As far as the football season goes, this Friday is the final dress rehearsal for the Greyhounds.
Before next Friday’s season opener at home against Veterans, Jones County gets one final tune up before all of the records count for the 2024 season.
JCHS will take the quick drive up Highway 18 Friday to scrimmage Mary Persons at Dan Pitts Stadium as JCHS will go against one of its more frequent opponents. The Greyhounds have played a combined 41 games against the Bulldogs, but the two squads have not played in the regular season since 2013. Those 41 games against the Bulldogs are the third-most against any other team by the Greyhounds, exceeded only by Jasper County and Putnam County.
Friday will stack up two of middle Georgia’s more successful programs against one another. While JCHS went 9-3 last year, the Bulldogs enjoyed a resurgence a season ago, going unbeaten in region play and advancing the GHSA Class AAA quarterfinals.
“Mary Persons is a good program. Coach (Brian) Nelson and those guys do a good job over there. We’re looking forward to going against someone else,” Greyhounds head coach Mike Chastain said.
Both teams will be eager to show how playmakers of a season ago will be replaced. The Greyhounds lost their top two receivers, Zion Ragins and Tyler Stewart, to graduation with both now on campus at Oklahoma and Temple. The Bulldogs are replacing an offensive stalwart of their own after the graduation of Duke Watson, who rushed for more than 1,800 yards with his 10 touchdowns accounting for all but two of Mary Persons’ rushing scores last season.
“We’re a really young team. We have a lot of people that may not be young in age but definitely don’t have a lot of experience,” Chastain said. “Getting to see those guys gel together and put it on the field Friday, that’ll be awesome. We’ll be playing a lot more guys going both ways, so we’re looking forward to seeing those guys get on the field and be able to do that.”
