MADDEN — Few things have come easy for the Heritage Academy football team this season.
So it stood to reason the Patriots would have to make the playoffs the hard way.
Heritage Academy did just that Friday night, securing a berth in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA playoff berth with a 25-13 win at Leake Academy.
“So proud of the kids,” Heritage Academy coach Barrett Donahoe said. “It’s good for your school and for you community to make the playoffs. We are real excited. It’s a special time of the year and you want to be part of it.”
Heritage Academy (5-5) received the No. 13 seed and will play at No. 4 seed Silliman Institute (8-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in its playoff opener. Silliman is located in Clinton, Louisiana. The Patriots finished second in Class AAA, District 2 play.
“It’s 291 miles from here to there,” Donahoe said. “That’s OK, though, we would go anywhere that we had to go to play another game. The kids deserved this opportunity. It’s good for the players, the fans, and the entire program. We went to Leake and played our most complete game of the season. It is good to see that type of effort rewarded.”
Protecting a 17-13 lead in the early in the fourth quarter, Caleb Gurley had a critical interception for Heritage Academy. That takeaway set up the put-away score.
“Caleb’s interception was probably the biggest play of the game,” Donahoe said. “That set up our final score. Defensively we were great all night. Our two defensive ends played well. Charles Strickland had three sacks. We moved Lukas Bryant there this week and he played well.
“Our linebackers played well and tackled well. The secondary was good. The biggest thing for our defense is getting Tyler Anderson back and healthy. He is finally 100 percent and having him at strong safety changes everything for us.”
Heritage Academy received two 1-yard touchdowns runs by Dylan Barker and a 45-yard run by Dontae Gray. Michael Ledbetter kicked a 22-yard field goal.
“Offensively, we missed some things in the first half,” Donahoe said. “We had some issues with pass protection and really missed a chance to put some more points on the board. I thought we stayed poised though and kept competing. Really proud of the effort by the guys on the road against a great team.”
n New Hope 35, Lewisburg 33: At Olive Branch, the Trojans snapped a four-game losing streak by securing their first Class 5A, Region 1 win of the season.
“We made plays tonight on the offensive side of the ball,” New Hope coach Kris Pickle said. “We very easily could be 4-1 in division right now. We had numerous chances in those three losses to win those games. With that being said, I am proud of this team and coaches for not giving up on the season and for continuing to work and fight to get better.”
New Hope (2-7, 1-4 region) finished with 480 yards of offense, including 209 rushing and 271 passing. The Trojans built a 28-7 halftime lead and withstood a furious rally by the hosts.
Thomas Stevens was 12 of 18 passing for 271 yards with three touchdowns. Terryonte Thomas led the receivers with eight catches for 138 yards. Andre Erby had a 63-yard catch. Carlos Brooks had a 57-yard catch. T.J. Stephens had a 16-yard catch, and Tyran Reed had a 7-yard catch.
The receptions by Erby and Brooks were for touchdowns. Thomas also had a 47-yard scoring grab.
Tyran Reed had 21 rushes for 141 yards, including touchdown runs of 1 and 6 yards. Stevens also ran six times for 68 yards. Jay Shinn had a 32-yard kickoff return, while Tyran Reed had a 38-yard kickoff return.
Despite falling out of the playoff race, Pickle is pleased his second team has fought hard and tried to build on last season’s success.
“I am so happy for these kids to finally be rewarded for their hard work,” Pickle said. “It is hard for these kids to show up and work every day when there aren’t any paydays on Friday, but I am glad they were able to experience that feeling again this Friday.”
New Hope will play host to West Point (7-2, 4-1) for Senior Night on Friday night. The season will end with a region game at Saltillo (0-10, 0-5).
n Starkville 42, Murrah 14: At Jackson, the Yellow Jackets won their eighth straight while remaining undefeated in Class 6A, Region 2.
Despite all of the success, Starkville (8-1, 5-0 region) has clinched a playoff berth but not a first-round playoff game at home. Starkville will play at Warren Central (8-1, 5-0) Friday before playing host to Clinton (6-3, 4-1) in its final regular-season game.
“So much work still left to be done,” Starkville coach Ricky Woods said. “You go into the year wanting to play games that decide the region champion. Our kids know we are happy to be in the playoffs but that we have a lot more we want to get done.”
Starkville built a 21-0 halftime lead and led 42-0 before Murrah (3-6, 1-4) scored a pair of touchdowns late.
Starkville ran for 130 yards and five touchdowns. Avery Brown rushed 13 times for 64 yards with a touchdown. Andreus Swanigan ran six times for 24 yards with two touchdowns and Montario Montgomery ran six times for 21 yards with two touchdowns.
Montgomery was 4 of 10 for 72 yards with two interceptions. Ben Owens was 3 of 10 for 18 yards. A.J. Brown had four receptions for 72 yards, while Tavian Clark had two catches for 14 yards and Tonorris Brookins II had a 4-yard catch.
Montgomery scored on runs of 1 and 20 yards. Swanigan scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards. Brown scored on a 6-yard run. Starkville also had a defensive score, as Lorenzo Dantzler forced a fumble that was recovered in the end zone by Nelson Jordan.
“You want to see a team get better throughout the season,” Woods said. “We are still putting some things together. Looking forward to the next two weeks and watching this team against two really good football teams. We still have a lot we want to accomplish. We need to continue to improve.”
n Starkville Academy 42, Winston Academy 20: At Louisville, the Volunteers won their sixth straight and finished an undefeated run through MAIS Class AAA, District 2 play.
Starkville Academy (9-1, 3-0 district) earned the No. 3 seed for the Class AAA playoffs and will play host to No. 14 Lee Academy (5-5) to start the playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday at J.E. Logan Field.
“Winning all of the district games is a good feeling,” Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said. “We have worked hard to achieve that goal. We like where we are in the bracket, and we looking forward to getting the playoffs started.”
Starkville Academy led 28-0 after one quarter and 35-7 at halftime.
Drake Gordman scored touchdowns on runs of 20, 4, and 32 yards. Grant Wolfe scored twice on runs of 22 and 32 yards. Houston Clark also scored on a 19-yard run.
Wolfe led the Volunteers with 16 rushes for 113 yards. Gordman added 100 yards on six rushes. Clark was 5 of 7 for 47 yards. He rushed for 40 yards.
Starkville Academy played without Colt Chrestman, who missed the game due to an illness.
“We told Grant before the game there was more pressure on him than usual since we were down some people,” Nicholson said. “He really responded. He and Drake both did a great job and made some big plays. We like where we are going into the playoffs. We are playing with a lot of confidence and the kids are excited.
“Last season (losing in the state championship game) has served as a motivation. It kept us going and pushed us to the district championship this year. It’s good to be where we are. However, we want to keep going and keep winning games.”
n Oak Hill Academy 41, Deer Creek School 6: At Arcola, Collins Brown had eight carries for 197 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders wrapped up second place in MAIS Class A/AA, District 2 play.
Oak Hill Academy (7-3, 3-1 district) earns the No. 10 seed in the Class A/AA playoffs and will open postseason play at 7 p.m. Friday at No. 7 seed Tri-County Academy (8-2).
“We are happy to be back in the playoffs,” Oak Hill Academy coach Chris Craven said. “That is the goal when you start the season. We have had to overcome quite a bit of adversity. However, the kids have worked hard and kept believing in what we were trying to do.”
Macon McBrayer had seven rushes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Kaleb Darnell added a 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak.
Heath Ford had two catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns from Darnell, who had 119 yards passing.
Ford and Brown had five solo tackles, while McBrayer and Chance Wilson had four. Chance Wilson and Clark Hays had sacks. Ford and Darnell also had interceptions. Thomas Bales had four solo tackles and five assisted tackles.
“Each week, the kids have really competed,” Craven said. “We have battled through some injuries and had to move some players around. Each week is a new challenge and they have come out ready to go and ready to get better. Can’t really ask for more effort than we have gotten. It’s a close team and that has helped us through some of the tougher times.”
n Wayne Academy 56, Columbus Christian 21: At Steens, the Jaguars (5-5) used a 22-point second quarter to take the lead en route to a non-region win against the Rams (2-8) in the final game of the regular season.
Wayne Academy earned the No. 15 seed in the MAIS Class A/AA playoffs and will play at No. 2 seed Prairie View Academy (9-1) Friday night in its postseason opener. For Columbus Christian, the season is over.
Quarterback Dawson Shaw had 23 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown. Shaw also was 4 of 7 for 56 yards. Kimarri Whitfield had nine carries for 29 yards and a touchdown. He also had three catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Nate Parker (2 of 2, 76 yards) threw the touchdown pass. He also had an interception and four solo tackles.
Shaw led the way with six solo tackles, two assisted tackles, a solo tackle for loss and an assisted tackle for loss.
n Hebron Christian 40, Park Place Christian 12: At Pearl, the Eagles tuned up for next week’s MAIS Eight-Man District 2 championship game by rolling over the Eagles.
Hebron Christian (7-2) will play at Kemper Academy (9-0) Friday night with the district championship on the line. Both teams are 2-0 in district play. Each team has already secured a spot in the MAIS Eight-Man playoffs.
“It’s a very big district game,” Hebron Christian coach David Foster said. “This will be home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs and the district championship, so it’s big. We need to play really well against a great team.
“We have lined up against some of the other really great teams in our league, so the kids will look forward to this experience.”
Hebron Christian built a 40-6 halftime lead.
Landon Hill had four rushes for 90 yards, with a 19-yard touchdown run and an 83-yard punt return touchdown. Hill had three receptions for 12 yards and caught a two-point conversion. Channing Tapley had five rushes for 19 yards and a two-point conversion run. Tapley was 9 of 17 for 131 yards with three touchdowns and one two-point conversion.
Peyton Griffin had four receptions for 90 yards, with a 22-yard touchdown catch. Clay Faulkner had four carries for 54 yards and two receptions for 29 yards. Both catches were touchdowns. Lucas Foster had six rushes for 35 yards with three two-point conversion runs. Brian Eaddy had six rushes for 31 yards. Jessie Moore had five carries for 19 yards.
Tapley and Moore each had 10 tackles. Griffin had eight tackles and recovered an onside kick. Hill had six tackles, while Eaddy had five tackles, Daniel Coggins three tackles and Foster two tackles. Tapley, Hill, and Faulkner intercepted passes.
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