GREENVILLE — This is the game Pillow Academy had waited on for two years — a meaningful one in November.
But the Mustangs wound up giving it away.
PA threw six interceptions as it watched a 14-12 halftime lead slip away as Washington School continued its recent domination in this bitter rivalry with a 28-14 victory here Friday night.
“You can’t win with six turnovers. We proved that earlier in the season,” said PA coach Michael Fair, referencing his team’s nine turnovers in a 13-10 loss to Lee in early September.
The Generals claimed their sixth win in the last seven meetings with Pillow to improve to 6-3 overall, 3-3 in the North AAA Division I standings.
The Mustangs fall to 4-6, 2-4 in the North AAA Division II standings but can still end a two-year playoff drought with a win this week vs. Starkville, coupled with a Heritage loss to Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
“It’s a tough, tough loss. We certainly wanted to beat Washington, but we’ve still got a shot,” Fair said. “And from where we’ve been the last two years, I’ll take having a shot.
“While this is a discouraging loss, the effort was there. We just made too many mistakes. Effort is what you can’t usually fix this time of year, so we’re in good shape.”
Pillow led 14-12 midway through the second quarter and were driving to possibly expand that lead when quarterback Cooper Dunn was picked off near the Washington goal line.
The Mustangs then opened their first possession of the second half with an interception by Maury Sykes that led to a 10-play, 50-yard touchdown drive for the Generals.
Landon Zepponi scored on an 8-yard run, and Gore Pulliam hit Colton Haynes with the two-point pass to put Washington up 20-14 with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
The General defense, which came in allowing just 13 points a contest, dominated the second half. On six second-half Pillow possessions, Washington forced two three-and-outs and picked off four passes.
The Mustangs managed just 26 total yards in the final two quarters.
“They did a really good job of clamping down defensively on us in the second half,” Fair said.
With Pillow trying to put together a go-ahead touchdown drive late, Dunn was picked off for the fourth time near midfield, and Washington quickly put the game on ice with a 50-yard TD run by Walker Coleman, a 5-foot-11, 235-pound bruiser of a fullback.
Washington outgained PA 367-171 as the Mustangs had their second-worst rushing outing of the season with 59 yards on 41 attempts. (PA had just 53 yards on the ground vs. MRA.)
Sykes finished with a team-high 43 yards on 19 carries.
Dunn completed 8 of 13 passes for 113 yards for a touchdown and five interceptions. Sykes was the leading receiver with three grabs for 45 yards.
Pillow opened the game with an impressive 72-yard touchdown drive that included three fourth-down conversions, including a 37-yard TD pass from Dunn to running back Bay Bennett on a middle screen on fourth-and-3.
Pillow went up 14-6 early in the second quarter with a 62-yard drive that culminated with a 19-yard scoring scamper by Sykes, who also aided the drive with a 25-yard reception from Dunn.
Washington pulled within two, 14-12, with 7:43 to play in the first half after Dunn was picked off by Bobby Elliott, who returned it 30 yards to the PA 5-yard line. From there, Coleman bulldozed his way into the end zone.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Will Jennings led the way with 18 tackles, including 15 solo stops. Bennett, a junior linebacker, was next with 12 solos and three assists and had a forced fumble.
Sophomore linebacker Carter Kimes recorded 10 tackles, and junior defensive back Steve Pannell had eight stops and an interception.
