Marist pulls away from Mary Persons in GHSA Class AAAA playoffs
FORSYTH -- Every time Mary Persons mounted a comeback attempt against Marist on Friday night, Marist had an answer.
Every time the fourth-ranked Bulldogs cut their deficit to a field goal, the 10th-ranked War Eagles kicked their lead back out to 10 points.
The back-and-forth eventually was too much for Mary Persons to overcome. Marist pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 45-21 victory in the second round of the GHSA Class AAAA playoffs at Dan Pitts Stadium.
Michael Addicks ran for 125 yards and four touchdowns -- three of them in the fourth quarter -- to give Marist (10-2) the points it needed to advance to the quarterfinals, where the War Eagles will face Woodward Academy, a 48-21 winner over Spalding.
Mary Persons lost for the first time this season, finishing 11-1.
"They're a good team, and their offense wears on you," Mary Persons head coach Brian Nelson said. "They don't make many mistakes, and we made more than they did.
"The kids played hard (Friday), like they have all year. I'm proud of them."
After giving up 10 early points, the Bulldogs hung with the War Eagles well into the fourth quarter. Jake Johnston's 42-yard touchdown pass to Roger Akins with 7:19 to go made it a 24-21 ballgame, the third time Mary Persons cut Marist's lead to three points.
The game went Marist's way after that.
Marist drove 72 yards on seven plays after Johnston's lone touchdown pass, with Addicks punching it in from a yard out with 5:02 to go.
That's when the Marist defense took over. The War Eagles forced a Mary Persons fumble at the Bulldogs' 29 on the first play of the ensuing drive, and Addicks was back in the end zone three plays later on another 1-yard scoring run.
Addicks scored one more time, a 6-yard run with 51 seconds to go, to cap his evening. He also had a 1-yarder in the third quarter.
"I'm really pleased with how we matched them and how we extended it back to 10," said Marist head coach Alan Chadwick, who is three wins away from matching former Mary Persons head coach Dan Pitts' win total of 346 for third place all-time in Georgia. "I thought we played extremely well in all phases of the game.
"The defense got some stops. They gave up a couple of big plays, which Mary Persons is capable of doing, but I'm happy with our defense and how they gave the ball back to us in great field position."
Quen Wilson ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns, including a 61-yarder late in the first half, for Mary Persons.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Marist pulls away from Mary Persons in GHSA Class AAAA playoffs ."