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WE HAVE IT COVERED IF ITS PLAYED
^Reporter
1C
October 5, 2022
SPORTS
CALENDAR
Wed., Oct. 5
5 pm
Middle School Football @
Gray Station
6 pm & 7 p.m.
Varsity Softball @
Crawford County High
School
Thu rs v Oct. 6
5 pm
Varsity Volleyball @
Pike County High
5 pm
Boys/Girls Varsity/JV
Cross Country @ Bleckley
County Invitational @
Bleckley County
Elementary
5 pm
JV MP Football @
Upson-Lee High School
Fri v Oct. 7
7:30 pm
MP Varsity Football @
Jackson High School
Sat v Oct. 8
Noon
MP Varsity Competition
Cheer @ Ola High School
Mason Oliver
shoots 486
pound bear
Mason Oliver of Forsyth
shot this trophy black
bear weighing 486
pounds last week from
25 yards away at the
Swamp Fever Hunting
Club in South Georgia.
Mason is the son of
Chad and Kristen Oliver
and was hunting with
Kourageous Outdoor
Kids of Dublin.
Big stakes in Backyard Brawl
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcrnet
The Mary Persons Bull
dogs (4-2) open region play
on Friday at their arch-rival
Jackson Red Devils (3-3),
and if history is any indica
tor, it should be a heck of
game.
MP will likely face an
angry Jackson team still
smarting from last year’s
edition of the Backyard
Brawl. The Red Devils had
the game won and faced a
4th and 10 at their own 6
yard line with 15 seconds
left. But the Jackson punter
tried to run for a first down
and failed, giving MP one
last chance to win the game.
Logan Hickman hit Ty
Dumas in the end zone as
time expired to secure an
improbable 23-21 win over
the Red Devils.
The Red Devils were so
upset that the punter alleg
edly didn’t ride back on the
team bus.
A year earlier, in 2020,
Jackson won another nail
biter when MP failed on
a 2-point conversion and
lost 28-27 the last time the
Bulldogs visited Red Devil
Hill.
MP will find a new sta
dium and field when ven
ture to Jackson on Friday
The school has installed
artificial turf and built new
bleachers.
So far this year Jackson
has beaten Ola (18-16),
Union Grove (21-7) and
Douglass (18-10). They have
lost to Lovejoy (27-17),
Sandy Creek (29-7)
and Lamar County (42-16).
MP leads the all-time
series 59-20.
Jackson is coached by
Dary Myricks, who’s been
with the Red Devils since
2013 and led them to five
winning seasons.
MP coach Brian Nelson
said after a disappointing
performance last week, he’s
ready to focus on Jackson.
“It’s a new season,” said
Nelson. “That game last
Thursday has nothing to do
with our goals. The real sea
son starts this week. We’ve
moved on.”
Nelson said like most
teams, Jackson will be
bigger than MP on both
sides of the line and said
the Red Devils have some
See PREVIEW Page 5C
GAME ®wcw
vs
Mary Persons @ Jackson
7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 7
Red Devil Stadium
MP leads series 59-20
Prediction: MP 28 Jackson 14
Tickets: $10 GoFan app
www.mymcr.net
Prince Avenue pounds MP
Champ Brantley fights for extra yards against Prince Avenue Friday night. (Photo/Russ Campbell)
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcrnet
Mary Persons (4-2) was
trounced by Class A Prince
Avenue Christian School
(5-0) on Thursday night in
Athens, 47-14.
The Wolverines, who
have played in the Class A-
private state championship
the past two years, scored
on their first 7 possessions
en route to a dominant win
in MP’s final non-region
contest of the year.
Prince Avenue junior
quarterback Aaron Philo
carved up the Bulldog de
fense, going 17 of 22 for 227
yards and 4 TDs leading the
spread offense.
Facing a powerhouse
program, MP didn’t help
itself on its first drive.
Quarterback Logan Hick
man was sacked for an
11-yard loss to the Bulldog
20 yard line on 3rd down.
Then MP fumbled the punt
snap and PACS recovered at
the 1 yard line. Sophomore
running back Mac Bradley
scored from there. The PAT
was no good so PACS led
6-0 with 10:08 left in the
first quarter.
The Bulldogs did move
the ball on their second
drive of the night. Ju
nior running back Duke
Watson carried 5 times
for 22 yards and caught a
pass for 8 yards to lead the
Dogs to the PACS 31. But
Hickman was sacked and
MP had to punt. Punter
Ryan Bankston pinned the
Wolverines on their own 1.
But it mattered not. Philo
was 5 of 6 passing as PACS
marched 99 yards on 11
plays before Bradley scored
again from 11 yards out.
The PAT made it 13-0.
The Bulldogs were forced
to punt again and gave
Prince Avenue good field
position at its own 42. PACS
easily went 5 plays for 58
yards capped when Philo
found Bailey Stockton for
the first of two TD catches.
The PAT made it 20-0
with 9:40 left in the second
quarter.
Prince tried an onsides
kick which MP recovered,
giving them their best
starting field position of
the night starting at their
own 47. The Bulldogs took
advantage. Watson got 3
straight carries to set up 4th
and 2 at the PACS 45. Then
MP drew Prince offsides to
give them the first down.
And on 3rd and 6 from
the Wolverine 36, Hick
man found senior Kham
Little for a touchdown.
Bankston’s PAT made it
20-7 with 6:38 left in the
half.
While the offense had
finally heated up, the
defense remained docile.
PACS used 8 plays to drive
61 yards before Philo found
Ethan Christian for the TD.
The PAT made it 27-7 with
4:30 left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff RJ
Holder set up MP good field
position with a 22 yard re-
See DOGS Page 5C
Ranked No. 12, Mercer hosts
Western Carolina on Sat.
Mercer (4-1,2-0 confer
ence) moved up to No. 12
in the FCS Coaches Poll
as they get ready to host
Southern Conference foe
Western Carolina (3-2,
1-1) on Saturday.
The Bears’ only loss this
year is to SEC powerhouse
Auburn after beating
Wofford 42-7 on Saturday.
The Bears are one of three
teams from the SoCon
ranked in the poll. Chat
tanooga is ranked No. 9
and Samford is ranked No. 15.
Mercer put together another strong per
formance at Wofford. The Bears outgained
Wofford 554 to 221 in total offense. The
Bears held their third consecutive opponent
to under 100 rushing yards as Wofford had
just 67 yards on the day.
Fred Payton completed 20-of-25 passes for
a season-high 330 yards and two touch
downs. Payton is one of four FCS quarter
backs with zero interceptions this season.
Payton is fourth in the FCS in passing
efficiency with a 180.42 rating.
Devron Harper has had back-to-back
three touchdown games. Harper is tied for
third in the FCS with 10 total touchdowns
on the season. He also
is second in the FCS in
receiving touchdowns
with seven.
Mercer is second in the
Southern Conference and
thirteenth in the FCS in
scoring offense, averaging
36.6 points per game.
FAMILY WEEKEND
Mercer welcomes West
ern Carolina to Five Star
Stadium this Saturday,
Oct. 8. Western Carolina
(3-2,1-1) defeated VMI38-17 last week.
Mercer Athletics has revealed a thrilling
lineup of talented artists that fans are sure to
bring the energy to the 2022 Ford Concert
Series. This weekend, The Ford Concert
Series will include a performance from
Rodney Atkins.
Next Saturday, Oct. 15, is Monroe County
Day as Mercer hosts East Tennessee State at
Five Star Stadium at 4 p.m. Monroe County
residents will be honored with discounted
tickets for this Southern Conference
showdown that decided the conference
champion last year. You can buy tickets to
Saturday’s game at mercer.edu.
Kham Little
Two Touchdowns vs. PACS
MARY PERSONS BULLDOGS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
STIFEL
Investment Services Since 1890
Chanin Jungberg Ketterbaugh Wealth Advisory Group
577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1200
Macon, Georgia 31201
478-803-9342 cjkawealthadvisory.com
Jason Jungberg, AAMS* Senior Vice President/Investments
MARY PERSONS BULLDOGS
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Mackenzie Lavinka
MP VOLLEYBALL
Leads MP to 6 straight wins
and has 156 kills, 214 assists
and 159 digs on the season
Fertilization / Weed Control Programs
Tree & Shrub Programs • Core Aeration
Mosquito Control Program • Fire Ant Control
Fungicides/Insecticide Treatments
PH and Soil Management
1042 Benson Ham Rd. • Ste. 300 • Forsyth, GA 31029
(478) 342-1689
WWW.TURF-MAGIC.COM