A clash of the titans awaits this Friday night as Madison Ridgeland Academy (8-3 overall, 4-1 in district) plays host to Jackson Prep (8-3 overall, 3-2 in district) in one of the MAIS 6A playoff semi-finals. MRA earned a bye in the first round as the second seed in district play. Prep dominated its first round game against Madison St. Joseph with a 42-6 win at Patriot Field. These two teams have accounted for the last four state titles in MAIS 6A. Jackson Prep beat MRA last year in the final game 21-14. The M-Pats had won the previous three championships.
To say these schools know each other well is an understatement. They squared off just a couple of weeks ago on October 20 at MRA in an instant classic. The M-Pats came away with a 50-44 win in overtime, ultimately securing that first round playoff bye.
“It’s hard to beat a good team twice in the same year. This Friday night is going to be a war,” said MRA Head Coach Herbert Davis. “We won that last game against them but I feel we made a lot of mistakes that gave them a 16-point lead. Thankfully we were able to overcome it and win, but we’ve have got to do better this time around.”
Second year Jackson Prep Head Coach Doug Goodwin is confident his team can make the adjustments that cost them victory the first time around.
“We are as healthy as we’ve been in a long time,” said Coach Goodwin. “We know we have to eliminate some of the mistakes we made at the end of that first game. We have to make better decisions both offensively and defensively and simply play a cleaner game.”
Both quarterbacks were scintillating in the last meeting. MRA senior John White completed 28 of 41 passes for 364 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Prep junior Billy Puckett was 23 of 33 for 317 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. White comes into the game with plenty of big game experience while Puckett is still maturing in his first year under center.
“For us, it’s truly how far John can take us. It’s no secret that as he goes, we go,” said Coach Davis. “At this point, it’s just John being John. We will have a few new wrinkles we will throw at them because they (Prep) are so multiple in their formations all the way up to the snap. What we do is adjust to what we see and take advantage of what they are giving us. It’s already built in and White is so smart that we trust him to make pre-snap adjustments.”
“Puckett has made the most growth in his decision making throughout the season,” said Coach Goodwin. “We are only as good as our quarterback play. On the nights we’ve been really good he’s had really good games. Quarterback is a position where you have to play it to get better and Billy is doing just that.”
The running game approach for the two teams is definitely different. Prep approaches things with a backfield committee. In the first match-up, Prep had four runners combine for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Thomas Hewitt Oswalt led the way with four carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. Puckett scrambled for 46 yards, with senior Lake Womack and junior Cole Gideon chipping in for 47 more.
The M-Pats have a work horse in senior Charles Simpson. He carried the rock 31 times for 130 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Simpson and White totaled 494 yards and seven touchdowns.
“We are healthier defensively. Any time you play somebody once you have a better understanding of how it is going to be. This will definitely be a kind of chess match and how the kids execute will decide it. We need to make them work for what they get and hopefully force a few mistakes,” said Coach Goodwin. “We have got to try and make White uncomfortable and get pressure on him. He’s gonna make throws, just limit the big plays and make them work for what they get.”
“Goodwin and his team have a good scheme and their quarterback has really improved. We’ve been so young, inexperienced and we’ve made so many mistakes in our base defense,” said Coach Davis. “We blew a lot of coverages against them last time, and we have to tackle better. The most important thing about the bye week is it helped us get healthy and we spent a lot of time working to clean things up and get better on the defensive side of the ball.”
Both teams have a great receiving corps. MRA was led in the first contest by senior Ben Horner who caught eight passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jack Poole caught a game high 10 passes for 93 yards with junior Jack Polles, sophomore Will Bizot adding touchdowns as well.
Prep was led by big tight end Owen McCraney. The senior had three catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. McCraney averaged 35 yards a catch. Junior Major Quin had six catches for 82 yards and senior Hayden Frazure six catches for 54 yards.
There’s no reason to think this playoff game will be a defensive, low scoring battle. MRA is averaging nearly 49 points per game and Prep just under 40. Remember that first game they played on this same field was 50-44. This game will truly come down to who makes the most mistakes and perhaps who has the ball last.
The winner earns the right to play for the MAIS 6A Championship next week against the winner of Jackson Academy vs Hartfield. If you’re looking for a place to be this Friday night, a trip to Old Canton Road in Madison to see a clash of these Titans will be well worth your time.
PREP KEYS TO VICTORY
On Offense: Stay balanced with the run and the pass. The more time Prep posseses the ball, the less time they have to worry about the MRA offense.
On Defense: Bend but don’t break. The M-Pats will roll up a lot of yards but if Prep can keep them operating between the 20’s they can tighten the field to only having to defend from the red-zone in. Prep will do everything it can to get pressure on the quarterback.
Limit mistakes/penalties: If history repeats itself, this will be a one-possession game. Too many penalties or turnovers could be the deciding factor.
MRA KEYS TO VICTORY
On Offense: Quarterback John White has plenty of big game experience so he should be able to stay in the moment. Running back Charles Simpson will be a key for change of pace to keep Prep from blitzing every play.
On Defense: Play disciplined football. Make Prep drive the ball down the field without big plays. The more plays they have to run, the greater chance at forcing a turnover.
Limit mistakes/penalties: If history repeats itself, this will be a one-possession game. Too many penalties or turnovers could be the deciding factor.
THE PLAYOFFS
Jackson Academy plays Hartfield. The winners of tonight’s games will face each other for the championship November 18.
