persons softball team had
lost five games in a row and trailed Taylor
County 12-1 in the fifth inning on Senior
Night Monday, Sept. 19. It would have been
easy to quit. But the Lady Dogs instead got
their bats going and ripped off 11 straight
rims for a stunning 13-12 win.
The game was tied at 12 in the bottom of
the seventh when JaNyia Hicks singled on
a 2-2 count, scoring the winning run and
sending the team into jubilation. Hicks led
Bulldogs by driving in four rims. Hicks
went 3-for-5 at the plate.
Mary Persons put up six runs in the sixth
inning. The Dogs put the pressure on, led
by singles by Hicks and Erin Dugger, dou
bles by Mackenzie Childs and Qua’Nesha
Brown, and a triple by Olivia Woodgeard.
Woodgeard was the winning pitcher for
the Bulldogs. The lefty surrendered 0 runs
on 0 hits over two and two-thirds innings,
striking out six. Brown threw one and one-
third innings in relief out of the bullpen.
Dugger had a homer in the fifth inning.
The Bulldogs tallied 15 hits. Woodgeard,
Dugger, Hicks and Childs all had multiple
hits. Woodgeard went 4-for-5 at the plate.
The Lady Dogs improved to 6-10 on the
year.
MP had taken its 5th straight loss after
being beaten in a 8-0 sweep by the ACE
Anna Woodgeard pitches for the Lady Dogs
in their stunning 13-12 win on Monday.
(Photo/Will Davis)
Gryphons (19-2). The loss pushed MP’s
record down to 5-8 and was followed by an
other loss to the Pike County Pirates (10-8)
in an away conference game. The Dogs were
beaten 11-3.
On Thursday, Sept. 22, the Lady Dogs play
at John Milledge Academy (14-5) on Thurs
day, Sept. 22 on Tuesday, Sep. 27, will host
Upson-Lee (4-14) in a double header.
Senior Andon Riley
Strong academically and two year
starter on the offensive line
MARY PERSONS BULLDOGS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
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577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1200
Macon, Georgia 31201
478-803-9342 cjkawealthadvisory.com
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MARY PERSONS BULLDOGS
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Mason Stephens
MCMS football
3 touches, 2 touchdowns
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