Prep rolls over rival JA in state semifinals

FLOWOOD-Coach Doug Goodwin stood in the middle of the football field surrounded by his players, holding up one finger. Though his words were inaudible under Kool and The Gang’s “Celebration” blasting over the stadium speakers, anyone could see his mouth for two words—“One more.”

Jackson Prep punched their ticket to the MAIS 6A championship game with a commanding 37-0 shutout win over rival Jackson Academy in the semifinal round of the playoffs.

The night started out rough for both teams. Both squads recorded turnovers and a number of fumbles and suffered numerous sacks in the first quarter. The Raiders had an offensive drive deflate into a missed field goal with just over six minutes left in the quarter.

The Patriots would, for the most part, leave these mistakes in the first quarter and go on to build a daunting 21-0 lead going into the half.

Senior Wide Receiver Major Quinn punched in the first touchdown for the Patriots and nabbed a pick-six within a span of about five minutes of play sealing the first half and arguably the game for Prep.

In between those two touchdowns Junior Running Back Thomas Hewitt Oswalt picked up the second Prep touchdown of the evening. Oswalt would also punch in the Patriots final touchdown.

In the second half, Senior Quarterback Parker Puckett found the end zone early on a long run that resulted in a touchdown. 

The scoring did not stop on defense. Senior Linebacker Laird Johnson got a sack in the end zone late in the third quarter scoring a safety for the Pats.

Senior Defensive back Da’Marion Tyler stood out defensively with two interceptions on the night. The first came in the first half with less than 3:30 left on the clock and the last extinguished a crucial drive for the Raiders about eight minutes into the third quarter of play.

Prep will face off against Hartfield Academy next Saturday in the MAIS 6A championship game at Mississippi College. Kickoff is set for 6 PM.