Sean Harrison feels the Heritage Academy football team has accomplished plenty through eight games, so he doesn’t need any measuring sticks to help him determine how much progress his players have made since the beginning of the season.
But it’s natural to want to test yourself against the best teams, which is why Harrison is eager to find out how his team reacts at 7 tonight when it takes on Indianola Academy.
At 8-0, Indianola Academy is ranked No. 4 in The Associated Press’ private schools rankings this week. The Colonels lead District 1 and likely will be a contender for the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA State title.
Harrison hopes the Patriots (7-1), who lead District 2, will be in a similar position. Heritage Academy can improve its chances next week when it plays host to Leake Academy in its final regular-season game. A victory in that game would lock up a title and enhance the Patriots’ seeding for the 16-team playoffs, which will begin later this month.
A victory tonight also would bolster Heritage Academy’s playoff resume, but Harrison knows nothing has been determined.
“It is nice to be 2-0 in the district, but we still haven’t locked it up,” Harrison said. “We’re treating the Indianola game like another game, as cliche as that is, because I told the guys if you want the experience of what the state championship game is going to be like, this is it. We’re getting on a bus and riding almost three hours to play a really good team late in the year. As far as the game, it doesn’t matter what the other team does. It matters that we are playing as hard as we can every snap and executing.”
Harrison praised the play of senior linebacker Robert Brown in a 42-14 victory against Winston Academy last week. He said Brown had a timely interception, made six tackles, including a few for a loss, as part of a strong defensive effort that helped the Patriots win their sixth-straight game.
Harrison said Brown’s effort was even more impressive considering the senior separated his shoulder after making a tackle on a bubble screen. He said Brown played the rest of the game until he took the starters out of the game at the start of the second half.
“He has done really well for us,” Harrison said. “He has been starting since about halfway though his sophomore year. This is his first year starting at this outside linebacker spot, and it is the hardest spot on the defense because you have to be able to blitz, play the run and coverage. We’re really proud of him.”
Harrison said the defensive front helped erase any concerns he had about Winston Academy’s Double Wing by playing a solid all-around game. He said Dalton Hocutt and Jones Ray shared time at nose tackle, while Lukas Bryant and Wilder Strickland had the majority of snaps at defensive end. William Yingst and Chase Brooks also saw time at end. Brown and Hays Heredia played outside linebacker, while Logan Sneed and Toby Young played inside linebacker. Eli Acker also played outside linebacker.
Harrison was equally pleased with the performance of his offense. He hopes his team’s fast start last week sets the tone for this week, especially having to travel more than two hours to play in a hostile environment.
“Losing (running back) Dylan Hughes really hurt our plan, and we went into a lull for a couple of weeks,” Harrison said. “Toby Young and Lukas Bryant have really stepped up in that spot. I have started to let them carry the ball, and they have done really well doing it. It has gotten us back to being multiple and being able to pound on people with bigger backs and being able to move (junior running back) Dontae (Gray) around and get him the ball in different spot. (Senior quarterback) Tyler (Anderson) has been Tyler. The receivers have stepped up. Brandon Jones, Eli Acker, Dalton Ford, Dalton Alexander, JR Lott, they all have done a really good job stepping up.”
Harrison believes his team is mature enough to understand the big picture in that nothing has been settled and that the Patriots can make the most of their remaining opportunities. While some might consider tonight’s game to be a measuring stick, Harrison wants his team to stay the course and to realize all of their goals still can be realized no matter what happens tonight.
“The state championship is the ultimate goal,” Harrison said. “This game doesn’t make or break that goal.”
n In other action Thursday night, Tuscaloosa Christian beat Victory Christian 48-7 in a Christian Football Association game in Cottondale, Alabama. The loss ended the season for Victory Christian (3-5, 0-5 CFA)
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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