HATTIESBURG – The PCS Bobcats experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows last season in their two matchups with Jackson Prep.
PCS knocked off the Patriots for the first time in school history in Jackson during the regular season, then Prep returned the favor in the second round of the playoffs, ending the Bobcats’ perfect season and quest for their first state championship in program history.
“The (game) up there was amazing,” PCS coach Joey Hawkins said. “When I got here, the school had just started football, basically, but they were growing so fast, they moved up and played Prep within five years.”
Hawkins made sure to point out that last year was last year, and this year is completely different. Prep, however, is off to another undefeated start, which has become an annual occurrence for the football program.
Prep has beaten East Rankin Academy by 28 points, Washington School 49 and Pillow Academy by 49, but Forest played the Patriots tough, losing 14-3. The highlight of the season came last week with a 77-point effort on St. Joseph, which were the most points scored in school history.
“We want to fight Friday night and make this thing a game,” Hawkins said. “It’s going to take everything we’ve got, I mean, from physicality, to mental preparation, to attitude and effort. All of those things are going to have to come into play if we can want to have a chance Friday night.”
Three-year starter Chance Lovertich at quarterback and highly recruited skill player, Jerrion Ealy, leads the Prep offense. Lovertich has passed for 819 yards with 11 touchdowns and only one interception on 43-of-63 passing, while Ealy has collected 539 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 65 carries.
That means Ealy is finding pay dirt every 4.6 rushing attempts, and he also leads the team with 204 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 10 receptions.
PCS did a good job of limiting Ealy last season, holding him to 48 rushing yards and 54 receiving yards in the first contest, and 47 yards on the ground and 79 yards through the air, but 71 came on one play.
“When he gets in space you better pray, because he’s fabulous,” Hawkins said. “We were really the only team that tackled him last year, so hopefully we can corral him. You have to get people in front on him and you can’t lunge at him. You have to stay there and keep him bottled up until you get some help.”
Ealy is impressive, there’s no doubt about that, but probably the most underrated statistic about the Prep offense is how well Lovertich takes care of the football. In his three-year career, he’s picked up 51 touchdown passes with just three interceptions in 331 passing attempts. Last season, he had 25 scoring throws and 169 passing attempts without throwing a pick.
“He can throw it anywhere he wants,” Hawkins said. “He can take a play that’s not a play, move around with his feet, and he can see upfield while he has somebody in front of him. That’s something quarterbacks have to work on. He throws the ball on the money, and we have our hands full.”
Just when you’ve heard enough impressive statistics about Prep’s team, the defense comes into play. While it did allow 20 points to St. Joe, but still won the game by 57, the defense is only allowing 7.4 points per game with two shutout wins.
“Most teams (Prep plays) cannot keep the line of scrimmage,” Hawkins said. “It’s unbelievable how quick they get off the ball.”
PCS is coming off its first loss of the season last week to Lamar, and it was the first loss in the regular season since Oct. 16, 2015, which was to Jackson Prep. Since it didn’t count in the district standings, sometimes a meaningless loss can help a team, though.
“The last couple of weeks, we were playing hard, but we just weren’t getting much better,” Hawkins said. “Some teams grind and you get good improvement, and sometimes you fall back a little bit. (Lamar) simply outplayed us and outcoached us.
“We hated to lose, but with this generation, your greatest teachable moments are when you lose. When you win and address things, sometimes they just sweep it under the rug a little bit. We have to coach better, and our kids are doing a great job, but we just have to put it behind us.”
