On the surface, when Jackson Academy (4-0) and Jackson Prep (3-0) meet on Friday night, it’ll be just another football game. One team will win, the other will lose and they’ll both get back to work getting ready for their next opponents. That is how the coaches would like their players to view the match-up, but even they understand this week means a little more for the players, fans and alumni in this long-standing rivalry.
“Make no mistake, this is a huge rivalry. You could feel the energy when our kids came in last Sunday to prepare for the week. They definitely had a sense of urgency this week,” said first year Jackson Academy Head Coach David Duggan.
“We’ve got players whose sisters go to school over there (at JA), we’ve got some split families at both schools. We’ve got kids that used to go to school over there and are now here, so they want to win as badly as anybody,” said Jackson Prep Head Coach Doug Goodwin.
The Patriots have dominated this series winning 23 of the last 33 games. Last year Prep won a tight 17-10 game at Jackson Academy.
This year the Patriots and Raiders are a combined 7-0 to start the season, with this game being the first district contest for both.
Prep is coming off a 63-0 thrashing of Pillow Academy. The Pats led 42-0 after the first quarter with total domination on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Parker (“Billy”) Puckett was 4-4 for 191 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first quarter. Prep ran the ball 39 times for 330 yards on the night, led by back-up running back Wade Smith. The sophomore saw a lot of time as the starters came out to pick up 129 yards on 10 carries. Coach Goodwin has seen his team win at Copiah Academy 30-14 and at home against Adams County Christian School 37-7.
“I’m sure glad we are 3-0, but we haven’t played as good as we possibly can,” said Goodwin, “Offensively, we need to clean things up. The defense has played really well. Last week they gave up a total of 13 total yards, five rushing and eight yards passing, and they got three turnovers. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Jackson Academy has three shutouts to its credit through the first four games. The Raiders opened the year with a 45-0 win at Bayou Academy, beat Leake Academy 31-23, then hung a pair of goose eggs on Pillow Academy 24-0, and last week 27-0 at Silliman Institute in Louisiana.
“That was the worst field I’ve ever seen last week (at Silliman). It was nothing but mud and slippery clay. I applaud our kids for gutting it out and winning,” said Jackson Academy Head Coach David Duggan. “Our defense has played really well through the first four games, but we have our work cut out for us this week as Prep will put us to the test.”
The Raiders offense is built to run with Kingston Mays and Omarean Ellis as the two have split time in the backfield. Mays, the sophomore, has 58 carries for 359 yards and four touchdowns, while Ellis, the senior, has 329 yards on 48 carries and scored six times. The combined total is 788 yards and 10 touchdowns. Quarterback Carter Mathison has been efficient as the game manager. He doesn’t throw a lot with 28 completions on 56 attempts for 415 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also run for 139 yards. It’s no secret that the Patriots will try to take away the run and force Mathison to beat them through the air.
“Man-Man (Omarean Ellis) is our bigger back, a slasher with top end speed. Kingston is very twitchy and dynamic, hard to get a straight shot on. The real test will be for our offensive line,” said Duggan. “Injuries have plagued us early with the loss of Caden Moss and Reid Miller. Thankfully Miller was able to return last week and should give us a boost.”
The Patriots defense has been just downright stingy. Senior linebackers Trey Bryant, Turner Reeves and Will McMaster have been true runs stoppers so far and will pose a huge hurdle for the Raiders runners. Senior Major Quin is playing both wide receiver and defensive back. Quin had an interception return for a touchdown against Pillow and complements a speedy bunch of backs with Russell Robbins and Blount Blackledge.
“I’m excited to see where we are,” said Coach Doug Goodwin. “We are very talented on defense and they (JA) are running the ball well. Both of their backs are very strong, fast and break tackles. It’ll be a great test for us.”
The Raiders strength right now is their defense too. They’ve been able to stifle their first four opponents with well timed, stunt blitzes. They will need every bit of that this week as they face Patriots quarterback Parker Puckett. Puckett not only throws with accuracy, but can beat you with his legs as well. He’s throwing for nearly 200 yards a game while rushing for about 40 with 11 total touchdowns so far.
“We’re very impressed with Billy Puckett. Schematically, Prep lines up to run the football and their line is really good. We expect them to try to establish the run and then take their shots downfield. It’s going to be our biggest challenge so far,” said Duggan.
The difference makers for the Raiders will be defensive linemen Parker Halford, Dereon Albert and TJ White. The three have combined for 19 tackles for loss so far and will look to make Puckett uncomfortable with a relentless rush.
Prep and Coach Goodwin love to show multiple offensive formations to keep the defense guessing. What looked like a passing set one down turns into a run and vice versa. It’s all by design and something the Patriots take pride in.
“We want to be unpredictable. People are creatures of habit and coaches tend to go with what works,” said Goodwin. “We can’t go out in the same looks. Our goal is to try to get the defense out of position and take advantage of what they give us. I expect a good bit of unpredictability on the other side too with a new coaching staff. The chess match makes it fun.”
“This is a huge challenge. I enjoy the chess matches. We are going to try to take away what they want to do. We are not as multiple as they are but we practice a lot with going unbalanced and with two tight ends,” said Duggan.
No matter the formations, deceptions or trickeration, this game should come down to who wins in the trenches. On paper, Prep is the deeper, more senior laden team, but while both coaches want to say this is just the next game on the schedule, we as fans know it’s more than that. It’s THE rivalry in MAIS.
Keys to Victory for Jackson Prep:
On offense: Wide receivers Garnder Young and Major Quin will be hard for the Raiders to contain if the ball gets in their hands. Look for quarterback Billy Puckett to get it to them with a steady does of the ground game led by Thomas Hewitt Oswalt and Cole Gideon.
On defense: Stack the line to stop the ground game. If Prep shuts that down it will be a long night for the Raiders.
Keys to Victory for Jackson Academy:
On offense: Quarterback Carter Mathison will have to have success. There should be opportunities as the Patriots will focus on the run. He should be able to get the ball downfield if his line can give him time.
On defense: It’s all about assignment football. Keep tabs on where Billy Puckett is at all times. While the Patriots will be able to move the football, the key will be limiting the chunk plays.
The Series: Jackson Prep leads the recent series 23-10.
Last Meeting: Jackson Prep won 17-10 in the 2023 regular season.
AT A GLANCE
Jackson Prep:
Class/Division: Class 6A, District 1 (MAIS)
Record: 3-0 overall, 0-0 in District
Head Coach: Doug Goodwin
Assistant Coaches: Marcus Canoy, Jake Pickett, Zach Miller, Matt Bryant, Nick Brewer, Matt Butts, Keith Giordano, Rusty Burke
Jackson Academy:
Class/Division: Class 6A, District 1 (MAIS)
Record: 4-0 overall, 0-0 in District
Head Coach: David Duggan (1st year)
Assistant Coaches: Chase Alkire, Case Cook, Shay Hodge, Malcolm Rollins, Michael Turner
