Pillow Academy had to pick up the pieces from a Week 3 disaster and move on quickly.
The Mustangs lost a shocker last Friday, falling 20-12 to Bayou Academy to drop to 0-3.
With the best team in the MAIS coming to town Friday, the Mustangs must quickly regroup from that disappointing loss.
“It was a tough loss for sure,” Pillow coach Tripp McCarty said. “It was a game we could have won if we just make a play or two here or there, but we have moved past that now.”
PA hosts top-ranked Jackson Prep this week. The Patriots (3-0) extended their win streak to 21 games with a 45-7 thrashing of Forest High School and has now allowed just one touchdown over the last 32 quarters.
That’s bad news for a Pillow offense that is averaging just 10.3 points a contest and is missing a couple of starters along the front line. The Patriot defense has been dominant against the Mustangs in the last five meetings, allowing just 17 points.
“There is a reason Prep is No. 1. They have certainly earned that ranking,” McCarty said. “But I believe you get better by playing the top teams. Our kids understand what we’re up against, but they are ready for the challenge.
“The biggest thing I want to see this week is us getting out of our own way and cleaning up some mistakes that have been costly.”
Prep, which is looking for its seventh straight state title and 25th overall, has a deep, experienced team. Of its 72 players, 35 are seniors. To put that into perspective, Pillow will dress out a total of 34 players.
Pillow’s last win against Prep came in the 1999 state championship contest as the Mustangs routed the Patriots 34-13. Since then, though, the Patriots have won 16 straight against the Mustangs.
Prep will bring with it one of the top running backs in the nation in Ole Miss commit Jerrion Ealy, a four-star prospect rated as the No. 4 running back and No. 67 overall prospect in the Class of 2019 according to the 247Sports composite. He is averaging 17.4 yards per carry this season with a total of 12 touchdowns.
When asked if Ealy was the best athlete he’s ever seen in the MAIS, McCarty replied, “He’s certainly one of the best for sure.”
