The toughest part of Pillow Academy’s schedule is behind it now.
With three of their first four games coming against the defending State AAA champion, the State AAAA, Division I champion and the State AAAA, Division I runner-up, the Mustangs came out of that stretch at 1-3, with the lone win coming in a 27-13 decision over AAA member Bayou Academy.
The Mustangs, who compete in Class AAAA, Division II, will look to get back on track against another AAA foe Friday night, when they host Heritage Academy at 7 at Bill Davis Field.
Pillow returned to the practice field Monday licking its wounds from a 49-0 loss to Jackson Prep, and fourth-year PA head coach Tripp McCarty likes how his young team responded.
“We had two of our better practices Monday and Tuesday,” he said. “We have played some tough teams and gained some maturity the hard way. We are seeing steady improvement, but the big thing is that we have to continue to keep getting better.”
The Patriots come in at 3-1. They lost their first game of the season last week, falling 27-3 to defending State AAAA, Division II champion Lamar School. Heritage opened the 2017 campaign with wins against Kirk Academy (46-20), Manchester Academy (3-0) and Wayne Academy (42-16).
“They have a really good ballclub,” McCarty said of Heritage. “They have good weapons on offense and rally to the ball on defense.”
The Pillow offense is expected to get a boost with the return of starting quarterback Lake Giachelli, who missed the last two games with a knee injury.
Sophomore Shane Houston Stephens took all the game snaps during Giachelli’s absence.
The Mustangs have an open date after the Heritage game. McCarty would love to see his team roll into that with the momentum of a win.
“It’s time to right the ship, and there is no better way to get ready for the second half of the season and another playoff run than winning going into our bye week,” he said.
Heritage will bring some familiar coaching faces to Greenwood Friday. Head coach Sean Harrison was an assistant coach at Pillow under Michael Fair and left the school to become the head coach at Wayne Academy after Fair’s tenure ended at PA.
Former Pillow assistant coach Russ Whiteside is Harrison’s defensive coordinator. He held the same position under McCarty before leaving to become the head basketball coach at Heritage two years ago.
“That adds a little something to this game. Both sides will want it pretty badly,” McCarty said. “Plus, a lot of our kids know their kids pretty well. It should be a hard-fought game.”
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
