With the postponement of last week's game, the Mustangs of Pillow Academy have had two weeks to lick their wounds from a 33-7 season-opening loss to Lee Academy.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Pillow's matchup set for last Friday with top-ranked and two-time defending state champion Jackson Academy was postponed until Nov. 11.
"Under the circumstances, going to JA, the week off helped get our confidence back and helped us make some corrections," PA head coach Jeff Jones said.
The Mustangs play at Starkville at 7 p.m. Friday in a North AAA conference matchup.
Jones said it's important for the Mustangs to avoid an 0-2 hole and to start off league play with a victory.
"It's no doubt a big game for us," Jones said. "We need to win for a lot of reasons. We're looking forward to the challenge of playing Starkville, because we played nowhere close to our potential against Lee."
The Volunteers, 2-0 and ranked No. 5 in the statewide academy AAA poll, whipped Washington 38-0 last week. Jones was at the game and left quite impressed with Starkville, which has 16 seniors on its roster.
The Vols run an offense similar to that of Lee, operating mainly out of the shotgun with four- and five-receiver sets.
"They throw the ball around a lot like Lee, but they run the ball more, and better, than Lee," said Jones, whose defense was hit for 321 passing yards and four aerial touchdowns against Lee. "They throw and catch the ball well, too. They can do it all."
The Volunteer offense, which has put up 77 points in two games, is led by senior quarterback Jason Coats, senior wide receiver/kicker Terry Silva and bruising junior running back William Brooks.
Brooks, a 180-pound junior, has four rushing touchdowns so far.
As good as the Volunteer offense is, Jones says the team's defense is even better. Starkville hasn't allowed a point in wins over Winston and Washington. The Starkville defense is led by senior middle linebacker Jace Whites and sophomore nose guard Hank Marsh.
"Their defense is what impressed me the most. They run a 3-3 stack. They are well-coached and get to the ball so quickly," said the first-year PA head coach. "Washington had nowhere to go against them. Washington tried a lot of things, and none of it worked."
That doesn't bode well for a young Mustang offense that struggled against Lee, mustering just 139 total yards.
Pillow attempted just 10 passes, completing just three, while unsuccessfully trying to establish its running game.
Jones said the Mustangs will open up the offense more this week in an effort to help the running game.
"We've got to throw it more. We probably could have thrown on Lee, but we were trying to keep the ball away from them," Jones explained.
Sophomore Jay Mitchell, who was 0-of-5 passing in the opener, will again get the start at quarterback, according to Jones. Junior backup signal caller Martin Fisher completed 3-of-5 passes for 43 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Pate Shackelford on the final play of the first half.
"We won't change our starting quarterback, but Fisher probably earned more playing time," Jones said.
