The first football championship of the MAIS season will happen Friday night between two teams who have gotten to know each other quite well over the past few years: Jackson Prep and Hartfield Academy.
The Patriots (11-1) and Hawks (7-4) will meet in the postseason for the fourth time in as many seasons. Since Jackson Prep’s last championship in 2022, a year in which they beat Hartfield in the semifinals, the Patriots and coach Doug Goodwin have dropped playoff games to Hartfield in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
During the regular season, Jackson Prep handled Hartfield 31-19 on the Hawks’ home field. But, as has been the case in the MAIS in recent years, regular-season wins don’t always translate to postseason success.
Just last week, Hartfield traveled to Madison-Ridgeland Academy (8-3) – a team they had lost to 42-21 in the regular season – and with a completely new offense on display, the Hawks won 31-12. In what was a masterful coaching performance complemented by near-perfect execution from the players, Hartfield rolled out essentially an eight-man front on offense after opening the game with a successful, surprise onside kick.
MRA players were on their heels all night and couldn’t adapt to the new heavy look that Hartfield coach Craig Bowman and his staff were not only running but also passing out of.
“We want to play to the strengths of our team, and we’ve known our front offensively is where our heart and soul is. It’s not something we stumbled upon,” Bowman shared. “It’s something we had kind of been planning for a while. … We weren’t really ready to use it until we absolutely needed to, and that’s always usually playoff time.”
Leading the charge for Hartfield in the semifinals was quarterback Ethan Elliott, who passed for 140 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 196 yards and two more scores. According to Bowman, those numbers were made possible by the expanded offensive line in front of the senior.
Elliott’s performance was backed by the Hawks defense, which held MRA to one of its lowest offensive outputs of the season. That included 11 tackles from senior linebacker Bennett McWilliams, sacks from Ford Ray and Kevin Stone, three pass breakups by freshman King Brown, and a Sawyer Finnie interception.
“We wanted to keep everything in front – and it’s going to be much of the same [against Jackson Prep] – take away explosives and make them put together drives,” Bowman said. “I thought the guys did a fantastic job against a very, very well-coached, high-powered offense.”
For Jackson Prep, the Patriots handled Jackson Academy (8-3) by a score of 42-21 in the semifinals while sticking to their usual schemes.
Pocket passer and senior Luke Essary threw for 234 yards – more than half of which went to sophomore receiver Hayes Grenfell – and three touchdowns. Running back duo of senior Wade Smith and junior Herrin Goodman combined for 160 yards and two scores on the ground.
On defense, the Patriots were led by seniors Owen Brown (13 tackles, one sack) and Gaines Reeves (12 tackles, one forced fumble). Goodman pitched in 10 tackles of his own, and senior Brogen McCluskey had an interception.
On Friday night, the Hawks’ fresh appearance and the Patriots’ go-to attack will meet in what Bowman promises to be a game “full of fireworks” on the campus of Mississippi Christian University in Clinton. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with the game airing on SuperTalk Jackson and the MAIS Network.
While Prep is looking to win its 27th state championship and first in four years, Hartfield is looking to win its third championship in four years. In last season’s MAIS Class 4A Division I title game, the Hawks lost to JA 50-14 after winning it all in 2023 and 2024.
“It’s a state championship. After this one – win, lose, no matter what – we have to pack up Monday and go on to next year,” Bowman said. “And I don’t want to sit there and say we didn’t give it our all and shoot some bullets.”
