As expected, Pillow Academy capped off the season with a rout of struggling Bayou Academy.
And in doing so, the Mustangs notched the most regular-season wins in Tripp McCarty’s six-year tenure in Greenwood with a 42-7 victory in Cleveland Thursday night.
PA won eight games in 2014, but one of those victories came in the postseason.
“We like where we are at now, but this team has a lot left to accomplish,” McCarty said. “We came out kind of flat, but once we got in the flow of the game, I thought we hit our groove.”
PA led 21-0 at the half and then added three more scores in the second half to pull away. The Mustangs substitued heavily in the third and fourth quarters
The Mustangs rolled up 440 yards on 40 plays, while Bayou found a lot of success on the ground, finishing with 210 rushing yards.
PA senior quarterback Shane Houston Stephens continued to add to his already record-setting career, passing for 208 of his 213 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Alex Lindsey found the end zone from 16 yards out to make it 28-0, and Jordan Sykes added a 1-yard TD run to push PA’s lead to 35-0.
Then after Bayou got its only score, the Mustangs closed out the scoring with a 13-yard scamper by sophomore Nelson Hodges.
Senior Jack Reichle led the Pillow ground attack with 64 yards on just two carries. Junior Christian Belk handled the tough sledding between the tackles with 53 yards on five rushes.
Simcox led all receivers with seven grabs for 86 yards, and Reichle added 52 yards on two catches.
In the first half, the Mustangs moved the ball up and down the field, but two turnovers near the red zone stalled the point production.
Pillow scored on its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead. The next drive ended with an interception at the Bayou 8-yard line.
PA led 7-0 after Stephens hit Reichle with a 12-yard scoring strike. Senior defensive stud Ethan Clark, a seldom used backup fullback, found the end zone for the first time all season — bulldozing his way in from one yard out to cap off his 18th birthday in style.
Stephens hit Simcox with a 15-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 with 8:44 left in the opening half. And that’s where the score remained until half as the Colts turned away another potential scoring drive with a second interception deep in their own territory.
Defenisvely, PA held out two of its starting linebackers (Sam Harris and Lawes McCool) due to injury.
Senior Jacob Bush stepped up with a team-high seven tackles, and junior Nolan Marshall filled in nicely at linebacker, recording six tackles.
Bayou finishes the year at 1-9.
This was one of at least 78 games played Thursday night across the state. Most were moved up a day to avoid possible inclement weather in the forecast for Friday night.
The Mustangs will be off next week and will be at home for a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, Nov. 8, likely against either Adams County Christian or Park Place Christian.
The state playoff brackets won’t be official until late Saturday.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
