It’s Patriot-palooza for the C-Spire Game of the Week as Jackson Prep will travel to Madison Ridgeland Academy. After losing their first two, Coach Doug Goodwin has led the Prep Patriots (2-2) to impressive back-to-back wins over Lamar Academy (55-19) and Tri-County Academy (45-6). The M-Pats (3-1) have really cranked things up a notch since their opening loss to Ravenwood, Tenn. Coach Herbert Davis has his team on a three-game heater with wins over Jefferson Davis County (47-6), Hartfield Academy (49-21) and Collierville (62-37). Coach Goodwin is watching a team of young, inexperienced players mature before his eyes, while Coach Davis has a senior laden team that continues to improve every week.
“We played pretty well the last two weeks against two good teams. We are definitely getting better. Our guys are just playing their tails off and starting to figure things out. They are building confidence as Tri-County had a 21 game winning streak that we were able to end. I’m proud of the work our kids are putting in,” said Coach Doug Goodwin.
“We’ve seen more passion from the kids the last few weeks. After the win over Hartfield, I’ve seen us come together as a team a little bit more. I think we have a chance to be really special, but it’s about our continued approach to put in the work to be the best we can be,” said Coach Herbert Davis.
Under Coach Davis, MRA is one of the hardest offenses to slow down with it’s up- tempo spread attack which seems to fan receivers out in every direction. What makes them even more dangerous this year is a strong running game. The offensive line has been solid, opening holes for sophomore Colson O’Cain and seniors Jaxson Jenkins and Michael McCrory. O’Cain has rolled up 280 yards on 41 carries for nine touchdowns. Jenkins, has 40 carries for 203 yards and a score and McCrory, in three games, has 10 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown.
“This is the most balanced we’ve been over the last several years and it is a testament to our offensive line which has done a great job,” said Davis.
The air game looks extremely healthy too. Senior quarterback Samuel Stockett has a 69% completion rate hitting 66 of 96 passes for 1,147 yards with 10 touchdowns to four interceptions. Stockett’s main man so far this season is senior receiver Case Thomas who is averaging five catches and just over 100 yards per game. Thomas is coming off an impressive performance against 6A Tennessee public school power Collierville in which he had eight catches for 194 yards and two scores.
“We’ve moved Case to the slot and it has really opened things up for him. He’s a guy that has just matured and become a leader that is working very hard. The rapport between Case and Sam is a lot better from a year ago,” said Davis
Prep can’t afford to focus on just Case though, as the wide receiver room is deep. Senior Will Bizot, Colson O’Cain, juniors Holt Adams and Jack Dalton have all hit triple figures in yardage.
“Our biggest task defensively this week is we have got to line up right and not get beat deep. Thomas is a great player, but all their receivers are good. That offensive line is their strength both run blocking and pass protection. Even if you take something away, they hit you with something else,” said Coach Goodwin.
The Prep defense has improved week to week and is led in tackles by sophomore Herrin Goodman with 25 tackles, one for loss and an interception.
“Herrin transferred late in the summer from JA and has fit in well. He loves to stick his nose in there. He’s a really good player and will also be a good running back, but he’s doing a great job at safety,” said Goodwin.
Junior Gaines Reeves leads the team in tackles for loss with four. You’ll also hear a lot from junior Brogan McCluskey, junior Owen Brown, seniors Gage Gibbs and Peter Primos, along with sophomore Kamron Roberts.
“Coach Goodwin loves to send pressure. They are going to hit our quarterback, and we’ve got to protect. We have a running game this time to hopefully keep them off balance,” said Coach Davis.
On the other side of the ball, Prep’s offense is still a work in progress. Junior quarterback Luke Essary has been efficient by completing a little over half of his passes with five touchdowns to just one interception. Sophomore wide receiver Josh Parker has come out of the gate strong with nine catches for 248 yards, that’s a 27-yards per catch average. He’s joined by senior Aiden Rowe and junior Jude Hayden on the outside. The running game has been solid to this point with junior Wade Smith leading the way with 246 yards and two touchdowns, as well as senior Thomas Hewitt Oswalt who has over 200 yards and three scores. Coach Goodwin likes the progression he’s seen from the offense week to week.
“We’ve gotten better, especially our pass protection. Luke is more accustomed to dropping back and finding receivers,” said Goodwin. Wade has done a good job with his experience from last year and Oswalt is consistently great. We have improved blocking on the perimeter. The biggest thing our line must work on is footwork. If they can get set up right and improve their technique and footwork, we are going to be fine.”
Both of these coaches have been around a long time and know this is ultimately going to be an early season battle that, while you’d like to win, is really about improving toward playoff time.
“We didn’t finish last year, we were close, but we didn’t finish. Right now we need to keep getting better every game. No matter what, win or lose, we want to be our best for the playoffs,” said Davis.
“Every week is a test, we just hope we get better. We could lose and still be better. It’s about doing things right. Playing hard is sometimes more important than the score,” said Goodwin.
On paper, MRA is the better team right now, but what makes high school football so great is the grit and determination of young players who don’t worry about what’s supposed to happen. It’s Patriot-palooza and should be fun on Friday night.
MRA'S KEYS TO VICTORY
On Offense: Keep the defense off balance with the balanced attack. The Prep defense is young and could get caught up in the wash.
On Defense: Bring the pressure and put the Prep offensive line to the test.
PREP'S KEYS TO VICTORY
On Offense: Protect the football. Every possession will be precious.
On Defense: Keep everything in front. MRA has so many weapons you just need to limit the big plays and make them work for everything they get.
PREP AT A GLANCE
Class/Division: Class 4A, District 4 (MAIS)
Head Coach: Doug Goodwin
Assistant Coaches: Rusty Burke, Nick Brewer, Jake Pickett, Keith Giordano, Chris Hector, Brent Heavener, Matt Butts
Record: 2-2
MRA AT A GLANCE
Class/Division: Class 4A, District 3 (MAIS)
Head Coach: Herbert Davis
Assistant Coaches: Danny White, Matt Walker, John Weaver, Kenny Williams
Record: 3-1
The Series: Jackson Prep leads the all-time series 27-9.
Last Match-Up: Jackson Prep won 42-17 in the 2024 regular season.
