By Robert Wilson
Madison-Ridgeland Academy coach Herbert Davis will probably be sending Brandon Cobb a graduation present this spring.
Davis has seen enough of the Pulaski Academy, Ark., quarterback for the past two seasons.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Cobb accounted for 498 yards and seven touchdowns to lead Pulaski to a 60-36 victory over MRA Friday night before an estimated 2,000 at Patriot Field in Madison.
Pulaski, which has won an Arkansas public school state championship in eight of the past 10 seasons, improved to 2-0 and defeated MRA for the fourth straight season. MRA dropped to 3-1. The Patriots had lost to the Bruins by scores of 63-39 in 2021, 48-40 in 2022 and 45-43 last season. It was the most points allowed by MRA since the 2021 Pulaski game.
MRA and Davis had no answer for Cobb for the second straight year. Cobb completed 23 of 42 passes for 301 yards and three TDs and ran 14 times for 197 yards and four TDs Friday night. He accounted for 602 yards – the 10th highest total in Arkansas state history – in last year’s victory over MRA.
MRA led 14-6 after junior quarterback Samuel Stockett’s second TD pass (this one a 19-yarder to senior wide receiver Jack Polles with 3 minutes to play in the first quarter), but Pulaski scored 21 points in less than 4 minutes to take a 27-14 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back. Cobb scored on runs of 29 yards, 50 yards and 29 yards to grab the lead.
Pulaski added two more TDs (both scoring passes from Cobb) in the third quarter to take a commanding 41-14 lead before Stockett completed his third TD pass, a 10-yarder to junior wide receiver Fletcher Cox, to cut the lead to 41-21 with 4:19 to go in the third quarter.
But Pulaski poured it on the rest of the game and outscored 19-8 to take a 60-29 lead before MRA scored the final TD on Stockett’s fourth TD pass, a 19-yarder to senior wide receiver Barr Biggs with 2:53 to play.
MRA isn’t the only team Cobb has had outstanding performances against. He passed for 3,900 yards – the most in Arkansas and eighth highest in the country – and accounted for 4,857 yards, the 14th highest in Arkansas history, last season.
And Cobb passed for 475 yards and five TDs in last week’s 35-21 win over Robinson.
Stockett – who is starting this season for the first time and replaced now Southern Miss freshman John White (who passed for a Mississippi record 15,529 yards during his career) – completed 25 of 49 passes for 334 yards and four TDs, but also had three interceptions. He has passed for 1,008 yards and 12 TDs in four games this season and is on pace to pass for 3,000 yards this year. White passed for 3,557 yards last season.
MRA junior wide receiver Case Thomas – a member of the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team – caught nine passes for 147 yards and one TD. He has caught 20 passes for 347 yards and four TDs this season. Thomas caught 59 passes for 1,296 yards – second-best in Mississippi, according to MaxPreps – and 17 TDs last season as a sophomore.
But MRA failed to score 40 points for the first time this season. The Patriots had scored 155 points in their first three wins.
MRA’s Davis – a Brookhaven Academy, Co-Lin CC, and Mississippi College (bachelor’s degree) and Delta State (master’s degree) graduate – was denied his 241st career victory. He has won six state championships (three at MRA, two at Brookhaven Academy and one at Pillow Academy) in his 28th season as a head coach. He is the only football coach in Mississippi history to take five schools (MRA, Brookhaven Academy, Pillow Academy, Heritage Academy and Winston Academy) to state championship games. Davis has won 106 games in 11 seasons at MRA.
