COLUMBUS — Heritage Academy knew what was coming, but still had a hard time stopping it.
Pillow Academy won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, piling up 283 yards on the ground while limiting the Patriots to just 84, in a crucial 31-7 victory here Friday night.
With the win, the Mustangs snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 6-2 overall, 2-2 in the North AAA Division II standings. They are trailing in the league standings to Starkville (3-1) and Magnolia Heights (3-2), with the latter holding the tiebreaker vs. PA.
The loss knocks Heritage (4-4, 1-3) out of the playoff race, leaving Pillow, Starkville and Magnolia Heights battling for two playoff spots in the final four weeks of the regular season. The Mustangs are looking to snap a three-year postseason hiatus.
“It definitely helps because we can’t afford another loss,” PA coach Tripp McCarty said of the victory. “We’ve got to keep winning to stay alive. We’ve got everything we want in front of us. Our seniors have never played in the playoffs, and we want to change that.”
Spreading the ball around with a three-pronged attack, the Mustangs averaged 5.4 yards per rush, with all but 22 of the team’s 283 total yards coming on the ground.
The front line of Haynes Camp, Sam Henry Farmer, Jacob Garrard, Ethan Riechle and Justin Perkins helped Will Jennings record a team-high 84 yards on eight carries. John Madison Brooks added 80 yards on 10 attempts, while Bay Bennett finished with 65 yards on 14 carries.
“We’ve built this thing around our offensive line. They have been rising to the challenge and getting better each week,” McCarty said.
“Our passing game isn’t where we want it to be right now, so we’ve got to get a lot out of the running game, and we’ve been able to do that most of the time.”
Pillow used a 12-play, ball-control drive of 66 yards to go up 7-0 in the first quarter, capped on a 1-yard run by quarterback Cole Whitfield. The sophomore signal-caller keyed the drive with a 15-yard completion to Steve Pannell on a wide receiver screen on a third-and-11 play.
Pillow pushed its lead to 14-0 in the second quarter following a Patriot turnover at its own 22-yard line. Brooks ran two times, including a 15-yard TD run.
The Mustangs led 21-0 at the half after Bennett returned a Patriot fumble 15 yards for a touchdown with 26 seconds left in the second quarter.
But Heritage shocked the Mustangs to open the second half when Michael Ledbetter returned the kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots then fooled the Mustangs with a surpise onside kick, recovering it and driving inside the PA 5.
But the Mustang defense came up with a stop on a fourth-and-goal play from the 3.
“That was a huge play by the defense there. That unit has made a lot of those kinds of plays for us this season,” McCarty said.
Junior nose guard Caleb Giachelli was credited with a team-high five solo tackles and one sack. Dillon Ussery and Bailey Mangrum had interceptions.
Pillow padded its second-half lead late in the third quarter on a 36-yard field goal by Pannell, and Jennings capped the scoring late in the fourth on a 39-yard touchdown scamper.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
Pillow has an open date this week before going to Hillcrest on Oct. 24.
It will then close out the regular season with home games against Washington School and Starkville.
nContact Tim Kalich at 581-7234 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
