Dominant second quarter keeps Mary Persons unbeaten
FORSYTH -- For a quarter or so, Baldwin stayed with fourth-ranked Mary Persons on Friday night. The rest of the game was another story.
The Bulldogs (9-0 overall, 5-0 GHSA Region 2-AAAA play) broke a close game wide open in the second quarter, wearing the Braves down to win 37-3 and set up a de facto region championship game next week at West Laurens. The Bulldogs lost to the Raiders 21-14 a year ago in a game that like next week's will decide the Region 2-AAAA crown. Baldwin (3-6, 0-5) still has a chance to play the role of spoiler, as a win next week over Howard can end the Huskies' playoff hopes.
Baldwin trailed 7-3 late in the first quarter before Mary Persons blasted Baldwin for 23 third-quarter points to lead 30-3 at halftime, allowing the Bulldogs to rest a good portion of their offensive starters in the second half.
"We wanted to make sure we came out and played well in the first half. Nothing against Baldwin, me and (Braves head coach Lee) Hannah are good friends, but you don't want to let teams hang around with you, because then they think they can hang around with you," Mary Persons head coach Brian Nelson said. "It just worked out well for us in the second quarter, and we were able to get some kids in near the end that hadn't played much this year."
Friday turned out to be a showcase of the Bulldogs' ground game that totaled 261 yards with three different running backs scoring touchdowns. In the first half, Mary Persons rushed for 157 yards, which powered it to 12 first downs in the first two quarters. And with the big halftime lead, the Bulldogs were able to rest their top two running backs, Zach Harvey and Jaquavious Sims. Harvey rushed 13 times for 80 yards and scored twice early for a 14-3 Mary Persons lead. Sims again complemented Harvey, with 16 carries for 60 yards and scoring on a run and a reception.
Quen Wilson took on the rushing load in the second half, gaining 70 yards and scoring the final Mary Persons touchdown, from four yards out early in the fourth quarter.
"All three of those guys did a good job running the ball for us (Friday)," Nelson said. "I've said it all along, they all kind of have something different in their bag of tricks that they do. And that helps us and helps take some pressure of Jake (Johnston) making all the throws. We can do what we do in the passing game off the running game. It helps us do what we want to do."
This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Dominant second quarter keeps Mary Persons unbeaten ."