Jackson Academy handed Presbyterian Christian its first loss to a Mississippi team this season.
Despite falling short in the 56-35 loss, the Bobcats still have much to play for but will be tasked with taking down undefeated Madison-Ridgeland Academy. If PCS defeats MRA, the Bobcats would be tied for first place and could still share a district championship.
“I would arguably say that they are the best team in Mississippi,” PCS coach Derek White said. “They have beaten everybody they have played. They are as good as advertised. They are coached extremely well. They have great players. They will be the best football team we play this year. We’ll have our work cut out for us, but we need to worry about what we can control.”
PCS (7-2, 2-1) put up over 500 yards of offense while running back Marquis Crosby rushed for 373 yards and totaled three touchdowns. However, the Bobcats fumbled three times, which, according to White, was the difference in last week’s loss and will be the difference for his team’s upcoming game against MRA.
“We didn’t play very well,” White said. “Jackson Academy made some plays. We turned the ball over three times, and you can never do that when you play a good football team. It was not our best effort, but we will fix it and grow.”
Last week, MRA’s high-powered offense defeated Jackson Prep 50-24. As a team, the Patriots have averaged 192 passing yards per game along with averaging 208 rushing yards per game. Quarterback Zach Beasley has thrown for 1,655 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions. MRA’s receiving corps has seven different players with a least one touchdown and three different players with over 200 receiving yards. However, MRA’s top wide receiver is Davis Dalton, who has hauled in 25 catches for 572 yards and nine touchdowns. According to White, stopping MRA’s passing game will be key in limiting its offense.
“When you play MRA, you better defend the pass,” White said. “They throw it as good as anybody in the state.
“(Beasley) is a good football player. He is accurate. He makes all the throws and reads a defense really well. He can scramble around and make some plays. He has four really good wide outs. They are a total package.”
MRA’s rushing attack is just as potent and has several options. Its top running back in yardage is Tylor Latham, who has recorded 541 yards and four touchdowns on 47 carriers. MRA’s more goal line running back is Rayf Vinson, who has rushed for 13 touchdowns and 388 yards on 62 carries.
On defense, MRA has been just as dominant and has held teams to 13.75 points per game.
The Patriot defense has accumulated 57 tackles for loss, 27 sacks and 11 turnovers on the year. White credits MRA’s linebackers for the bulk of the Patriots’ defensive success.
“They run a 4-man front usually,” White said. “Defensively, they are really good on the back end, but their linebackers are as good as anybody in the state of Mississippi. It’s probably the best linebacker corps in the state of Mississippi.”
