Photo by Chris Todd
By Robert Wilson
Senior quarterback Billy Puckett and his offensive teammates made sure Jackson Prep continued their domination of crosstown rival Jackson Academy with an eye-popping 334 total yards in the first half.
Puckett – whose father Hastings won two MAIS Overall boys basketball championships for JA and is considered one of the best players in school history – completed 16 of 20 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns to lead Prep to a 35-10 victory over JA for its 15th win in the last meetings before an estimated 3,500 at Prep’s Patriot Field in Flowood.
Prep improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the MAIS Class 6A conference. JA dropped to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in league play.
JA’s only win during the 16-year span was in 2020 when JA scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Prep 28-21 in the Class 6A state semifinals in former National Coach of the Year and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame member Ricky Black’s last game at Prep.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Puckett was accurate, poised, and focused on the task at hand Friday night and did his part not to let JA get any momentum. He completed 13 of 16 passes for 201 yards and two TDs and led Prep to a 21-0 halftime lead. He completed TD passes of 9 yards to senior wide receiver and Air Force Academy commitment Major Quin (whose sister Caroline is JA’s cheerleader) with 10 minutes, 50 seconds to play in the first quarter, and 26 yards to senior wide receiver John Ed Maddux with 58 seconds to play before halftime. Senior running back and Arizona State baseball commitment Tre Bryant scored on a 1-yard run for the other Prep TD in the first half.
Prep’s offensive – left tackle and Duke commitment Cole Allen (6-6, 260 pounds), left guard Reid Vineyard, center Thomas Coco (6-2, 275 pounds and son of head of school Lawrence Coco), right guard Laquarrious Finley (6-2, 280), and senior right tackles Matthew Parker (6-8, 310 pounds and a Baylor commitment) and Robert Watson (6-5, 225) – opened holes and protected Puckett all night as the Patriots produced 442 total yards (243 passing and 199 rushing). Parker is rated No. 20 and Allen No. 21 in the Class of 2025 in Mississippi by 247 Sports. Only Tyler Miller of Laurel (rated No. 6) is ranked higher than Parker and Allen among offensive tackles. Parker has 25 Division I offers, including Power 5 schools Vanderbilt, Duke and Florida State. Allen has 19 Division I offers.
Prep’s offensive front was able neutralize one of the best players in the South in 6-foot-3, 295-pound junior defensive lineman Dereon Albert – who has 12 Division I offers, including SEC offers from Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. Albert is rated as the No. 12 best player (third best defensive lineman) in Mississippi in the Class of 2026.
Puckett completed his third TD pass to senior wide receiver Gardner Young (a 16-yarder) for a 28-0 Prep lead with 4:12 to play in the third quarter.
Prep coach Doug Goodwin won his 260th game in his 30-year head coaching career, including a 26-5 record in his third season at Prep. He led Prep to a 12-1 record and the MAIS Class 6A state title in his first season at Prep two years ago. Goodwin brought the Patriots back from the most losses since the first year of the school in 1970 (an 8-5 record in 2022). He won 234 games in 27 seasons in Alabama, is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and was the first football coach in Alabama to take three different schools to state championship games. Goodwin led Demopolis to an undefeated season and a state title and set a state record with 761 points in 2008. He also had four state runner-up finishes.
“Our offensive line played well,” Goodwin said. “We only gave up one sack. We picked up their blitzes really well. Billy and our receivers were good as well. Billy made some great reads and throws.”
“It all started with our offensive line,” Puckett said. “They seemed to click, and they played outstanding. They made my job and the running backs job a lot easier. Our receivers played outstanding. Not only were they getting open and catching the ball, but they did a phenomenal job of picking up yards after the catch. Our running backs ran hard and stepped up to block when needed also. We had some big runs in critical moments. I feel like we played a phenomenal game offensively minus two or three plays. I was very pleased of how we handled a very good JA defense.”
“Our offensive line played great and gave us wide lanes to run through,” said Quin, who ran four times for 47 yards and one TD and caught five passes for 71 yards and one TD. “Once we got the run game established, we were able to throw the ball around successfully.”
JA finally got on the board with a 33-yard field goal by sophomore Rett Robinson with 9:34 to play in the game.
JA recovered a fumble on the kickoff and sophomore quarterback Pruett James connected with senior wide receiver John Thomas for an 18-yard TD to cut the Prep lead to 28-10.
It was a tough night for first-year JA head coach David Duggan, who spent most of coaching career as a college defensive assistant coach and prides himself with having a solid defense. The Raiders had no answer for Puckett, his offensive line and the Patriots’ success moving the ball.
“Prep was a lot more physical than we were,” said Duggan, who was a college assistant for almost four decades (many of those as a defensive coordinator) and was JA’s defensive coordinator two years ago before coming back to replace Aubrey Blackwell as head coach this season. “It was a good test to see where we were. I’ve got to do a better job of preparing them to play. Prep is a very physical team up front and their quarterback is a good athlete who is accurate and can run and make good decisions and they have kids who can catch it, too. Our defensive front is our strong suit, but Prep controlled the line of scrimmage. We found out what our weaknesses are. It was a learning experience for us, and we will get better because of it.”
Despite the loss, JA found an offensive weapon to use in the future. James came off the bench and replaced starting junior quarterback Carter Mathison in the first half. James – son of former JA star receiver Chesley James (a part of JA’s first two state titles in 1995 and 1996) – completed 11 of 22 passes for 149 yards and one TD Friday against Prep. Mathison set a school record with 1,911 passing yards last season as a sophomore.
“We have been struggling offensively in first four games and we put Pruett in there and he gave us a spark,” Duggan said. “We are excited about his future. He’s a young player, but he stepped it up, took some hits and provided energy to our offense. We look forward to seeing how Pruett improves moving forward. He’s got a strong arm and keeps his eyes downfield.”
