Friday’s night’s contest between Madison St. Joseph Catholic School and Jackson Academy is a game of district redemption for both teams. While the Raiders come into the game with a 5-1 record, they are 0-1 in district play after dropping the opener to Jackson Prep 35-10. JA comes into this one fresh off a bye week. The Bruins are trying to claw their way back from a disappointing 1-3 start, which includes a 55-13 blowout at the hands of Madison Ridgeland Academy in their only district game. Last week Madison St. Joe played hard in a 30-16 loss to their St. Joseph counterparts from Greenville.
“We needed it (the off week). We were kinda banged up and we got another week to get healthy,” said Jackson Academy Head Coach David Duggan. “We went back to working on fundamentals and lots of special teams work. We kind of took them back to school, back to basics, working on things like footwork and technique.”
The Raiders made a change at quarterback during the Prep game as Pruett James took the reins. James led JA on a touchdown drive in the 4th quarter and followed that game up with a super performance against Lamar School. James threw for 84 yards and a touchdown while also running the ball 14 times for 123 yards and a score.
“We weren’t moving the way we would like against Prep so I wanted to give our back-up quality minutes. You don’t want the first time he takes meaningful snaps to be in a critical situation so I made sure he got reps. Against Prep I gave him some extra minutes and he sparked our offense a little. He’s done a really good job managing the offense and eliminated the plays for loss,” said Duggan.
Pruett has his work cut out for him as the Raiders leading receiver, John Thomas is injured. Thomas, a senior, suffered a broken hand in the Jackson Prep game and will be sidelined for quite some time. The spotlight will now be on sophomore Vaiden Taylor to take the lead receiver role. Taylor has 14 catches for 148 yards in five games this season.
There is no doubt though that the Raiders will lean even more heavily on their running game, which is the true strength of the offense. JA hopes to have senior running back Omarean Ellis back this week, “Man-Man” as he is known on the team, missed the last two games with injury. Coach Duggan is hopeful he will be ready to go Friday night. The Raiders leading rusher, sophomore Kingston Mays, hurt his shoulder against Lamar School, but he too is expected to play. The two have combined to rush for 922 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. It will be important to keep a close eye on the health of these two backs against St. Joe.
The Bruins defense is young and aggressive. Freshman Ryan Bianchini and junior Zycameron Williams will look to slow down that Raiders running attack along with sophomores Syrone McBeath and Chris Brown, along with Freshman AJ Harris, junior Steele Davis and senior Preston Garrison.
For Madison St. Joe, their offense runs through quarterback Drew Wamble. The junior signal caller is as dangerous with his feet as he is with his arm. Through the first four games, Wamble has completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 543 yards with six touchdowns to just one interception. Wamble also has 19 rushes for 133 yards, a seven yards per carry average, and two scores. The rushing attack is where it’s at for the Bruins and both their backs play both ways on offense and defense. Freshman AJ Harris leads the way with 18 carries for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Most impressive about Harris is his nearly 13 yards per carry average. Not far behind is sophomore Syrone McBeath who has toted the rock 29 times for 222 yards and four scores. As a team, St. Joe has rushed for 695 yards and 10 touchdowns. They’re averaging a little over nine yards per rush which means every touch is nearly a first down. JA Coach David Duggan credits that to a solid offensive line.
“The Bruins are big up front. Hopefully we can stop up some holes and negate their running game with our front four,” said Duggan. “Our defensive front is playing as good as anybody.”
The Raiders defensive line is stout and will be a challenge. Junior TJ White, at 6’3-215 pounds, leads the line with 40 total tackles, nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Fellow junior Dereon Albert, 6’2-295 pounds, also has 9 tackles for loss and three sacks. The senior Parker Halford has forced two fumbles to go along with his seven tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. The linebackers are laying the licks too as junior Tyler Lyles leads the team with 49 tackles. Senior Jacob Scarbrough is next with 43 tackles and five tackles for loss. Junior Cam Blunschi has also burst on the scene to solidify the linebackers.
Wamble, an accurate passer may be forced to throw a little more than he’s used to against this defense.
“St. Joseph is effective when they throw it. They will spread us out and work to get us out of position. It’s up to us to stay disciplined,” said Duggan.
This series has been dominated Jackson Academy with the Raiders winning all five match-ups. Their latest meeting in 2023, was a 29-14 JA victory.
This game will be a great gauge for where these programs stand. Both want to notch a district win on their belt. Both are looking for consistency. For St. Joseph this one means a little bit more as they look to jumpstart a disappointing start to the season and beat JA for the first time. For the Raiders this game is about bouncing back to the basics.
“This is a big district game. This is the start to see if we’ve learned from our mistakes. Let’s find out who we are,” said Coach Duggan.
We shall find out Friday night. This one could come down to the wire, under the lights at the Brickyard of JA, to see who gets district redemption.
Keys to Victory for Madison St. Joseph:
On offense: Look for Quarterback Drew Wamble to hit quick hitting passes to offset the pass rush and run stuffing of the Raiders defense. Yards after the catch will be key to the Bruins success.
On defense: It’s simple, stop the run. If the Bruins can force JA to throw, there’s a good chance to force mistakes from a younger inexperience Pruett James. It may also help that the Raiders rung back are not 100%.
Keys to Victory for Jackson Academy:
On offense: Make this a quick game. Establish the run and keep the clock rolling. With so many bumps and bruises coming in for the offense, a quick game would be ideal.
On defense: Don’t let Wamble wander. Quarterback Drew Wamble is a dual threat with his arm and his legs. Don’t lose sight of him and the Raiders should do well.
The Series: Jackson Academy leads the recent series 5-0.
Last Meeting: Jackson Academy won 29-14 in the 2023 regular season.
AT A GLANCE
Madison St. Joseph:
Class/Division: Class 6A, District 1 (MAIS)
Record: 1-3 overall, 0-1 in District
Head Coach: Jason Moore
Assistant Coaches: David Streit, Paul Mooney, Reed Collins, Steve Pruett
Jackson Academy:
Class/Division: Class 6A, District 1 (MAIS)
Record: 5-1 overall, 0-1 in District
Head Coach: David Duggan (1st year)
Assistant Coaches: Chase Alkire, Case Cook, Shay Hodge, Malcolm Rollins, Michael Turner
