Cayden Upton has noticed the difference in practice this week.
When you’re grouped with the best Mississippi Association of Independent Schools players from all classifications, things are bound to get intense, even if the private school football season ended nearly two weeks ago.
But Upton and seven other players from local MAIS schools will get one more chance to take the field at 2 p.m. today when they will represent the area in the annual North-South All-Star Senior All-Star game at Jackson Prep. Starkville Academy’s Drew Harrell and Tony Hinton, Columbus Christian Academy’s KC Cunningham, Grant Wyatt, and Chris Randazzo, Oak Hill Academy’s Drake Riley, and Hebron Christian’s Collin Moore will compete for the North team. Heritage Academy head coach Barrett Donahoe will be an assistant coach for the team.
“It is a big honor to get selected,” said Upton, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound defensive end/running back. “There are a lot of good players, so it is a big honor to play with these guys.”
Upton and the rest of the all-stars have been in Jackson since Tuesday preparing for the game. The players had one practice Tuesday, two Wednesday, and one more Thursday. Donahoe, who will coach the defense, said the teams spent the three days evaluating their personnel and installing base offenses and defenses.
“It’s fun,” said Donahoe, who also was a coach in the game in 2011. “I had a blast (in 2011). It is a relaxed week with the guys. It is a positive experience to have the guys come down and celebrate the years they have had with their teams.”
Like Upton, Donahoe said it is an honor to be a part of the game. For the players, he said it is a unique opportunity to build camaraderie with players they have competed against. For Donahoe, it will be an opportunity to coach Upton one more time. He said Upton was a steady presence on defense for a young Heritage Academy team that finished 5-7.
“Cayden was such a leader on our football team,” Donahoe said. “He really stepped up as a senior. He came every day to practice with intensity and played with intensity and a maturity level that was lacking with our young group.
“He was a standout defensive end. Teams really had to game plan against him because of the problems he created. Offensively, we used him as a fullback and out of the backfield in our passing game. I couldn’t be more proud of him to come down here and play in the game and what he has done in the past three years. It is an honor for him to finish his career this way.”
Upton, who said he would like to major in business construction science in college, said he isn’t sure if he will play football at the next level. He said he will use the game to help him determine if he wants to continue to play football and if he thinks he will have an opportunity. He feels he had a pretty good season and tried to be a vocal and a lead-by-example senior who helped set the tone for his younger teammates.
After playing football since the third grade, Upton said playing in the game will be a great way to close his football career if he opts not to keep playing.
“I feel I have improved a whole lot and become more disciplined and have learned the game,” Upton said. “My coaches really took the time to help me understand the game and taught me to be a really good player. They really helped me improve my skills and technique at defensive end.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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