React. Don’t think.
It sounds simple, but Parker Ray admits he and his fellow inside linebackers didn’t do those things as well as they wanted last week in the Heritage Academy football team’s season opener against Kirk Academy.
The play of the Patriots’ linebackers became an even bigger area of concern for coach Sean Harrison when he watched the film and started to game plan for a Manchester Academy team he expected was going to come to Columbus and try to pound his squad.
Instead of backing down from that challenge, Ray and his fellow linebackers accepted the challenge to get downhill and to play more aggressively. The effort of the inside linebackers was part of a complete defensive effort that helped Heritage Academy earn a 3-0 victory at C.L. Mitchell Field.
Lex Rogers’ 34-yard field goal in the first quarter was all Heritage Academy (2-0) needed for what turned out to be a much closer game than the 44-14 victory it earned against Manchester Academy last season in the second round of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA playoffs.
“Last week, we weren’t really playing downhill as much at inside backer,” Ray said. “We really focused on that this week with a lot of physical practices because we knew they were going to pound it at us.”
Heritage Academy had five sacks and limited Manchester Academy (1-1) to 56 yards rushing on 31 carries. It tweaked its traditional three-man front by “walking down” outside linebackers John Henry Fields and Austin Dotson, who played every snap, according to Heritage Academy defensive coordinator Russ Whiteside.
Whiteside said the Patriots worked all week in practice to get their inside linebackers to play downhill. With Fields and Dotson walking down to join Eli Acker, Ethan Bumgarner, Clay Walters, Fox Walters, and Wade Lawrie on the line, Whiteside said inside linebackers Ray, Judd Murphy, and Rocky Wright took coaching and were more aggressive.
“I am so proud of them,” Whiteside said. “All three guys really did a better job of playing downhill and getting to the football.
“Those guys just fought. A lot of times the guy across from them weighed a lot more and they just got in there and fought and fought and fought. I couldn’t be more pleased with our whole defense and the way we ran to the football and the way we adjusted to get ready for the game. They did a great job of taking them from practice to the game. Sometimes this early in the season there are some mess-ups with that, and they were really good with that tonight.
“For a week two game, this is the best defense I have ever coached.”
Heritage Academy coach Sean Harrison was effusive in his praise for his defense and Whiteside. He especially enjoyed a goal-line stand in the third quarter in which the Patriots stuffed quarterback Rainer Roberts on fourth-and-3 from the 4-yard line. Roberts tried to push through the middle after he dropped the snap, but the Patriots gained penetration to snuff out the Mavericks’ best scoring opportunity.
“We told them that one series would make this game,” Harrison said. “(The inside linebackers) stepped up. (Whiteside) did a great job of keeping their offensive linemen off our linebackers. We loaded up the front and we held up in our man coverage. This was his show.”
Harrison said he wouldn’t have thought Heritage Academy would have won if an opponent “pounded” his team like Manchester Academy. Still, he said the victory is a testament to the maturation of his linemen. It is even more special considering many of them play both ways and that the Patriots lost five offensive linemen to graduation.
“We have been preaching mental toughness all week,” Harrison said. “This is a mental toughness game. I was proud that we caught a lot of flags and were mentally tough enough not to get worked up about the flags and continue to work.”
Heritage Academy was called for 10 penalties for 85 yards.
Dontae Gray helped Heritage Academy make up for the penalties. The senior running back had 28 carries for 148 yards. On a night when little else went right for the Patriots offensively, Gray was able to jump out of and to spin out of tackle and to extend plays to find gaps in the defense. His biggest gain came on third-and-4 from the Manchester Academy 45 with heritage Academy trying to run out the clock. Gray’s 8-yard gain earned a first down and just about sealed the deal.
“We put it in our stallion’s hands,” Harrison said. “He did not have the night he wished he could have had, but that is Dontae. That is senior leadership. It gets hard and it gets tough, put it in his hands and good things are going to happen.”
Manchester Academy coach Bryan Dendy said the Mavericks “got their butts whupped” by the Patriots last season in the second round of the playoffs. The teams won’t meet against this year because Manchester Academy moved down to Class AA following the latest round of MAIS reclassification. With 19 seniors and good size on both lines and in the backfield, it’s not surprising Manchester Academy entered the season No. 3 in The Clarion-Ledger’s preseason rankings for Class AA-A. Dendy felt his team hung in against the Patriots and had a chance to win, even if he didn’t expect the teams to score only three points.
“I know they have a high-powered offense and a lot of weapons,” Dendy said. “I was really proud of the way our defense played.”
Manchester Academy came out in a spread look in its first series in an attempt to confuse Heritage Academy. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, Acker and Fields set the tone for the defensive battle with sacks. It didn’t help matters that Manchester Academy was called for two holding penalties.
Dendy also said Roberts received a blow to his hand and “really couldn’t grip the football.” As a result, Manchester Academy rotated sophomore Upton Hitt into the game and then used senior Blayke Dendy. Roberts returned in the second series of the third quarter, but the Mavericks only threw five passes. One of them, though, turned out to be their biggest play, a 43-yard swing pass from Roberts to Dendy. Heritage Academy blitzed on the play, which allowed Manchester Academy to take the quick-hitter to the left all the way to the Patriots’ 11-yard line. That set the stage for the Patriots’ goal-line stand.
“We looked good on defense,” Gray said. “We had mental toughness to hold them back, even inside the 5-yard line. That says a lot about our defense.”
Ray said the team effort was especially pleasing after the performance in the first week of the season. He said it shows a group can make up for what it might lack in size and experience with the right mind-set.
“I thought we did a pretty good job,” Ray said. “We feel a lot more confident now because those are some big backs and we stood up to them all night long. We stepped up our defense a lot from last week.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.