By Robert Wilson
FLOWOOD – After watching defending MAIS Class 4A, Division I state champion Jackson Academy take a seven-point lead with only eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Jackson Prep needed a spark.
And boy, did the Patriots get one in the form of speedy junior Herrin Goodman.
Goodman – who is one of Prep’s most versatile players who plays running back, defensive back and returns kicks – returned a kickoff from JA and raced 81 yards down the JA sideline for a score to the game, but also give Prep much needed momentum.
Prep outscored JA 21-3 in the final eight minutes as senior quarterback Luke Essary connected on a long touchdown pass and senior running back Wade Smith ran for a TD in the final three minutes for a 35-24 victory to break JA’s 13-game winning streak in this key MAIS Class 4A, District 2 game before an estimated 3,000 at Prep’s Patriot Field in an unique rivalry between two schools just a few miles from each other and between families who have connections to both schools.
Prep – ranked No. 1 in MAIS Class 4A and No. 11 in Mississippi by MaxPreps – improved to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in district play. Prep lost to Madison-Ridgeland Academy 28-25 two weeks ago in its other district game. Prep plays its last district game next week at Hartfield Academy.
Prep’s win continued the dominance of this series. The Patriots have now won 17 of the last 19 meetings and hold a 46-16 advantage overall in the series.
JA – ranked No. 3 in MAIS Class 4A and No. 14 in Mississippi by MaxPreps – dropped to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in district play. JA defeated Hartfield 24-14 two weeks ago at JA. JA plays its last district game in two weeks at MRA. JA had not lost since a 35-24 decision to MRA in the fifth game last season.
Goodman took the kickoff from JA senior Rett Robinson, worked his way through several potential JA tacklers and outran others down the sideline for a score to tie the game at 21-21 with eight minutes to play.
Said Goodman: “I caught it about the 25-yard line and I started going to my right. I saw the hole open up to the left. Then, I broke one arm tackle and had one on one with the kicker. Once I got by the kicker, I hit a second gear and knew I was gone.”
After JA took a 24-21 lead on Robinson’s 38-yard field goal attempt with 4:26 to play, Essary led Prep to 14 consecutive points for the win. He completed a 64-yard TD pass to sophomore Hayes Grenfell to give Prep a 28-24 lead with 2:41 to play. After an interception by Prep senior linebacker Will Ferguson at the JA 20, Smith scored three plays later on an 9-yard run to give Prep a 35-24 lead with 1:38 to play.
Essary completed 14 of 19 passes for 243 yards and three TDs, the last one to Grenfell, a 59-yarder to Smith in the first quarter and a 58-yarder to senior Asher Reynolds in the third quarter. Essary also did not have an interception for the seventh consecutive game. He has not thrown an interception in 96 attempts and completed 13 TD passes this season.
“Our mindset going into this game was that we’re all aware of the rivalry and all the energy and hype around this game,” said Essary, whose father, Kevin, played defensive back and won a state championship at JA and also was the state’s best tennis player in the 1990s. “But we were focused more on doing what we’re coached to do and playing as a team, and when you play as a team and want it more, it shows. I was able to play well due to my faith in my coaches, and teammates.”
“We made big plays when we had to,” said Prep coach Doug Goodwin, who won his 47th game in his fifth season at Prep after winning 234 games in 27 seasons in a Hall of Fame career in Alabama. “The kickoff return for a TD by Herrin was big. As were the interceptions by (senior linebacker) Owen Brown, (senior linebacker) Will Ferguson and (junior defensive back) Kain Sandridge. Our defense played with some great effort. Offensively, we didn’t run it very well vs. the loaded box, but we hit some big plays in the passing game when we had to. Luke made some big throws when we had to have them even though he was under some heavy pressure a lot of the game. I’m proud of our players for hanging in there and coming through for us in the fourth quarter.”
Goodman – who played at JA before transferring to Prep two years ago after his freshman season — has had an outstanding season and added to it Friday night. He now has 613 all-purpose yards and 10 TDs. He also had 24 rushing yards and three tackles Friday night in addition to his huge kickoff return.
“After losing to my old teammates last year, I could not lose again and me and my teammates were willing to do whatever it took to win,” Goodman said. “There was a lot of talk leading up to this game and we were excited to show what we could do.”
Prep’s defense – playing without starting senior linebacker Gaines Reeves, nephew of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (out with an ankle injury) – was led by Brown with 14 tackles and senior linebacker Brogen McCluskey with 13 tackles.
JA – whose offensive front averages 290 pounds and is considered one of the top offensive lines in Mississippi – had scored more than 45 points four times this season.
“They have a huge offensive line and a great run game, so we knew going into the week that controlling the line of scrimmage was going to be a big deal,” McCluskey said. “I’m really proud of our front guys because they couldn’t have done a better job. Our linebackers filled their gaps, and our defensive backs came downhill and filled when they needed to. We had a great game plan going into the week, and our practices went really smooth, so we felt very prepared. Overall, I think we played disciplined, physical football and did a good job of not hurting ourselves with penalties. Sometimes our offense wasn’t clicking, but they stayed level-headed and kept delivering when it mattered most. Our receivers made some great catches, and our quarterback made some big time throws. The offensive line played well, and our running backs were great like always. We also had a special team touchdown, which was huge because anytime you can score on special teams, it gives the whole team a boost. Everyone stepped up when we needed it the most.”
Slowing down offenses is nothing new for veteran Prep defensive coordinator Nick Brewer, who has been at Prep since 1999 and been the defensive coordinator for the majority of his coaching career at Prep and been a part of 13 state championship teams with Prep.
“It was a total team effort, and our kids played hard,” said Brewer, who was inducted into the MAIS Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2025. “JA does a good job running the ball and they are big up front so our defensive players needed to execute and be gap sound and not overrun things. We had a good game plan and our guys made good plays when they had to.”
JA’s offense was slowed by an injury to starting junior quarterback Peyton Smith, who was sandwiched by a couple of Prep players on scramble early in the third quarter and sat out until he returned to the game in the fourth quarter. Prep limited Smith and sophomore backup Cole Frederick to only 5 completions in 22 attempts with three interceptions and were sacked four times. Smith, in his first year as the starter and whose father Allen played quarterback for Prep in the late 1980s, had completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 898 yards and 10 TDs before Friday night this season.
“Offensively, Prep is very talented and have kind of a balanced attack,” said JA coach David Duggan on a pregame interview with Bryan Eubank of the Raider Network. “They have two really good running backs that are very explosive and the quarterback can throw it and has some receivers who can catch it. Their deep game is really good. Doug goes a great job of coaching and he puts your offense and defense in compromising situations. He’s probably the best guy we go up against as far as challenging you.”
JA senior running back Aaric Beasley had another great game with 166 yards on 28 carries and two TDs. He now has 1,207 yards and 16 TDs this season and has more than 2,000 yards in his career.
Beasley ran through holes opened up by JA’s massive offensive line, led 6-foot-5, 305-pound senior 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.
“Aaric is a workhorse,” said Duggan, who has won 26 games in three seasons at JA after 38 years as a college assistant coach. “He is a really good running back. He has good balnce, he has great vision, he has good patience, and then he’s explosive when he picks it up and gets going. We are fortunate to have him.”
Junior linebacker Kirkland Houston led JA with 12 tackles and now has a team-high 73 tackles this season. Junior linebacker Gus Summers had 11 tackles.
