Barrett Donahoe doesn’t buy the notion of “good losses.”
But the Heritage Academy football coach came as close as any coach could to experiencing one of them Friday night in a 41-35 loss to Jackson Academy.
Donahoe talked about how Heritage Academy needed to go to Jackson and forget the name on its opponent’s jersey and play hard for 48 minutes. Even though the Patriots fell into a track meet and allowed four touchdowns to junior Duncan Maxwell, Donahoe was pleased with the fight his players showed. He was even more enthused by the fact all facets of the program appear to be coming together.
“I feel the sense of togetherness of your teammates and amongst your coaching staff and your fans,” Donahoe said. “For the first time I felt the entire presence of our school. You could feel the vision and everybody was understanding what the vision was and how we’re going to accomplish that. You could see it on the players’ faces. You could see it on the fans’ faces, and you could see it from our coaching staff. From that standpoint it was very positive.”
Donahoe and Heritage Academy will try to build on that momentum at 7 p.m. Friday when they take on Magnolia Heights in Senatobia. The matchup will go a long way to help deciding whether the Patriots (2-3, 1-1 Mississippi Association of Independent School Class AAA, Division II, District 1) or the Chiefs (5-1, 2-0) advance to the playoffs. Both teams have victories this season against Lee Academy, and both still have to play Washington School.
“This one basically secures a playoff spot,” Donahoe said. “There is a 95-percent chance we’re in (if we win), so how do we do it? We stay consistent with everything we do from a coaching staff. We understand that we’re tired and banged up at this point of the season and that things at this point of the season are not going to be easy on a daily basis. … Overall , we just have to continue to be consistent with what we’re doing and have the kids see our consistency in preparation and know what we’re doing is going to get us there.”
Donahoe said he could sense from his team’s first drive Friday that everyone was together. He said the Patriots were prepared and played extremely loose, which he feels is the way they need to play to be successful. He said the nothing-to-lose attitude the team had in practice all week carried over the game. That mentality almost helped the Patriots pull the upset.
Heritage Academy used touchdown passes of 65 and 9 yards from Cade Lott to Parker Dunaway and a 5-yard run by Lott in the fourth quarter to keep it close. Donahoe said the result gave everyone associated with the program confidence that the Patriots can make things happen if they play to their strengths and take care of the football.
Now the trick is to carry the momentum to this week.
Magnolia Heights, which is riding a five-game winning streak, will try to make that difficult. Fernando Van Hook will attempt to make that tough on offense. The transfer from Memphis University School rushed 24 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns last week in a 35-7 victory against Lee Academy.
“It is going to be a very, very tough game,” Donahoe said. “They are one of most improved teams. They picked up the running back from Memphis University School who is probably the best tailback in the state. Their quarterback play has been much more consistent, and defensively they’re very physical.”
Donahoe said the Patriots will have to counter with a strong running game and an offense that gives Lott time to find Dunaway, a senior wide receiver, time to make plays. Donahoe also has confidence in Logan Bell, Parker Turner, and Hudson Bean to be possession receivers who can help take the pressure off Dunaway.
“We feel they have some weaknesses and that it will be as good a matchup as you will ever get,” Donahoe said. “It will be Homecoming, it will be a game for a playoff spot, and it is going to be rocking. It is going to be a great atmosphere for football.”
Carroll Academy (0-6) at Immanuel Christian (2-4)
The Rams have a chance to get healthy the next few weeks before they plunge back into the all-important part of their schedule.
Coach Greg Watkins hopes his team can use this week’s game against the Rebels and next week’s matchup against Potts Camp as ways to get better in preparation for the final three weeks of the season when it will face Manchester Academy, Winston Academy, and Oak Hill Academy in MAIS Class AA, District 2 action.
Immanuel Christian is coming off a 42-0 victory against Park Place Christian. Watkins said the Rams did a whole lot better job on defense flying to the football and being more aggressive. He said the effort Friday night was a marked improvement since the beginning of the season. He also said there are plenty of other things the Rams can work on to improve.
“We had some kids doing better and reading their keys and keeping their assignments,” Watkins said. “We still had blown assignments and, hopefully, we are learning from those and progressing, and we progressed last week.”
Carroll Academy has lost to Manchester Academy (28-21), Kirk Academy (20-13), and Washington School (46-6). Watkins would like to see his offense make the same strides this week that his defense made last week. He feels the return of Ryan Forrester will give the Rams another weapon on offense that can help take the load off running backs Justin Tate and Joshua Dantzler and quarterback K.C. Cunningham.
“We have opened up the offense a lot more,” Watkins said. “We have to continue to get better on the off line. We are young and inexperienced there, but they’re getting better and better.”
Flint Hill Christian (0-5, 0-3 Christian Football Association) at Victory Christian (1-4, 1-1)
The non-conference portion of the schedule hasn’t gone to Chris Hamm’s liking this season, but the Victory Christian coach knows his team still has a lot at stake.
At the top of the list is securing a playoff spot in the Christian Football Association. The next step in that journey will come at 7 p.m. Friday when the Eagles play host to the Flames on Homecoming.
Victory Christian will try to rebound from a 35-6 loss to Evangel Christian in which turnovers hurt the cause. Hamm said two turnovers ended long drives and sapped momentum from the team. Still, Hamm felt the Eagles did a good job transitioning to a power running attack that they used last week for the first time. He said Evangel made things difficult for the offense with its shifts and changing formations.
Now that Victory Christian is back in CFA play, Hamm hopes his players can re-focus on improving their playoff seeding. Victory Christian has CFA games remaining against North River Christian and Tuscaloosa Christian. It defeated New Life Christian and lost to Tabernacle.
“We are just trying to stay positive and realize that we do still have some goals that are attainable if we work hard at practice,” Hamm said. “They guys obviously are disappointed, but they’re still working hard. We had a good, hard practice Monday. We are still trying to find answers on offense and defense.”
Hamm said his defense has improved since the beginning of the season and that it played well Friday night. He said the Eagles also are paying attention and trying to implement changes and to execute better. The problem is more than one things has been plaguing the Eagles. Hamm said the team’s overall inexperience and lack of time playing together has hurt its cause so far. He feels the team still has time to develop and to come together, especially with the return last week of junior Josh Foxworthy, who he expects to be able to play on both sides of the football. Hamm said Foxworthy played sparingly on defense and is still working back into shape after recovering from a foot injury.
“Hopefully we will have some success Friday night to help build our confidence and make this stretch run how it needs to be,” Hamm said.
Hamm also believes the offense has time to find its stride. At the beginning of the season, Hamm felt the offense would be a strength for the team. Hamm said uncertainty about the health of sophomore Anthony Sharp for this season prevented the coaches from putting a more diverse system in place. Now that Sharp has been medically cleared from an injury that kept him out of a game earlier this season, Hamm hopes the offense can come together and work toward its strengths.
“At this point we have not found someone to be our go-to player when we really need it,” Hamm said. “Offensively, we have not made some plays to put pressure on the other team.
“It is just a matter of getting everybody on the same page and everybody making their play. … It is a process, and it takes a little more time more than one practice or one week. We are trying to get to a point that by the end of the season we will be diverse on offense and be able to take advantage of (Anthony’s) skill set from different positions.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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