Pillow Academy heads to Cleveland for a Region 1-5A showdown with Bayou Academy on Friday night.
Head coach Jim Crowder saw plenty of bright spots during last week’s 49-20 loss to Jackson Academy that the Mustangs (4-2) can build on as they aim to improve to 2-0 in district play. Junior quarterback Drew Lamb connected with do-it-all senior Nelson Hodges for a pair of touchdown passes, and junior running back Dayne Sanford ripped off a 57-yard touchdown run.
“We went toe to toe with them,” Crowder said of the Raiders, one of the top teams in Class 6A. “Certainly a lot of bright spots, some things on the field that we liked, some different guys stepping up. Off the field, kids fighting and kids believing in what we’re doing was evident on Friday.”
The Colts (4-2) will also be eager to rebound this week after back-to-back blowout losses to Hartfield and Heritage Academy.
“They’re an outstanding opponent,” Crowder said of Bayou. “They seem to bring out the best in our kids. We’ve had a real good week of practice. Hopefully it translates to Friday night on the field.”
History favors PA in this matchup as the Mustangs own a 14-5 advantage over Bayou in their all-time series. They beat the Colts last year, 43-28.
- Carroll Academy at Tri-County Academy — Seventh-year head coach Bo Milton wants the Rebels to put the past two weeks behind them as they gear up to face the Flora-based Rebels on Friday night.
CA leads the all-time series, 2-1, including a forfeit win last year due to a COVID-19 outbreak at TCA.
“We’ve got to put the past couple weeks behind us, focus on this week and play the best we can play this week,” Milton said. “They’re very, very good. They don’t do a whole lot as far as a lot of different plays; they just run off tackle and they’re really good at it. Then they play real solid defense and they don’t give up a whole lot of points, either. We’ve got our hands full.”
It’s almost as if the Rebels (3-3) are looking in a mirror this week facing a power-run offense in TCA (6-0), which also runs a three-man front on defense.
“It made it pretty easy to go over things in practice,” Milton said of their similarities. “I thought we had a good film session and talked about things that we got to get fixed. I’ve seen more and more people stepping up. Once we get all of them stepping up and being consistent, I think we’ll get right where we want to be.”
- Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @OverendOut on Twitter.
