FORSYTH, Ga. — If you ask folks in Monroe County who they want to win, it's the Bulldogs all the way.
We spent the day in Forsyth chatting about the "Backyard Brawl."
Christy Watts has plans to go to Friday night's game.
"We're ready for it. I think we're going to beat Jackson," she said.
Roy Freeman played in the Mary Persons band back in the 1970s.
"I've always rooted for the Bulldogs," he exclaimed.
Well, you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't root for the gold-and-black in Monroe County.
Sherri O'Neal bleeds black-and-gold.
"Well, you know there is just one high school in this community, and the whole town is behind the high school, behind Mary Persons, "she said. "Mary Persons High School is built on tradition."
Part of the fabric of that tradition in the border brawl, the annual game against Jackson.
"Well, it's always been the biggest rivalry and it used to be that the teams would go to each other's gym and spray paint and roll their trees in the school parking lot," O'Neal recalled.
Jeremy Seymour is one of the owners of the Pickled Okra restaurant.
"It's dated back as long as I can remember, kinda like Georgia-Georgia Tech, just pure 'Old-Fashioned Hate,'" he said.
Seymour knows about that hate firsthand.
"I was backup quarterback sophomore year, started at monster, which is a strong safety in the defense we played," he said.
Nowadays, he's a monster on the grill, but he gets out to talk to customers, and they have one thing on their minds at this time of the year.
"The locals that grew up in Forsyth and played ball here, that's all we talk about, that's the main team we want to beat every year is Jackson. We could lose every game on the schedule as long as we beat Jackson," Seymour said with a smile.
Beating Jackson is exactly what the Bulldogs have done the last six years, but this year, they've got young pups in Dan Pitts Stadium.
"They lost a lot of good players last year, but they got some good athletes on there right now. I think it's going to be a tough year for them, but they should handle Jackson like we always do," Seymour said.
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