Veteran sportswriter and high school football expert Robert Wilson is doing the Germany Law Firm, PLLC/Mississippi Scoreboard predictions column each week during the high school football season on teams from Hinds, Madison, and Rankin County. Wilson had a 23-5 record (82.1 percent) last week and has a 68-23 record (74.7 percent) this season.
By Robert Wilson
MRA (3-1) at Jackson Prep (4-0)
Madison-Ridgeland Academy had a great second half and held Hartfield Academy to 20 total yards and no points in a 42-21 victory in its first MAIS Class 4A, District 2 game two weeks ago.
Now, the Patriots look to go 2-0 in district play when they visit the Lakeland Drive Patriots Friday night.
MRA, playing one of the toughest schedules in school history for the second straight year, is off to a great start with three straight wins after a season-opening loss to Tennessee public school power Ravenwood, ranked No. 11 in the state.
MRA’s offense is averaging 34.3 points in its three wins and led by 6-foot-2, 270-pound senior offensive lineman Caleb Unger (rated No. 14 in Mississippi and No. 34 interior offensive lineman in the country and a member of the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team), senior quarterback Austin Banks (1,098 passing yards, 11 touchdown passes, 1 interception), senior wide receiver Jack Dalton (558 receiving yards, five TDs), and junior running back Colson O’Cain (224 rushing yards, 3 TDs in only two and a half games).
After four wins, Prep plays its first district game of the season.
Prep coach Doug Goodwin has lost more games to MRA than any other team since he came from Alabama after a Hall of Fame coaching career. He has a 3-3 record against MRA, and MRA has scored the two most points in a game against him, a 50-44 loss in 2023 and a 49-21 loss in 2025 while coaching at Prep.
Prep’s experienced seniors – led by quarterback Luke Essary (this week’s Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Football Player of the Week this week), running back Wade Smith (607 rushing yards and six TDs), and linebackers Brogen McCluskey and Gaines Reeves (who have combined for 77 tackles) – along with speedy junior running back-defensive back-return specialist Herrin Goodman (409 all-purpose yards) won’t let Goodwin lose this one.
Jackson Prep 28, MRA 21.
Hartfield Academy (2-1) at Jackson Academy (4-0)
JA has won 11 games in a row, dating back to a 25-24 loss to MRA last season, and has won each game by at least nine points. The Raiders have scored 46 points or more points in three of their four victories this season.
JA finished 11-1 and won its first state championship since 2011 last season and coach David Duggan has enough talent, led by 6-5, 305-pound senior offensive lineman and Ohio State commitment Caden Moss (rated the No. 3 player in Mississippi and the No. 7 offensive lineman in the country in the Class of 2027 by 247 Sports and a member of the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team), to win it again.
In addition to Moss, the Raiders have eight other returning starters. Senior running back Aaric Beasley is having an outstanding season with 723 yards and 10 TDs. Junior quarterback Peyton Smith, in his first year as the starter, has completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 644 yards and seven TDs. Junior linebacker Kirkland Houston, another new starter, has been a standout on defense with a team-high 52 tackles and one interception for a score this season.
JA needs to keep a close eye on speedy Hartfield senior quarterback Ethan Elliott, one of the fastest quarterbacks in Mississippi. Elliott, capable of getting into space and making big runs like he did against MRA, has gained 235 yards on 20 carries, an average of 11.8 yards per carry, and score five TDs. He also has passed for 409 yards and three TDs.
Hartfield hopes 6-3, 335-pound junior lineman Jaylen Williams, who has a Division I offer from Jacksonville (Ala.) State, can make a difference on the line of scrimmage.
Jackson Academy 35, Hartfield 14
Northwest Rankin (2-1) at Madison Central (1-2)
Madison Central was one of the best programs in Mississippi for.a seven-year span from 2015-2021, one win short of 10 wins per season, 69 wins in seven seasons. The Jaguars won the state title in 2021 and reached the semifinals four other years, 2015-2018. But since then Madison Central has reached the semifinals only once, in 2024. The Jaguars have a .500 record over the past 14 games (6-5 last year and 1-2 so far this year).
If the Jaguars are going to win over the Cougars, they will need another big game from senior linebacker and Western Kentucky commitment Corey Wiggins, a member of the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team. Wiggins is having an outstanding season and has 49 tackles in three games (fourth highest in Mississippi in MaxPreps), and an average of 16.3 per game.
Junior quarterback Tripp Smith has generated the most offense for Madison Central with 570 passing yards and six TDs.
Northwest Rankin senior wide receiver and Georgia Tech football and basketball commitment De’Shawn Dillon is one of the top rated multi-sport athletes in the country. He is rated the No. 16 player in Mississippi and the No. 71 wide receiver in the country in the Class of 2027 by 247 Sports and a member of the Taste Restaurant/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team. Also a guard in basketball, Dillion was named the Mississippi Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year last season. He is ranked No. 2 in Mississippi and No. 23 shooting guard in the country in the Class of 2027 by 247 Sports.
Northwest Rankin senior quarterback and East Central Community College baseball commitment Gavin Phillipson has passed for 783 yards and 11 TDs this season.
If history is any indication, Madison Central will win this one. The Jaguars have won 13 of the last 15 meetings, only losing in 2023 and 2018.
Madison Central coach Toby Collums has a 4-1 record against his former team. He won 46 games in six seasons at Northwest Rankin (winning the Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Coach of the Year in 2020) before moving to Madison Central in 2021.
Collums and his Jaguars should get another win over the Cougars. Madison Central senior kicker Ross Hardin Beavers, who has made 23 of 29 field goal attempts in his career, including 2 of 3 this season, will be the difference.
Madison Central 24, Northwest Rankin 21
Puckett (2-1) at Pisgah (2-1)
Pisgah has won seven of the last nine meetings in this long time Rankin County series, which Puckett leads 34-14. The only team Pisgah has played more is Pelahatchie (51 times).
Pisgah in MHSAA Class 3A and Puckett is in MHSAA Class 2A.
Pisgah finished 5-6 last season and won its last playoff game in 2024 when it finished 10-2 and reached the second round.
Puckett has won twice as many games as it did last year when it finished 1-9. The Wolves haven’t won a playoff game since 2015.
The teams have one common opponent already this season. Pisgah defeated Sebastopol 27-24 and Puckett lost to Sebastopol 13-0.
Pisgah 20, Puckett 13
In other games (winning team in bold):
Canton (3-0) at Forest Hill (0-3), (Thursday) (South Jackson Field)
Callaway (1-2) at Terry (2-1)
Clinton (0-3) at Pearl (1-2)
Germantown (1-2) at Neshoba Central (2-1)
Holmes County (1-2) at Murrah (1-2) (Hughes Field)
Jim Hill (1-2) at Provine (0-3) (South Jackson Field)
Lanier (3-0) at Leake (3-0)
McAdams (2-1) at St. Andrew’s (0-3)
Mendenhall (3-0) at Florence (0-3)
Pelahatchie (1-2) at Richland (2-1)
Raymond (1-2) at Velma Jackson (1-2)
Ridgeland (2-1) at Yazoo City (0-2)
West Lincoln (0-3) at McLaurin (1-2)
West Monroe (La.) (2-0) at Brandon (2-1)
Ben’s Ford Christian (La.) (4-1) at Christ Covenant (4-0)
Canton Academy (3-1) at Winston Academy (1-3)
Copiah Academy (3-1) at East Rankin (2-2)
Discovery Christian (4-1) at Prairie View Academy (La.) (3-1)
Madison St. Joseph (0-4) at Bayou Academy (3-1)
Manchester Academy (1-3) at Park Place (2-1)
St. Aloysius (0-4) at Central Hinds (2-2)
Wayne Academy (2-2) at Tri-County Academy (2-1)
