Eagles fall to SCA, show improvement
Jackson Academy falls 28-0 to Rebels in preseason scrimmage
By Chris Sherman SA Sports Writer

Jackson Academy fell to the South Choctaw Academy Rebels 28-0 Thursday night at a scrimmage in Jackson. The Eagles will open up the season Friday night in Mobile against Cottage Hill. Sam Scott (above) leaps to defend a pass against a SCA receiver. New Eagle Coach Mike Garrett (left) talks to his team during halftime of the scrimmage. The Eagle cheerleaders (right) entertained a pretty good crowd that was on hand to see the new look Eagles. (SA photos by Chris Sherman)

Jackson Academy faced off with South Choctaw Academy in a preseason scrimmage on Thursday, Aug. 16.

The Eagles fell 28-0 after falling behind 20-0 in the first half.

But all is not as bad as it seems. South Choctaw is ranked seventh in the AISA polls and should breeze through 1A this year to the state championship game.

The Eagles, on the other hand, are rebuilding a program with new Coach Mike Garrett only being on the job for a few weeks now.

"We made some mistakes but we didn't make any that were not correctable. I was pleased overall with our performance.

"For the most part we gave good effort but we have to get in better shape just like everyone else," Garrett said.

If not for five fumbles the outcome may have been completely different.

The Eagles fumbled the opening kickoff but SCA failed to capitalize. The Rebels managed to put six on the board at the 4:46 when SCA quarterback Chase Nordan found Cody McIlwain for a long bomb.

The Eagles' defense stiffened on the twopoint conversion and the SCA lead was 6-0.

South Choctaw scored two more times in the first half to build a 20-0 lead but managed only one score in the second half.

Although people are not expecting much from the Eagles this year, do not be surprised if the team performs better than expected.

The defense has looked pretty solid so far this fall for JA.

If the young offense can hold on to the ball and find a few more play-makers this could be a good season for Jackson.

The Eagles will open up play Friday (Aug. 24) against Cottage Hill in Mobile.

The following week, Jackson Academy will play their first home game of the season against Wilcox.

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