INDIANOLA — Pillow Academy had its chances, but in the end, Indianola Academy kept the upper hand in this recently renewed rivalry.
The Colonels (2-0) thwarted three potential fourth-quarter scoring drives in their own territory to escape with a 22-14 victory here Friday night.
The Colonels have now won three of the four matchups between the old rivals since the series resumed in 2013 after a 10-year break.
“Our kids fought hard until the end. We just couldn’t make a play when we needed it most,” said Pillow coach Tripp McCarty, whose team slips to 1-1. “One thing we were curious about was our toughness. I think we can check that off after going toe-to-toe with a big, strong, darn good team.”
After giving up a 37-yard touchdown drive that resulted in the offense getting stuffed on a fourth-and-1 play midway through the third quarter, the defense kept the Mustangs in it the rest of the way.
That unit held the powerful IA offense to two three-and-outs and forced three turnovers on the home team’s final six possessions.
A fumble recovery by junior defensive end Hunter Upchurch led to a 40-yard scoring drive by PA. Senior quarterback Cole Whitfield’s 5-yard run made it 22-14 with 11:02 to play.
Pillow’s next possession started in IA territory but quickly ended at the 33-yard line when a fourth-and-7 pass fell incomplete.
The Mustangs got inside the IA 15 on their next possession but again turned the ball over on downs with an incompletion on a fourth-and-5 from the 11.
The third and final chance for PA to tie the game ended with another incompletion on a screen pass on a fourth-and-4 from the IA 26 with 41 seconds left.
PA’s two quarterbacks, Whitfield and sophomore Lake Giachelli, combined to complete just 45 percent of their passes (12 of 27) for 108 yards.
The Pillow offense was just 2 of 12 on third downs and 2 of 6 on fourth downs.
On the call to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the IA 38 down 16-7 with a 8:39 to play in the third, McCarty said hindsight is 20/20.
“They had just gone on a long scoring drive (67 yards) and I was just trying to not put our defense right back out there,” said the third-year PA coach.
The Mustangs finished with 220 total yards as senior John Madison Brooks finished with a team-high 59 yards on nine carries. Whitfield added 48 yards on 12 carries and scored both of his team’s touchdowns.
Whitfield had a 31-yard scoring jaunt late in the first quarter to put PA up 7-6.
Eli Burton led all receivers with three catches for 45 yards, while senior Cleveland Totten had five grabs for 40 yards.
Defensively, junior linebacker Luke Fondren led the way with 15 tackles, including 11 solos. Senior linebacker Walt Pillow recorded 11 tackles, including one for a 2-yard loss. He also blocked a PAT kick.
Burton had nine tackles and one pick from his defensive back spot. Junior defensive lineman Matthew Ruscoe had eight stops.
IA finished with 278 total yards, with 216 coming on the ground.
Sherman Timbs and Sebastian Henry led the bruising rushing attack for the Colonels. Timbs had a 30-yard TD rumble and a 7-yard scoring run.
Pillow plays at Lee Academy in Clarksdale this week. Lee lost 35-0 to Manchester Friday night.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
