Michael Fair is impressed with the way his team is handling another disappointing season.
After winning just two games last year, the Mustangs are 1-6 with three games to play and are assured of their second straight losing season for only the second time since 1990.
Pillow, though, has a specific goal for the remainder of the season.
“We want to finish strong by winning out, and we feel like we’ve got a good chance to do that,” said the fifth-year Mustang head coach.
“If you come out and watch us practice, you would never know we’ve won only one game. We’ve got guys flying around, having a good time and really wanting to get better. We’ve really been working on fundamentals, and the guys are eating it up.”
That means Pillow, coming off an open date, must win Friday night in Clarksdale at Lee Academy to finish on a high note. The Colts are 3-5 after losing a hard-fought game, 28-24, at Washington School last week. The same Washington team that drilled PA 35-0 the week before.
Lee’s three wins have come against Class AA opponents (Marshall, Carroll and Indianola), but Fair is impressed with the Colts.
“They are very fundamentally sound, and they will hit you. They played a heck of a game against Washington, good enough to win,” Fair said. “Lee runs the option every play, and that means you have to play assignment football on defense. If one guys misses his assignment, it’s likely seven points for the other team.”
Lee averages 20 points a game with its option attack. The Mustangs, on the other hand, have struggled mightily on offense, averaging just 7.7 points a contest.
Pillow lost starting senior quarterback Lou Adams for the season against Washington when he suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter. With backup signal caller Cooper Dunn in street clothes due to illness, junior receiver Maury Sykes finished the game at quarterback.
Fair was pleased with the way Sykes played in the emergency role and has progressed at the position the last two weeks. Ninth-grader Thomas Dillard, who recently moved up to the varsity team with his teammates, has also been working at quarterback and is expected to see time there Friday night against Lee.
“We will use a combination of both of those guys back there,” Fair said.
“We feel like we’re in good shape there. Cooper Dunn has been cleared from mono this week, but we’ve changed a lot of things offensively that he hasn’t been able to practice on.”
Fair said his team’s improvement on offense starts with the offensive line.
“We’ve got to come off the ball and stay on our blocks. That’s been a major point of emphasis for us the last two weeks.”
Kickoff is set for 7.
• Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
