MADISON - It appears Jackson Academy will retake the throne in the North AAA Conference.
Aided by two late penalties, JA rallied for a 20-19 win over defending league champion Pillow Academy here Friday night on homecoming.
JA, ranked No. 3 in the statewide academy AAA poll, improves to 5-1 overall, 4-0 in the North AAA Division standings, while No. 2 Pillow slips to 4-1, 2-1.
The Mustangs will have to win their final three conference games and hope to get some help from JA to have a shot at repeating as league champion.
“Unless JA slips up, and I don't think that will happen, we will have to come in the back door,” PA coach Herbert Davis said. “Heck, we've got to worry about just making the playoffs. We've got to work on becoming more consistent and getting better.
“Our kids gave great effort. They played hard, but we just came up short.”
“This was just one of the great all-time games,” said JA coach Joey Hawkins, whose team won the North AAA from 2002-2005. “Both teams played their hearts out. This is a big, big win for us.”
Clinging to a 19-14 lead, Pillow had it first and 10 at its own 17-yard line with four minutes left, needing a couple of first downs to run out the clock on the Raiders. That, however, didn't happen.
After three plays and a punt, JA got the ball back at their own 43 with just under 21/2 minutes to play. Raider quarterback Anderson Bussey completed three of his final five passes to help the home team rally for the go-ahead touchdown.
A personal foul penalty for a late hit was a big blow to the PA defense on the final drive. Instead of facing a third and 12, the Raiders got it first and 10 at the Mustang 15. Then an offsides penalty made it first and goal from the 4.
Bussey scored on a quarterback draw play with 39 seconds left. JA's try for the two-point PAT failed.
“No one play determines the game, but that surely was a costly penalty. It would have been much tougher for them to go down and score if we don't hit the kid late out of bounds,” Davis said.
Pillow got in position for a last-second 50-yard field-goal attempt that failed.
Pillow trailed 7-0 early after JA needed just two plays to score on the opening drive of the game. A 45-yard pass from Bussey to Thompson set up a 19-yard touchdown run by Phillip Jelliffe that came just 33 seconds into the game.
It was the first points of the season allowed by the PA defense.
The Mustangs responded with a methodical 16-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Pate Shackelford ran the ball 11 times for 67 yards right through the heart of the JA defense. Senior Jacob Land, who alternates at quarterback with Shackelford, capped the drive with a 3-yard run.
The Mustang defense dominated the Raiders the rest of the way in the first half. JA had 77 yards in the first two quarters, with 64 of that coming on their first drive.
Pillow scored again on its second possession, again marching 80 yards. Pate Shackelford capped things with an 11-yard TD scamper. The PAT kick was blocked with 7:37 left before the half, leaving Pillow with a 13-7 lead.
No points were added before the half, but JA went back on top, 14-13, by going 72 yards in six plays. Jelliffe broke loose for a 19-yard TD run.
Pillow came right back, though, with an 80-yard drive that chewed up seven minutes off the clock. Pate Shackelford ended the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open James Shackelford with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Mustangs attempt for the two-point PAT failed, leaving them with a 19-14 advantage.
Pillow outgained JA 330-225 in total offense.
The Mustangs ran the ball right at the JA defense, racking up 197 yards on 46 carries.
“They've got a really good offensive line, and those guys did a good job blocking us,” Hawkins said. “They were pretty much just running it right at us, and we just weren't making the plays.
“But we stopped them late when we had to get the ball back for our offense.”
Pate Shackelford paced the PA ground attack with 99 yards and a TD on 20 carries. Land added 55 yards and a TD on 16 carries.
Senior running back Chris Rutherford added 41 yards on nine carries.
Land completed 4-of-6 passes for 69 yards. He also had one catch for 14 yards.
Pate Shackelford completed 4-of-5 passes for 64 yards for a touchdown and an interception.
Senior Elliot Thornburg had a team-high five catches for 45 yards.
