Mary Persons rallies from early hole to stay unbeaten

FORSYTH -- An early two-score deficit in a big region game? No problem for Mary Persons.

The Bulldogs remained undefeated by rallying from an early disadvantage to get past Upson-Lee 30-14 on Friday at Dan Pitts Stadium. Mary Persons remains tied with Veterans for first place in GHSA Region 2-AAAA at 2-0, and the two teams play next week in Perry.

Mary Persons stuck to its ground game Friday, even when things looked bleak in the early going. A quick three-play scoring drive by the Knights in the first quarter got them on the board with a 27-yard pass from Kalen Puckett to Kendarious Traylor. And things turned more in the Knights favor after a fumble forced by standout defensive end David Marshall at the Mary Persons 25-yard line was turned into a 3-yard touchdown by Ty'Quaylon Reviere.

But the Bulldogs hung tough, especially on defense. Mary Persons turned away Upson-Lee (5-2, 2-2) twice in the first half on fourth down inside the Bulldogs' 25. And while the persistence paid off for Mary Persons, it haunted Upson-Lee as its chance to blow the game open disappeared.

And it all turned around for the Bulldogs on a turnover. A mishandled pitch from Puckett was rcoevered by Mary Persons Dre Evans, returning it inside the Upson-Lee 5. Jaquavious Sims scored from a yard out, cutting the Knights' lead in half at 14-7. Alexander Rivera's 32-yard field goal made it over the crossbar, trimming the Knights' advantage further to 14-10 as the first half ended.

Things snowballed in the direction of Mary Persons in the second half. The Bulldogs looked to their running game throughout the night, calling a total of 46 running plays with Sims and Zach Harvey splitting most of the carries. Sims had 22 carries for 91 yards with two rushing touchdowns and another on a reception. Harvey carried the ball 20 times for 58 yards.

That concerted ground effort powered the Bulldogs into the lead in the third quarter, as a 10-play drive was capped by a 5-yard run by Sims. Leading 17-14, good fortune found the Bulldogs again.

Two plays after the third-quarter opening scoring drive, Upson-Lee fumbled the snap, and Mary Persons took over at the 25. The Bulldogs took advantage, Quarterback Jake Johnston's third down inside screen pass to Harvey appeared to have him hemmed in, but he got past Knights defenders for a 13-yard score, moving Mary Persons ahead 24-14.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Mary Persons rallies from early hole to stay unbeaten ."