The tough times continue for the struggling Pillow Academy football program.
After winning just three games over the previous two seasons, the Mustangs entered the 2013 campaign expecting better things.
So far, it hasn’t happened.
The Mustangs have been hit each week by adversity in the form of either injuries, suspensions or players quitting.
Hurt by injuries and player defections, the Mustangs started the season with a short deck, and things have only gotten worse.
Two more more players quit the team this week and one is expected to transfer, raising the total to six scratched off the roster. Also, four players are serving the final week of their two-game suspensions for violation of team rules.
That leaves the 1-3 Mustangs with just 19 players dressed out for Friday night’s homecoming game against Kirk Academy.
“Resilience will be the key to getting past this, and I believe we have guys on this team who understand that and are ready for that,” said sixth-year PA head coach Michael Fair. “We’re going through a lot of things that will make us all better men, things that most teams don’t have to deal with.
“There are no excuses. We’ve got to play through the injuries and the other things.”
The injury bug started before two-a-day practices when starting quarterback/linebacker Thomas Dillard was lost for the season with a freak stomach injury during a 7-on-7 passing competition.
The latest injury came Monday in practice when junior center/middle linebacker Brantley O’Dell had his ankle rolled.
Fair expects the two-way starter to be out for a couple of weeks.
The Mustangs will look to snap a three-game losing skid (26-16 Indianola, 13-10 Lee and 42-7 Madison-Ridgeland Academy) against the 1-3 Raiders, who a few weeks ago appeared to be overmatched in this contest.
But Fair says the short-handed Mustangs can’t afford to take any game for granted.
“Kirk will come to play, and we know that. They have some talent. Plus, throw in the distraction of homecoming week, and we know we’ve got to be ready,” Fair said.
“Our kids haven’t given up. They are giving good effort in practice, paying attention and doing what they are told to do.”
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
