JACKSON — The last 13 minutes were an emotional roller coaster for Pillow Academy.
Up 20-7 late in the third quarter. Down 21-20 with four minutes to play. Back up 26-21 three minutes later only to have a 95-yard touchdown nullified by a penalty, opening the door for a 28-20 No. 2 Jackson Academy victory here Friday night.
"We had every chance to win it, but we had a hard time finishing against a real good Jackson Academy team," PA coach Michael Fair said. "Whether it was penalties or other mistakes we made, we just didn't get it done."
"To be able to come from behind like that is going to be key for us down the stretch," said JA coach David Sykes, whose defending State AAA Division I champion Raiders improve to 9-1. "I like the fact that they don't quit. They just keep believing."
The loss drops the Mustangs, ranked No. 3 in the statewide academy AAA poll, to 7-2, 4-2 in the North AAA Division II race and prevented them from wrapping up the league title. They will get another shot at that next Friday in their regular-season finale at home against an improving Starkville team.
"We have a very mature team with great senior leadership, so I expect our guys to handle such a tough loss in the right way," Fair said. "They know it all comes down to the last game, and they will show up ready to work on Monday."
Pillow led 13-0 at the half, thanks to a couple of fourth-down stops by the Mustang defense in its own territory and a dominating performance by senior Ja'Quez Taylor. It was his best outing since transferring from Leflore County two weeks into the season.
Taylor scored both first-half touchdowns and accounted for 152 of his team's 172 total yards.
"I don't know if I had ever been so frustrated at halftime," Sykes said. "We just let 32 (Ja'Quez Taylor) control the game singlehandedly."
Taylor opened the scoring on the Mustangs' first possession on a 50-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Landon Taylor.
J. Taylor made it 13-0 with 2:55 left before the break with a 3-yard TD run, but the PAT kick was blocked.
The Raiders, who won their 22nd straight game at home, went 57 yards in just four plays for a touchdown on their first possession of the second half, capped on a 24-yard pass from Hull Bolls to Benton Green.
On JA's next possession, J. Taylor picked off a pass to help Pillow go up 20-7. On a halfback pass, J. Taylor hit senior wide receiver Charles Nause with a 28-yard scoring strike with 1:02 left in the third quarter.
Fair said he considered going for two points in an effort to make it a seven-point game before sending on kicker Cayson Cox.
"With the way our defense was playing and with that much time left, I thought every point you could get was crucial," said the third-year Pillow head coach. "Obviously, hindsight is 20-20. I probably would do it differently if we could go back."
The Raiders quickly cut the Mustangs' lead to 20-14 on a 3-yard touchdown run by Jacob Berry. They went ahead 21-20 with 4:06 to play on a 5-yard TD run by Berry.
On Pillow's ensuing possession, a crucial 15-yard penalty stalled a potential go-ahead drive. After reaching JA territory, the penalty put Pillow in a third-and-24 hole. The Mustangs wound up turning the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass on fourth and 12.
PA got the ball back on its 5-yard line with 55 seconds left and no timeouts and stunned the home crowd when L. Taylor hit J. Taylor for a 95-yard TD catch and run, but that play with 34 seconds left was nullified because L. Taylor was ruled past the line of scrimmage on the play.
JA then added a late touchdown with a fumble recovery in the end zone.
J. Taylor finished with 233 of PA's 300 total yards, rushing for 99 yards on 20 carries, catching three passes for 106 yards and throwing for 28. He also had two pass breakups, nine tackles and an interception.
"We moved Ja'Quez all over the field, and he made big plays whereever he was," Fair said.
