Defensive standouts take center stage for Mary Persons, Upson-Lee
Most of the time when Mary Persons takes the field, Bulldogs defensive end Malik Herring attracts the bulk of the defensive focus. Leading a defense that has allowed more than two touchdowns in regulation just once this season, Herring's play has helped key the Bulldogs to an unblemished record of 6-0 overall and 2-0 in GHSA Region 2-AAAA.
Mary Persons will see something similar on the opposing sideline Friday. The Upson-Lee Knights (5-1, 2-1) are led defensively from the end position by David Marshall, who has received offers from college programs such as Mississippi, Auburn and Alabama.
"He's definitely a focal point, but they have some other players on defense to account for besides him, and that's what makes them good," Mary Persons head coach Brian Nelson said. "He's a big imposing kid."
As for Herring, he is averaging eight tackles per game to go with four sacks and 13 tackles for loss. That ability has attracted the attention of multiple college programs, drawing offers from the likes of Georgia, Clemson and Florida State.
The defensive prowess will be on full display Friday when the Bulldogs look to stay unbeaten against Upson-Lee. While a win would place Mary Persons at no worse than a tie for first place in the region. An Upson-Lee victory, would forge a tie among multiple teams for first place.
And the games stand to get bigger throughout the region going forward. Mary Persons visits Veterans next week before hosting Baldwin and traveling to West Laurens.
"I think obviously our kids are smart enough to kind of realize what's ahead of them and what the situations are. The thing about it is that as you get later and later in the year, you want to be in a position where you are playing meaningful games, and that's kind of where we're at," Nelson said. "And on top of that, the opponents for us continue to get tougher and tougher. And as a high school football player, that's where you want to be and be involved with - the later you get in the year, the more the games mean something."
Both sides only need to look at last year's game between the teams as an example of how either team's season could turn out as a result. Very much like this year, Mary Persons enters as a region frontrunner and Upson-Lee with one loss, like this year, to West Laurens. The Bulldogs' easy 42-0 win in this game last season kept them in first place. For Upson-Lee, the loss ended up costing them a postseason berth as a defeat to Veterans in the season finale kept it out of the playoffs.
"I don't think anybody's separated themselves one way or another, and there's a lot at stake," Nelson said. "Every game's important, and you've got to come out ready to play, because everybody has the same goal we have."
The Knights are in their second season under head coach Tommy Parks. Last year's seven wins were the most for the program since 2005.
Chief among the team's offensive leaders is dual-threat quarterback Kalen Puckett, who showed off that ability in last week's 35-7 win over Perry, rushing for 139 yards and throwing for 106 in accounting for four combined touchdowns. Running back Quay Reviere has rushed for 843 yards and 13 touchdowns.
"They've got some returners back who are good players," Nelson said. "I don't know so much how different they are, but you can tell one more year in his program the influence he has had on them on the field."
The Bulldogs will look to keep up their stout running game against the Knights. The one-two punch of Zach Harvey and Jaquavious Sims continues to bear fruit for Mary Persons. Harvey is averaging 102 rushing yards per game and has scored eight touchdowns while Sims has amassed five touchdowns to go with an 80-yards-per-game average. Both also have snagged a pair of touchdown receptions.
This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Defensive standouts take center stage for Mary Persons, Upson-Lee ."