Pillow Academy stayed close to Jackson Prep for a half Friday night, but the Mustangs' defense wore down in the second half and Prep pulled away for a 31-13 win.
The loss dropped Pillow's record to 4-3. Prep is now 5-2. The win was the Patriots' seventh in a row over Pillow.
For the game, Pillow outgained Prep in total yards, 271-270. The Mustangs rushed for 186 yards on 37 carries, and
Prep had 214 yards on 38 carries.
Bryce Daves led Pillow in rushing with 61 yards on 13 carries. Ryan Burt added 40 yards on five carries.
Although Pillow moved the ball well at times, coach Riley Myers said it was an off night for the offense, which failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities.
"Our defense put our offense in plenty of good positions," he said, but he added that the defense could stay on the field only so long before giving out.
Pillow opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 14-yard pass from senior quarterback Louis Coleman to sophomore running back Lewis Buford, but the point-after kick failed.
Prep pulled ahead 7-6 on a 24-yard pass from Stewart Hood to Swayze Waters and a successful extra point, and that was all the scoring in the half.
For most of that half, Pillow's defense kept Prep from any extended drives. But on offense, the Mustangs hurt themselves with turnovers and dropped passes.
For the game, they fumbled five times and lost three of them. On one first-half possession, Pillow recovered a Prep fumble in Prep's territory, only to fumble the ball back on the next play.
The Patriots began to extend their lead early in the third quarter.
On their second possession of the second half, they took over on their own 26 after a punt. On third-and-seven, Waters took a reverse and advanced inside Pillow's 20, but the play was called back because of an illegal block.
Another penalty pushed Prep back to its own 40, but then Tait Hendrix broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run to give them a 13-6 advantage with 2:12 left in the third period.
After Pillow went three-and-out, Prep began its next possession on the Mustangs' 34. Five plays later, Hood took the ball in from 18 yards out for another touchdown. The two-point conversion built the lead to 21-6.
Prep added another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard run by Ryan Peets. Waters completed the team's scoring with a 42-yard field goal.
Pillow's running attack got going again for one last drive on the next possession, led by Burt and Tyler Counts. Coleman capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run, and John Craig Patterson added the PAT.
Sophomore linebacker Michal Lary led the defense with six tackles and four assists. Senior defensive back Adam Ellis had five tackles, and senior linebacker Robert Rhyne Howard
recorded three tackles and three assists.
