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 16-4 record (80 percent) last week and has a 235-68 record (77.5 percent) this season.
By Robert Wilson
Jackson Academy (9-1) at MRA (9-1)
These two teams are considered the best two teams in MAIS, but are meeting in the Class 4A, Division I semifinals due to the MAIS point system.
Madison-Ridgeland Academy is seeded No. 1, Hartfield No. 2, Jackson Prep No. 3 and JA No. 4. MRA and JA beat both Hartfield and Prep.
Prep is playing at Hartfield in the other semifinal even though Prep beat Hartfield in the regular season, also due to the point system.
Let’s dive into the JA-MRA matchup that many think is the MAIS championship game.
MRA comes in ranked No. 1 in MAIS Class 4A and No. 3 in Mississippi and JA ranked No. 2 in MAIS Class 4A and No. 7 in Mississippi by MaxPreps.
The two teams met on Sept. 26 at JA and MRA won 35-24, the 11th consecutive time MRA has won in the series. JA’s last victory over MRA was a 30-7 decision in 2017.
Senior defensive back Beckett Strong had a fumble return and senior defensive back Jack Ridgway blocked a punt to set up two touchdowns in the first half, senior quarterback Samuel Stockett passed for 281 yards and two scores and senior wide receiver Case Thomas caught eight passes for 133 yards to lead MRA to the victory.
MRA senior defensive back Evan Carr caused the fumble and Strong picked it up and returned it 26 yards to the JA 9 to setup MRA’s first score. Jack Poole scored on a 3-yard run for a 7-0 MRA lead with 6 minutes, 1 second to play in the first quarter.
After JA junior running back Aaric Beasley tied the game at 7-7 on a 31-yard TD run, MRA senior Jack Ridgway blocked a punt – his second this season – and MRA senior Parker Durham recovered it at the JA 2. One play later, MRA sophomore running back Colson O’Cain scored on a 2-yard run – his 12th TD run of the season – for a 14-7 MRA lead with 5:02 to play before halftime.
Stockett and Thomas – a member of the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team – got rolling in the second half.
Stockett completed 9 of 14 passes for 196 yards and two TDs (a 71-yard pass to senior tight end Will Jones and a 29-yard pass to senior wide receiver Will Bizot) in the final two quarters.
Thomas – rated as the No. 50 player in Mississippi in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports and the son of former Clinton High and Alabama kicker Neal Thomas – caught five passes for 72 yards in the second half.
Bizot’s score gave MRA a 28-17 lead after JA senior and North Carolina commitment O’Mari Johnson – rated No. 17 player in Mississippi and No. 35 athlete in the country – returned a kickoff for a 97-yard TD to cut the MRA lead to 21-17.
MRA produced 22 first downs and 354 total yards against JA’s defense, which included two of the top rated players in the country in senior defensive lineman and Tennessee commitment Dereon Albert (No. 8 player in Mississippi and No. 28 defensive tackle in the Class of 2026) and senior linebacker and Tennessee commitment TJ White (No. 3 player in Mississippi and No. 5 linebacker in the country in the Class of 2026). MRA ran and passed behind its front line, led by 6-foot-3, 295-pound junior left tackle Caleb Unger (rated as the No. 11 player in Mississippi in the Class of 2027 and the No. 20 inside offensive lineman in the country).
JA produced 20 first downs and 356 total yards, running and passing behind an offensive front led by junior offensive lineman Caden Moss (No. 1 rated player in Mississippi and No. 4 rated offensive lineman in the country in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports).
JA senior quarterback Josef Walker – rated as the No. 7 dual threat quarterback in Mississippi in the Class of 2026 by qbhitlist.com – completed 21 of 28 passes for 228 yards and one TD (a 15-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jaydann Hollins with 5:54 to play in the fourth quarter) and ran 14 times for 47 yards. Walker has completed 77.5 percent of his passes for 610 yards and 6 touchdowns without throwing an interception and has run for 120 yards and two TDs.
Beasley finished with 81 yards on 17 carries and freshman wide receiver Braylan Short caught four pases for 56 yards.
Like Thomas and Unger, Moss, Albert and White are members of the Elite 11 Team.
Senior defensive lineman Cade Gentry led MRA with nine tackles and Durham had eight. White led JA with 12 tackles and junior defensive lineman Jaiden Hulbert had seven.
JA played without senior running back Kingston Mays, who came into the game with a team-high 290 yards and six TDs this season. He will be back for Friday night’s game.
MRA has the toughest rated schedule in the MAIS this season, losing only to Ravenwood, Tenn., High 28-24 in the season opener, Ravenwood is 11-0 and is ranked No. 8 in Tennessee, according to MaxPreps.
Neither team has lost since the meeting in September. MRA has won nine games in a row since the Ravenwood loss. JA has won five in a row since the MRA loss.
Both coaches are veterans.
MRA coach Herbert Davis has won 255 games along with six state championships in 29 seasons.
Duggan, in his second year as JA’s head coach, was an assistant college coach for 38 years.
Davis is trying to win his first state title since he led MRA to a three-peat from 2019 to 2021.
Duggan is trying to bring JA a state championship for the first time since David Sykes led the Raiders to a three-peat in 2009-2011.
Unfortunately, one of these championship level teams won’t playing for a state title next week.
MRA 35, JA 21.
In other games (winning team in ALL CAPS):
Desoto Central (7-4) at GERMANTOWN (7-3)
MADISON CENTRAL (6-4) at Horn Lake (7-3)
Brandon (5-5) at OCEAN SPRINGS (8-2)
Northwest Rankin (6-4) at GULFPORT (8-2)
GRENADA (7-3) at Ridgeland (9-1)
Callaway (6-5) at LAKE CORMORANT (8-2)
Terry (8-2) at PASCAGOULA (5-5)
Pontotoc (6-4) at LANIER (10-1)
JACKSON PREP (7-4) at Hartfield Academy (5-5)
Columbia Academy (8-2) at TRI-COUNTY ACADEMY (9-1)
