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The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots (1-3) picked up their first win of the season last Friday on the road against Notasulga and this week they’re back on the road in Florida looking to build on that success.

The Patriots dominated Notasulga 31-8 last week to pick up that first victory. The Patriots tallied 334 yards of offense in the win with 256 yards on the ground and 78 through the air. Running back Jackson Bowen rushed for 105 yards on 12 carries, while Dawson Bradford threw for 78 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns. Will Rice also grabbed one catch for 26 yards. Pruitt Vaughn led the PLAS defense with 10 tackles, while Rice and Weston Garrett earned five tackles each as the Patriots held Notasulga to just 112 total yards.

“We played great,” PLAS Coach William Moguel said. “The kids came out very physical and I was really pleased with the offensive line play and the team as a whole. The whole game we played really physical and the best we’ve played all year.”

The Patriots don’t get to enjoy that success for long as they gear up for yet another long trip, this time to the Sunshine State to face off against Lighthouse Christian Academy in Pensacola, Fla. The Stingrays are 2-3 on the season after staring the year with wins over All Saints Academy and FAMU before dropping matchups to Northview, Destin and Baker.

Brayden Jackson leads Lighthouse with 217 yards passing and two touchdowns, while Henry Johnson is his favorite target with nine catches for 123 yards. Johnson also leads the Stingray defense with 33 tackles and a sack.

“They’re a young team also but they have some athletes there that can really hurt you,” Moguel said.

While Moguel and his team want to be prepared for what the Stingrays bring, the Patriots are also continuing to concentrate on improving themselves.

“We have to build on what we did last week,” Moguel said. “We still are going to watch film and break them down but I’m more worried about us and executing our plan and doing what we need to do. If we do that we should be in good shape.”

Moguel said that getting better each week is the name of the game for PLAS.

“We want to get better each week in all three phases of the game,” he emphasized. “I want us to jump the level of tempo we played with last week and just keep getting a little bit better every week, every day.”