The marathon has become a little more crowded at the front of the pack.
Now it’s time for the participants to jostle for position to continue to sort themselves out.
For the Heritage Academy football team, that means fighting through the stitch in its side that distance runners sometimes feel when they’re fatigued and digging a little deeper to face Pillow Academy at 7 p.m. Friday in Columbus.
Last week, Washington School built a 22-0 halftime lead and then held on for a 22-13 victory in Greenville. The loss dropped Heritage Academy to 4-3 and 1-2 in Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, District 1.
“We didn’t play well early,” Heritage Academy coach Barrett Donahoe said. “We got off to a rough start and gave up an opening-drive touchdown, which we had not done this year. Then we turned the ball over twice on our first two possessions. That allowed them to score another touchdown and shortened the field for them. We had a snap over the head of our punter that we took for a safety, and then we gave up an 80-yard drive right before the half. We couldn’t sustain anything offensively in the first half.
“In the second half, we tried to throw it around a little bit and were able to move the ball a little bit and put two scores up on the board, but we couldn’t finish at the end.”
The silver lining in the Patriots’ 1-2 district record is they are 1-0 in Division II games. With a win against Hillcrest Christian and games remaining against Pillow Academy and the other Division II teams — Starkville Academy and Magnolia Heights — Heritage Academy controls its destiny as it attempts to finish first or second in District I to return to the playoffs.
Given the success of Pillow Academy (5-2, 1-2), Starkville Academy (6-1, 3-1), and Magnolia Heights (5-2, 2-2), Donahoe knows his team’s road won’t be easy, even if it can play a big role in determining its final destination. He hopes the Patriots will be able to battle as well as they did in the second half against Washington School, when he felt his team had the upper hand. Unfortunately, a lack of execution in the first half prevented the team from gaining a huge victory against a Division I team.
“It is just a learning experience for a young team,” Donahoe said. “You have to learn and understand that you can’t make those type of mistakes and win football games. We threw this one in the trash can (Monday) after we watched it on film. We watched a good bit of it with the guys and broke it down. After it was over, we said it was over and I don’t really want to think about Washington School anymore. I don’t want to think about last Friday night anymore. We have to move forward and get better in practice this week so we can have a better Friday night.”
Donahoe said the loss was disappointing because he felt his team had similar athletes to Washington School. He said the Patriots played “almost intimidated at times,” which led to the team playing a little slow. He said that mentality changed in the second half after the Patriots had some success. That’s the kind of focus, effort, and intensity he wants to see moving forward.
“We have to come out faster,” Donahoe said. “You can’t put yourself in such a hole. We felt like we spotted them 15 points before we could even catch our breath. Once you do that, it is hard to win.”
Donahoe hopes it isn’t as tough this week. He said his players recognize the urgency of the situation and that Pillow Academy is a talented team that has come close — against Jackson Academy and against Magnolia Heights — to earning big wins this season. He feels there will be a playoff-like atmosphere at C.L. Mitchell Field, and hopes that intensity gives his team the lift it needs to find a kick to drive it through the last leg of the season.
“We didn’t win the battle up front against Washington School,” Donahoe said. “We have to be better up front than we were last week. That starts with our coaching staff. We have to do a better job of working with our guys up front to make sure they understand the schemes offensively. We had to mix and match a lot of guys. Through that process, you can create confusion if your guys who haven’t gotten a lot of reps aren’t ready to go.
“Adversity? I think it has hit a little bit. We have had that loss where we feel like we could have won — we should have won. Our guys yesterday were talking in the locker room before the film started. They said, ‘We should have won that game. If we could have played better, we would have won this game.’ There is no room for error. Everybody is good down the stretch. … You have to play flawless on Friday nights down the stretch in this division to give yourself a chance to be a playoff team.
“I think our kids will respond to the challenge in a positive way. I don’t anticipate us not being prepared to play. I will be very shocked and disappointed if we are not prepared to play Friday night.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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