Rarely does Pulaski Academy (2-0) face a team that can pile up the points at an alarming clip like it can. That’ll change tonight.
The Bruins, who are averaging 61.5 points over their first two games, will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to take on a Lipscomb Academy team that is averaging 69 points.
So expect a lot of touchdowns to be scored all over the Mustangs’ home field.
“They’re coached really well,” Pulaski Academy Coach Anthony Lucas said. “They’ve got a couple of scat backs that are tough, they’ve got a receiver that’s pretty shifty. On defense, they’re pretty physical up [front] and play extremely hard. It’s going to be a battle, especially with us going on the road.”
Lipscomb Academy (3-0) is coached by former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, who recently found himself making national headlines after a heated confrontation — one that showed him shoving and yelling at a player during a 62-7 victory over Independence, Tenn. — went viral. The third-year coach has since apologized for the incident.
Even before that event occurred, the Mustangs were more known for their offensive prowess. Lipscomb Academy, last year’s Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s Division II-AA state runner-up, opened the season with a 76-7 victory over Greater Atlanta Christian before its 55-point whipping of Independence.
The Mustangs, who also earned a forfeit over Goodpasture (Tenn.) Christian, have several players with NCAA Division I offers, led by running back and Boston College commit Alex Broome and tight end and Stanford pledge Sam Roush. The team’s quarterback, Luther Richesson, who has offers from schools including Michigan State and Cincinnati, has been nearly perfect on the year with 461 yards on 31-of-34 passing and 4 touchdowns.
“He looks really good,” Lucas said of Richesson. “Going into hostile territory, it’s going to be tough.”
The Bruins seemingly are always loaded, too, with Northwestern commit Joe Himon and quarterback Charlie Fiser, who’s thrown for 765 yards and nine touchdowns, leading the way.
Pulaski Academy is playing a game in Tennessee for the third year in a row. The Bruins played at Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood, which is located just outside of Nashville, in each of the prior two seasons. Also, defensive coordinator Madison Taylor high school football at Lipscomb Academy.
“I challenged them,” Lucas said of his team. “I told them I didn’t care what they had to do, I want them to win the game for Coach Taylor. We’ve got another kid that’s that moved over from that area, Kenny Jordan, too. Just trying to find little ways to get motivated.
“But our kids have been on the road. They’ve played in Texas, played in a lot of different places. We may face some adversity early on, but they know how to handle that. We’ll have them focused on the game and just doing their part.”
