When Jackson Prep rolled into Greenwood Friday night to meet defending AAAA state champion Pillow Academy, they were looking for revenge. They got it.
Behind a strong offensive line and a 301-yard rushing performance from star running back Jay Liles, Prep defeated the Mustangs 41-27, dropping the Mustangs to 1-1 on the season.
"Thank goodness for Jay Liles and that offensive line," said Jackson Prep coach Ricky Black. "Our offensive line has been key in the first and second ballgames and Jay has been the benefactor of that."
Jackson Prep rushed 49 times for 382 yards and was 8-of-16 for 112 yards, giving the Patriots 494 yards of total offense.
"Pillow had a great football team, and we knew that coming in here," Black said.
The way the Mustangs came out and played in the fourth quarter was a tribute to Pillow, Black said.
But with more than 70 players on the Prep sideline, the Mustangs were hard-pressed to hold up.
"We were a little out-manned out there," said Pillow head coach Riley Myers.
But Myers was clearly proud of the way his team came back in the fourth quarter and closed in on a big Patriot lead. "That was pretty savvy," he said.
Down 34-13 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, Pillow mounted an eight-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Norwood Taylor hit Alan Ellis with a 22-yard touchdown strike with 7:05 remaining. Jay Jones added the extra point to cut the lead to 34-20.
With the momentum clearly in favor of the Mustangs, the Pillow defense rose to the occasion and held Prep to four and out for the first time in the game.
Following a short punt of 18 yards, Pillow got the ball back in good field position at the Prep 44.
Pillow quickly moved the ball down field with a balanced offensive attack. Tucker Bullard and Jacob Clark handled the ground work, and Taylor connected with Jones twice during the drive. Bullard did the scoring honors, going in from the 3 with 3:04 remaining in the game. Jones added the extra point and the Patriot lead was narrowed to 34-27.
That was as close as the Mustangs would get.
An onside kick attempt by Pillow failed, giving Prep the ball at their own 43-yard line. Then it was all Liles. The senior running back accounted for all 57 yards in the drive. And, on a third-and-4, Liles burst through the line for a 41-yard touchdown run to dash any hopes the Mustangs had of a comeback. Philip Eichhorn added the extra point to give Prep a final 41-27 victory.
Pillow got the ball back with 1:22 remaining in the game for one last shot, but Taylor was intercepted by Rob Schimmel at the 37-yard line.
Bullard led the Mustang offense with 10 carries for 96 yards. Taylor was 10-of-21 for 116 yards through the air. Jacob Whelan had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Pillow had a total of 184 yards rushing on 31 carries, and with 116 yards through the air, the Mustangs had a total of 300 offensive yards for the game.
In the early going, Prep and Pillow matched score for score.
Jackson Prep struck first. Tyler Harris scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter. The extra point was no good, but the Patriots had an early 6-0 lead.
But the Mustangs answered. On the second play of the second quarter, Clark raced in from the 16. Jones added the extra point and Pillow took its only lead of the night, 7-6.
