Pillow Academy missed out on an opportunity to beat Jackson Prep last week, so Mustang coach Riley Myers is using that as a teaching tool this week.
"We're talking about lost opportunities this week, because we've got another big opportunity ahead of us," Myers said of Pillow's game at Washington School Friday night.
The contest between the two old rivals will likely determine which of the two teams will make the playoffs, assuming Jackson Academy remains in first place in the North AAA Division I standings. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Greenville.
Both Washington and Pillow are 4-3 overall. The Mustangs are 3-1 in league play, while the Generals are 2-1.
"We've got to beat Washington to stay in the playoff hunt. This is a natural rivalry and when you throw in the conference ramifications, you've got a big, big game," said Myers, whose team beat Washington 35-18 last year to snap a two-year playoff drought. "Coach (Todd) Lott will have Washington as high as a kite for this game."
"We're still in good shape for the playoffs," said Lott, in his fourth year as head coach at Washington. "It's not a must win, but it is if we are to control our destiny. They're in the same situation."
These two rivals always seem to battle for playoff positioning. Washington beat Pillow 14-0 in 2002 to keep the Mustangs out of the postseason.
Pillow is coming off a 31-13 loss to Prep. The Mustangs outgained the Patriots 271-270 but was unable to take advantage of several scoring opportunities, Myers said.
Pillow trailed 7-6 at the half in a game that the Mustangs could have been leading by a couple of touchdowns after two quarters of play if not for a fumble and a couple of dropped passes.
"Statistically, it was a tie game. When they gave us the ball, we didn't go score," said the sixth-year PA head coach.
Washington is coming off a stunning 43-0 loss to Lee Academy, which led 34-0 at the half. Before that game, the General defense had given up just 13 first-half points in six games.
"We've put Lee behind us," Washington offensive lineman Courtland Murrell told the Delta Democrat Times newspaper in Greenville. "We know we had a bad game, and we plan on taking our frustrations out on Pillow."
Lee racked up 357 total yards to the Generals' 79, but Myers says Washington is much better than last week's game might indicate.
"We're getting ready to play the team that lost 6-3 to Prep and Prep beat until a late touchdown. They shut them down, and we couldn't. That's what we're going on," Myers said. "The Lee game was a weird one for Washington. Anything that could happen good, happened for Lee, and anything that could happen bad, happened for Washington."
A lot of the Generals' defensive success, Myers said, stems from the havoc the unit creates with its 3-5 alignment.
"They've got three big, strong down linemen. The other eight behind them are very mobile," Myers explained. "They come from everywhere and line up everywhere. It's not a standard thing to block.
"We'll have to pick out four or five plays to hang our hat on and make sure we know what we're doing there."
Offensively, the Mustangs are averaging 322 yards per game -107 passing and 215 rushing.
Senior Bryce Daves is the featured back in the Mustangs' double-slot attack. He has 82 carries for a team-high 510 yards and six touchdowns.
Senior Ryan Burt has 336 yards and a touchdown on 44 carries, while sophomore Lewis Buford has 313 yards and two TDs on 50 carries.
Senior quarterback Louis Coleman has five rushing touchdowns and has completed 48-of-111 passes for 746 yards and four touchdowns.
His favorite target is senior wide receiver Bill Gulledge, who has three times as many catches (21) as the team's second-leading receiver John Craig Patterson. Gulledge has 218 receiving yards and three TDs.
Offensively, Washington has struggled at times this season, averaging 17 points a contest. Opponents are averaging 23.6 points a game against PA.
The Mustang defense is led by senior linebacker Robert Rhyne Howard, who has a team-high 41 tackles, including two for a loss. He also has two forced fumbles.
Senior defensive end Hunter Box, the team's second-leading tackler with 32, is the big-play maker with four sacks and three tackles for a loss.
