Jackson Prep’s offense erupted for seven goals Tuesday as the Patriots earned a 7-0 road shutout against the Lamar School Raiders. The loss dropped Lamar to 3-1, while Jackson Prep moved to 5-4-1.

“We really haven’t even had the chance to jell, because December was our break time and everybody had gone home or on vacation,” Lamar coach Leon Powell said. “So we just are actually getting back in the grove. I always say with the way the season’s set up, we’re going to be firing in the third week of January. That’s when we’re going to be playing good soccer.” 

Greyton Ray, Jacob Perkins, Cam Carroll, Dylan Harrigill, Preston Speed (2) and Brice Hall tallied goals for Jackson Prep. After traveling to Texas for tournament play over the holiday break, Jackson Prep coach Jon Marcus Duncan said he knew his team faced a challenge against the Raiders.

“They’re always extremely athletic and physical,” Jackson Prep coach Jon Marcus Duncan said of Lamar. “We knocked the ball around really well tonight. We’ve been out in Texas the past weekend, and it was good coming back to Mississippi and getting back here. We didn’t want to drop our level of play at all, and I think we continued what we had going over the weekend. We played a solid 80 minutes.”

Powell said there’s a strategy involved with scheduling teams such as Jackson Prep during the early portion of the year.

“I always get the good teams like Prep and Jackson Academy early in the season so I know what I need to work on,” Powell said. “So at the end of the season, I know my strengths. It was a tough one tonight, but Prep was a better team than us. We’re still getting back from the Christmas break, so hopefully, by the third week of January, we’ll be ready to go.”