Brian Nelson looking for stronger starts from Mary Persons team

Mary Persons head coach Brian Nelson is looking for a little bit more consistency from his team when it faces LaGrange on Friday night.

The Bulldogs enter the game with a 3-0 record, but they have struggled in the first half of all three games before coming alive in the second half. The Bulldogs were tied at the half last week against Lamar County and had a seven-point lead against both Washington County and Jackson in their next two games at the half, before outscoring their opponents by a combined 44-7 in the second half.

“I’m not sure what it is,” Nelson said. “I know that these kids are young, but they are very resilient, and we seem to get better as the game goes on. I think a lot of it is nerves and inexperience, and we know we have got to be a better first-half team. This is our last non-region game, and I am pleased with our improvement, but in Region 2-AAAA, we will have to be better.

“LaGrange has a very good team and will be a tough test for us, but we want to be tested in these non-region games.”

Mary Persons has typically been a run-first attack on offense, but quarterback Jake Johnston is averaging more than 20 passing attempts per game.

“By Mary Persons’ standards, we are throwing it way more than we probably ever have, and Jake has done a great job,” Nelson said of his quarterback, who is averaging 154 yards passing per game. “We are playing two running backs that had never scored a high school touchdown before this year, and we need Jake to have a good year for us. So far he has answered the challenge.”

The Bulldogs have turned the running game over to Zach Harvey, who has 296 yards, and Jatori Sims, who has 217 yards.

“Those guys have been very good for us so far, and although we don’t have a Dee High (last year’s starter) to give the ball to 35 times a game, we feel like we have two guys who can get the job done,” Nelson said. “The each bring something different to the table, and we feel good about them sharing carries.”

Defensively, the Bulldogs have been led by senior Alexandre Evans, who has 28 tackles and five tackles for loss, and junior Malik Herring, who has 24 tackles and eight tackles for loss.

“I have been very pleased with Alexandre, and overall we are getting settled in,” Nelson said. “We are very young and make young mistakes, but we are getting closer. Let’s say I am pleased but not satisfied. We have to be much better when we get to our region.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Brian Nelson looking for stronger starts from Mary Persons team ."