By Robert Wilson
MADISON – Madison-Ridgeland Academy defeated defending MAIS Class 4A, Division I state champion Jackson Academy 28-24 in a battle between two of the Top 10 football teams in Mississippi Friday night at MRA’s Patriot Field.
And instead of giving game balls to a coach or player, games balls might should have gone to MRA trainer Jared Shore and strength and conditioning coach George Adams.
MRA – which finished the game against Baton Rouge Catholic two weeks ago with nine key players out with injuries – was able to have eight of them back for Friday’s game, thanks for Shore and Adams.
MRA senior quarterback Austin Banks – who suffered a sprain on his non-throwing shoulder two weeks ago – completed 18 of 30 passes for 275 yards and one touchdown – and junior running back Colson O’Cain – who missed the last two games after getting a concussion against Jackson Prep – had 21 carries for 118 yards and three TDs.
MRA – ranked No. 3 in MAIS Class 4A and No. 10 in Mississippi – improved to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in district play and defeated JA for the 12th time in the last 13 meetings. The only win was JA’s 35-0 decision in last year’s semifinal matchup in the 4A playoffs.
JA – ranked No. 2 in MAIS Class 4A and No. 9 in Mississippi – dropped to 7-2 overall and 1-2 in district play. After winning 13 straight games, the Raiders have lost two of their last three games.
MRA finished as the No. 1 seed and will host either Hartfield Academy or Parklane Academy in the first round of the MAIS Class 4A, Division I playoffs in three weeks.
JA finished as the No. 3 seed and will play at No. 2 seed Jackson Prep in the first round in three weeks. JA’s other district loss was a 35-24 defeat at Prep.
MRA’s open date last week came at a great time. After playing one of the toughest schedules in school history – seven straight weeks of tough opponents (MRA had the 13th toughest schedule among the Top 100 teams in Mississippi) – the Patriots were beat up.
In addition to Banks and Colson, MRA had several others recovering from injuries – senior offensive lineman Caleb Unger, senior wide receiver Holt Adams, junior defensive back Daniel Perkins, junior offensive lineman Veazey Williams, freshman offensive lineman Bill Rogers, junior wide receiver Kaden Ward and junior wide receiver Devin Alfred. All of them played Friday night except Williams.
“It was one of the best times to have an open week in my career,” said MRA coach Herbert Davis, who his 263rd game to go along with six state championships in 30 seasons, including 137 wins in 13 seasons at MRA. “We came out of the Catholic game with a lot of injuries. But those guys recovered quickly in the past two weeks. Austin had some pain with his shoulder but is a warrior. He has had a good year and played well last night. He knows our system and has been with our program for several years. It was great to have Colson back. He’s a big cog in our wheel. He is powerful and can see our blocking schemes and has great lateral movement to go along with good speed.”
MRA was able to win despite a tremendous game by JA senior running back Aaric Beasley, who gained 304 yards on 31 carries and scored three TDs.
The 5-foot-9, 195-pound Beasley, who had 200 yards at halftime, scored his second TD on a 36-yard run to give JA a 17-14 lead three minutes into the second half. It was the last time JA would lead.
Banks drove MRA on back to back, long scoring drives to take a 28-17 lead. The first drive was 70 yards in six plays and Colson scored on a 2-yard run with 7:22 to play in the third quarter. Banks completed his last three passes for 52 yards on that drive. The second drive was 87 yards in six plays and Banks completed a 22-yard TD pass to Adams four minutes later. Banks completed 4 of 4 for 71 yards on that drive. Adams, one of the nine players who recovered from injuries, caught five passes for a game-high 91 yards Friday night.
JA closed the gap to 28-24 on Beasley’s third TD – a 39-yard run – with 8:37 to play and got a chance for the winning drive in the last few minutes but MRA’s Ward – one of those nine players who recovered from an injury – intercepted a pass with 23 seconds to play to clinch the victory.
Davis is in his first year as defensive coordinator at MRA after being the offensive coordinator for the other 12 seasons. Davis was a defensive coordinator most of his career until coming to MRA. Jacob Land, the son of MRA head of school Termie Land, came to MRA from being the head coach at Lamar School in Meridian and is the offensive coordinator this season.
“There is no doubt we gave up too many explosive runs and we’ve got to get better at that, but we got enough stops to win,” said Davis, who is looking for his first state title since a three-peat from 2019-2021. “(Junior linebacker) Brett Tyler had nine tackles and (senior linebacker) Ty Childress and (senior linebacker) Pierce Ingram had eight tackles each. (Junior defensive lineman) Anderson Sullivan also had a good game.”
The 5-11, 190-pound Banks, in his first year to start, came into Friday’s game with an excellent 67.5 completion percentage and had 1,537 passing yards (11th best in Mississippi and 5th best in MAIS) and 16 TDs with only 2 interceptions this season. MRA”s offensive lineman, led by Unger (rated the No. 14 best player in Mississippi in the Class of 2027 by 247 Sports), did a solid job up front.
“People told me with that injury (an AC joint separation) that it would be smarter to sit out and rest but I know the work my team and I have put in and I trust my guys to protect me and have my back,” Banks said. “As a competitor, I couldn’t sit out this game and as a leader, I had to be there for my team no matter what. I’m willing to fight through challenges and face adversity to be there for my team. It was definitely one of the most mentally challenging things I’ve faced in my life, but I’m super proud of my team and the work we have put in. We had a great two weeks of practice and came to work. Now, we have to finish and keep the same energy and not get comfortable where we are.”
The 5-7, 182-pound Colson, who injured his ankle in the first quarter in the season opener against Ravenwood, Tenn., and missed the Jefferson Davis County game earlier this year, had his third 100-game Friday night of the season. He had 639 yards and 15 TDs last season as a sophomore.
“It was kind of a challenge coming back after a month mainly because I was more unconditioned and had to get back into football shape,” O’Cain said. “We were able to win last night because we didn’t stop even when we got down and our defense played great and so did the offensive line.”
“Having Colson back out there was huge for us,” Banks said. “He brings a lot of confidence for means to the team, and having him back on the field made a big difference. Colson is a very electric running back and he is a competitor. I am super proud of him and the growth he has had. He has faced some injuries this year, but has fought for this team when we need him the most and that’s all you can ask for. When we have him in the game he is a game changer because teams have to respect the run and the pass.”
Beasley’s outstanding performance fell just short of his career high of 313 yards on 18 carries and four TDs in season opening victory at Leake Academy. He now has 1,701 yards on 199 carries, 8.5 yards per carry, and 22 TDs this season.
Beasley is now third in school history in rushing yards for a season, behind Corey McGee (1,764 in 2004) and Rob Cannon (1,746 in 2001).
Beasley said his offensive line, considered one of the best in Mississippi and led by 6-5, 305-pound senior offensive left tackle and Ohio State commitment Caden Moss (No. 3 player in Mississippi and the No. 7 offensive lineman in the country by the 2027 by 247 Sports), continues to improve.
“Our offensive line has been able to communicate a lot better and able to put the blitz and get better a whole,” said Beasley in a pregame interview with Bryan Eubank of the Raider Network.
“Aaric is a workhorse,” said Duggan, who has won 27 games in three seasons at JA after 38 years as a college assistant coach, and led the Raiders to their first state title last season since 2011. “He is a really good running back. He has good balance, 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 linebackers Kirkland Hudson and Adam Alexander had eight and seven tackles respectively to lead JA’s defense. Sophomore defensive back Barrett Ingram – whose brother Pierce plays for MRA – had an interception.
