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• Prep beat Oak Forest 56–0 in Amite on Friday, Oct. 30. Prep scored 42 points in the first quarter and led 56–0 at halftime. Prep finished the regular season 10–1 with six straight wins and earned a home playoff game.
• Through 11 games Prep has scored 470 points and allowed 181 (42.7 and 16.5 per game), with 30 or more points in 10 of 11 games.
• Practice: No school Monday; a.m. practice only, then regular schedule.
• Team calendar: open the team calendar
• Pep rally: 9:38 a.m., school gym
• Playoff tickets: Prep passes will NOT be accepted for MAIS playoff games.
• Pregame: tents as usual
• Thursday: chicken biscuits after morning practice
• Dads’ Luncheon: Friday 11:45 a.m., River Hills. Coach Goodwin is the speaker.
• Coaches’ meal: thank you to Jim Galbraith for taking care of the coaches’ meals this past week.
• Jackson Academy Raiders (Jackson). Record 8–2 (MAIS Class 4A, District 2, 1–2), open last week. JA is the defending Class 4A Division I state champion (2025). Head coach David Duggan is in his third season. Prep won the Oct. 2 meeting 35–24 at Patriot Field.
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FOR THE STANDS
Rematch. JA’s only two losses are to Prep (24–35) and MRA (24–28), and it has posted five shutouts. In the Oct. 2 game, Prep outscored JA 21–3 in the last eight minutes to win 35–24, ending JA’s 13-game winning streak. The player to watch is senior RB Aaric Beasley, who ran for 304 yards against MRA. JA has had an open week to get ready.
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IF YOU WANT THE DETAILS
Jackson Academy is 8–2 and has scored 384 points while allowing 134 (38.4 and 13.4 per game). The Raiders are 5–0 at home and 3–2 on the road, went 1–2 in District 2, and posted 5 shutouts. Their MAIS power-point average is 55.5 (Week 11 page). Coach David Duggan has 27 wins in three seasons and won the 2025 state title, JA’s first since 2011.
Players to know: RB Aaric Beasley had 1,701 yards and 22 TD on 199 carries (8.5 per carry) through Oct. 16, including 304 yards and 3 TD on 31 carries at MRA. That was third-best in JA history for a season, behind Corey McGee (1,764, 2004) and Rob Cannon (1,746, 2001). He added 79 yards and 3 TD on six carries against Bayou. OL Caden Moss (6-5, 305, Sr.) is an Ohio State commit. QB Peyton Smith (Jr.), a first-year starter, was hurt early in the third quarter of the Oct. 2 game and returned in the fourth.
Oct. 2 at Patriot Field (Prep 35, JA 24): Luke Essary was 14 of 19 for 243 yards and 3 TD (64 yards to Hayes Grenfell, 59 to Wade Smith, 58 to Asher Reynolds). Herrin Goodman returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown, and Smith ran for a 9-yard TD. Owen Brown, Will Ferguson and Kain Sandridge had interceptions. JA’s quarterbacks were 5 of 22 with 3 interceptions and were sacked four times. Beasley ran for 166 yards and 2 TD on 28 carries.
2026 results (Jackson Academy)
| Date |
Opponent |
JA |
| Fri Aug 14 |
@ Leake Academy |
W 63–40 |
| Fri Aug 21 |
vs Oak Forest Academy |
W 46–0 |
| Fri Aug 28 |
vs McGill-Toolen (Ala.) |
W 16–0 |
| Fri Sep 4 |
@ Picayune |
W 48–17 |
| Fri Sep 18 |
vs Hartfield (district) |
W 24–14 |
| Fri Sep 25 |
@ Madison St. Joseph |
W 49–0 |
| Fri Oct 2 |
@ Jackson Prep (district) |
L 24–35 |
| Fri Oct 9 |
vs Magnolia Heights |
W 34–0 |
| Fri Oct 16 |
@ MRA (district) |
L 24–28 |
| Fri Oct 23 |
vs Bayou Academy |
W 56–0 |
| Total |
8–2 |
PF 384 · PA 134 |
Scores: MAIS power page (Week 11). Home/away: MississippiGridiron 2026 MAIS master schedule. JA was open Sep. 11 and Oct. 30. Series: Prep leads 46–16 and has won 17 of the last 19 (Mississippi Scoreboard). Most recent playoff meeting: Prep 37–0 in the 2024 semifinal (AHSFHS).
2026 game-by-game (JA rush / pass yards)
| Date |
Opponent |
Rush |
Pass |
| Fri Aug 14 |
@ Leake Academy |
403 |
267 |
| Fri Aug 21 |
vs Oak Forest Academy |
252 |
169 |
| Fri Aug 28 |
vs McGill-Toolen (Ala.) |
292 |
35 |
| Fri Sep 4 |
@ Picayune |
168 |
219 |
| Fri Sep 18 |
vs Hartfield (district) |
290 |
63 |
| Fri Sep 25 |
@ Madison St. Joseph |
154 |
191 |
| Fri Oct 2 |
@ Jackson Prep (district) |
177 |
156 |
| Fri Oct 9 |
vs Magnolia Heights |
213 |
237 |
| Fri Oct 16 |
@ MRA (district) |
315 |
49 |
| Fri Oct 23 |
vs Bayou Academy |
253 |
107 |
Team rushing and passing yards: Jackson Academy official live-stats archive (cosmo.jacksonacademy.org).
JA quarterbacks (2026)
Peyton Smith (#9, Jr.) started all 10 games. So. Cole Frederick (#16) took over for a stretch of the Oct. 2 game at Prep while Smith was hurt (early 3rd quarter into the 4th); in that stretch he went 1 of 4 for 60 yards with 1 INT. He also played the second half against Bayou (Oct. 23) with JA leading 42–0. In the MRA and Magnolia Heights games, Smith threw every pass.
| Season |
C/A |
Yds |
TD–INT |
Rush |
| #9 Peyton Smith, Jr. |
88/146 |
1375 |
13–6 |
36 / 72 / 2 |
| #16 Cole Frederick, So. |
4/8 |
95 |
1–1 |
8 / 77 / 0 |
| #17 River Hogue, So. |
1/1 |
23 |
1–0 |
2 / −2 / 0 |
| Game |
Smith passing |
Others |
| Fri Aug 14 @ Leake Academy |
10/14, 267, 4–0 |
— |
| Fri Aug 21 vs Oak Forest Academy |
8/12, 123, 1–0 |
Frederick 2/2, 23, 0–0; Hogue 1/1, 23, 1–0 |
| Fri Aug 28 vs McGill-Toolen (Ala.) |
10/15, 35, 0–1 |
— |
| Fri Sep 4 @ Picayune |
11/15, 219, 2–0 |
— |
| Fri Sep 18 vs Hartfield |
8/10, 63, 0–0 |
— |
| Fri Sep 25 @ Madison St. Joseph |
9/12, 191, 3–1 |
Frederick 0/1 |
| Fri Oct 2 @ Jackson Prep |
4/18, 96, 1–2 |
Frederick 1/4, 60, 0–1 |
| Fri Oct 9 vs Magnolia Heights |
13/22, 237, 1–1 |
— |
| Fri Oct 16 @ MRA |
5/15, 49, 0–1 |
— |
| Fri Oct 23 vs Bayou Academy |
10/13, 95, 1–0 |
Frederick 1/1, 12, 1–0; 4 rushes for 67 |
Passing shown as comp/att, yards, TD–INT. Rush = att / yards / TD (high school stats count sacks as rushes). Source: Jackson Academy official live-stats archive. Classes: MaxPreps roster. Oct. 2 injury: Mississippi Scoreboard.
Common opponents (Prep / JA)
| Opponent |
Prep |
JA |
| Oak Forest Academy |
W 56–0 |
W 46–0 |
| Hartfield |
W 31–19 |
W 24–14 |
| MRA |
L 25–28 |
L 24–28 |
| Total |
2–1 · 112–47 |
2–1 · 94–42 |
Scores: MAIS power pages. Both teams lost close games to MRA: Prep by 3 and JA by 4.
Keys for Prep
• Slow Aaric Beasley. He ran for 166 yards against Prep and 304 at MRA.
• Win up front against a JA line led by 6-5, 305-pound Caden Moss.
• Take the shots downfield. Essary’s three TD passes in the first meeting covered 58 yards or more.
• Special teams and takeaways. Goodman’s 81-yard kickoff return and three interceptions swung the Oct. 2 game.
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PUBLIC / FORM
Prep won Oct. 2, 35–24
Massey projection: Prep 30, JA 29 (Prep 52% to win), via On3 |
JAI
Prep 31 – JA 24
Our pick · rematch at Patriot Field
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Prep won the regular-season meeting 35–24, but JA is the defending champion and comes in after an open week. The last time these two met in the playoffs, Prep won the 2024 semifinal 37–0.
It’s official. MAIS has posted the 2026 Class 4A Division I bracket: #1 MRA, #2 Jackson Prep, #3 Jackson Academy and #4 Hartfield. The higher seed hosts, so Prep hosts JA at Patriot Field on Fri., Nov. 6, at 7:00 p.m.
Final power-point averages (MAIS Class 3A & 4A final averages after Week 11): MRA 61.500, Prep 56.400, Jackson Academy 55.500, Hartfield 54.250. Parklane (51.875) leads Division II as its #5 seed.
MAIS Class 4A Division I Bracket (official)
Official seeds as posted by MAIS. Highest seed hosts games leading to the championship.
| SEMIFINALS |
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FINAL |
| #1 MRA |
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| #4 Hartfield |
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CHAMPIONSHIP
TBD
Nov 13 · 7:00 · MC
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| #2 Prep |
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| #3 JA |
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Semifinal: #1 MRA vs #4 Hartfield
Fri., Nov. 6, 7:00 p.m. · at MRA, Madison |
Semifinal: #2 Prep vs #3 Jackson Academy
Fri., Nov. 6, 7:00 p.m. · Patriot Field, Flowood |
Championship: semifinal winners
Fri., Nov. 13, 7:00 p.m. · at MC (as listed by MAIS) |
Seeds, dates, times, the championship site and the host rule are from the MAIS 2026 Class 4A Division I bracket (checked Sun., Nov. 1, 4:40 p.m. CT). Semifinal sites follow the host-the-higher-seed rule.
JayB
JP Football Dads · Please forward to family not on the list.
Past weeks, stats, and clips:
gallery ·
in the news ·
Keith Head stats
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