Heritage Academy football coach Barrett Donahoe can breathe a little easier now that the first step is out of the way.
But Donahoe knows that things won’t get any easier for his squad, even though it played with confidence in a 35-14 victory against Caledonia High School on Thursday in the season opener for both teams. The Patriots’ second-year coach believes his team could be in for one of its biggest challenges of the season at 7 p.m. Friday night when it plays at West Lowndes High in the second installment of its private-public school meetings to begin the year.
As much as Donahoe is concerned about the matchup problems West Lowndes (1-0) presents, Donahoe said his team’s approach this week and its mind-set on game night will be even more important.
“We just stay focused on the task at hand and continue to do things the way we have been doing them for the last 15 or 16 months,” Donahoe said. “We want to be consistent with our actions and tell the guys that by being consistent we’re going to have success. With that brings responsibility, which is to go out there Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to work and to be prepared for those three-and-a-half hour days we have.”
Heritage Academy had a much faster start to the season this season compared to last year. Donahoe said part of the reason for that is a confidence he said the team gained from its march to the state title in 2012. He said his players now expect to win and that there is a different attitude in the locker room. For a program that last had a winning season in 2005, that is a huge step, especially considering it suffered significant graduation losses. That is why Donahoe is curious to see how his players respond.
“You can’t let that expectation affect your work ethic,” Donahoe said. “That is the challenge for us as coaches. We want more. I want more out of myself, out of my assistants, out of my football team. That is what drives me every day, and it has to drive them.”
Two touchdown catches by Logan Bell, a rushing touchdown by Jace Caldwell, a punt return for a score by Cody Mordecai, and an interception return by Mark Thatcher against Caledonia showed Heritage Academy has plenty of players who can make things happen. The newcomers and returning players all seem to be on the same page and focused on pushing the Patriots on another title quest.
“This is a great season-setter,” Thatcher said. “The Columbus Bowl, private vs. public coming out, hundreds of fans out here. It sets the tone for the rest of the season to keep building, working hard, and seeing at we can do because we can reach the state championship.”
Thatcher’s comment was fitting considering the Patriots broke their postgame huddle by saying, “State champs.” A year ago at this time, that thought wouldn’t have been on the minds of any of the players because the program was still maturing. This season, Heritage Academy will look to a blend of old and new contributers to keep the team’s winning streak alive. If the first game is any indication, Heritage Academy has an array of weapons to turn to. Senior quarterback Austin Fitch has stepped in for Cade Lott. Parker Short has moved into a bigger role at running back to make up for the graduation losses of Hudson Bean and Miller Puckett, and Thatcher is one of a new group of receivers who will try to make up for the loss of wide receiver Parker Dunaway.
Senior Hunter Anderson returns to play fullback. He also will anchor a defense that has newcomers like Caldwell, who played football at New Hope High School. Caldwell transferred to Heritage Academy last school year and played on the baseball team. He is in his first year with the Patriots football team.
“We try to spread the ball around and do what we can and get the ball in all of our guys’ hands and get the ball in the end zone,” Short said. “We do what we can with what we got. We have players who can make plays, so we just have to run it or throw it and do whatever we can to get the ball down the field.”
Buoyed by a performance by the offensive line that Short called “the best he has seen in a while,” the Patriots controlled the point of attacks against an opponent it struggled against in 2012. The Patriots hit their stride in the middle of last season in losses to Jackson Academy and Magnolia Heights. Five-straight victories followed, including a 10-3 victory against Magnolia Heights in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II state title game in Clinton.
Thatcher said the Patriots are “picking up” right where they left off last season thanks in part to experienced players like Hunter Ferguson, who he credited for making key blocks on his interception return for a touchdown, and newcomers like Mordecai who have stepped in and helped the team not miss a beat. The key is pushing harder to help the team reach even greater heights.
“I don’t think we really fully comprehend what it takes to sustain it, and I think sustaining it is more difficult than achieving it in year one,” Donahoe said. “What is the most difficult challenge you have ahead of you? It is getting those guys who are out there now to play the same way we played the last seven weeks of the season last year. That is the challenge. The only way I know to operate within our program is through consistency.
“The more we win and the more we have success, the harder we have to work. That is what I tell my staff all of the time. That is the way we will accomplish getting to the level and staying at the level we need to be.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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