The wait is now over for the Indianola Academy football team and its legion of fans.
For the opening kickoff of the 2018 season occurs at 7 p.m. Friday when the Colonels travel to Pillow Academy in Greenwood.
In the first of three consecutive games to be played against ranked teams to open their season, the Colonels will take the field against the Mustangs; who enter the game ranked No. 8 among all MAIS schools per Mississippi Gridiron magazine.
The Colonels, with three consecutive AAA State Championship game appearances under their belt, feature 10 new faces in the starting line-up when they compete against a seasoned Mustangs squad.
The preseason ranking afforded to Pillow Academy appears well-deserved as the Mustangs completed their 2017 season with a four game regular season win streak; a run which ended in the first round of the Division II AAAA playoffs and left the squad with a final 5-7 record.
“Pillow Academy is a good team with high expectations for this season”, said long-time IA Head Coach Tommy Nester. “They have 42 players which helps their depth. We’ll get on the field and battle them and see what happens.”
In this Friday’s 39th football meeting between these two schools, the Colonels own a three game win streak over the Mustangs and a 23-15 advantage in the long-running series.
The 2017 season opener resulted in the Colonels prevailing by a 41-14 margin.
In preparation for this week’s contest, the Colonels participated in a jamboree last Friday hosted by North Delta School in Batesville.
After playing the host Green Wave, who are a District 1AAA opponent for IA, to a scoreless decision, the Colonels later returned to the field and handed AAAA member Magnolia Heights School of Senatobia a 6-0 loss.
Assessing his team’s performance, Nester noted, “We had some bright spots and spots we need to improve on. We played much better the second game after some of the players got used to the speed of the game. I expect us to get better each week.”
