If Dontae Gray isn’t careful, he is going to come up with a new statistic to chart on Friday nights.
In addition to quarterback hurries, pass breakups, and third-down conversions, high school football coaches routinely keep track of pancake blocks. The eye-catching maneuvers usually are reserved for offensive linemen, who often receive limited glory for their work in the trenches.
Gray has benefited from plenty of those blocks en route to big touchdown runs for Heritage Academy. Last week against Winston Academy, the senior running back added to the football lexicon with a “pizza block” on a run by teammate Moak Griffin. The block helped clear the way for a big gain by Griffin. Gray completed the drive on the next play with a touchdown run that was part of a 28-7 victory.
“I was just trying to make a block to get him into the end zone,” Gray said. “I just gave it everything I had on the block.”
Gray’s willingness to block, to run, or to catch passes has been a key ingredient of Heritage Academy’s 7-1 start. Gray will look to do a little bit of everything at 7 tonight when Heritage Academy plays host to Starkville Academy (7-1) in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 game at C.L. Mitchell Field.
The winner of the game will earn the tiebreaker and clinch at least a share of the District 2 title with one regular-season remaining for both teams.
Heritage Academy coach Sean Harrison said Gray “planted someone 15 yards down the field” on the block that helped open space for Griffin. He said Gray hasn’t played as big a role in running the football by design through eight games. Harrison said that hasn’t bothered Gray, who has found other ways to impact games.
Gray said the block came in the red zone. He smiled when asked if the move counted as a pancake block.
“It should,” said Gray, who acknowledged he is OK with having the block — his first of the season — fit into the “pancake block” category typically reserved for offensive linemen. Later in the interview, though, Gray used the term “pizza block” when assistant coach/defensive coordinator Russ Whiteside entered the coaches office.
Gray, who added 10-15 pounds prior to the season to get up to 193 pounds, said he has improved his blocking ability thanks to a different attitude that has him seeking out blocks and contact rather than waiting for them to happen. He said the more physical approach has helped him have a bigger impact.
“It is just attack the person. Don’t wait for them,” Gray said. “It is a mind-set. You just have to go do it.”
Gray also feels he has become a more physical runner this season. He said he has noticed he is able to get more yards after contact due to his added weight and strength.
Griffin also is trying to help the team in multiple ways. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior, who missed all but one half of one game last season due to a stress fracture in his back, has provided balance on offense as a running back and as a wide receiver. Griffin also has shown an ability to impact the game from the secondary. It’s a role he wasn’t sure about at the beginning of the season, but he has developed a knack for defending passes and coming downhill and helping stop the running game.
“(Senior) Dalton (Alexander) has really helped me,” Griffin said. “With us not having a lot of seniors, I thought I needed to step up and become a leader.”
Like Gray said his mind-set has changed to help him become a better blocker, Griffin feels a new approach has pushed him to fight to get downhill from his safety position to be a force against the run. He said his speed has paired well with a more aggressive attitude to help him make plays.
“In past years, I would wait on the hit,” Griffin said. “Now I am initiating it. I think I have gotten a lot better at that.”
Harrison feels Gray, who also plays in the secondary, and Griffin have played similar roles as dual-threat contributors. He said both players are part of a multi-pronged attack that has come together and positioned the Patriots to win a second-consecutive district title.
“Dontae is our guy,” Harrison said. “He is the guy we look to, especially when things get tough. On Friday night against Winston, we were having trouble moving the ball a little bit and we threw him a screen and he took it 60 yards for us. He is our offensive leader. He is the one everybody in the state knows we have. A lot of times they know how we’re going to use him, and a lot of times they can’t stop him.
“Defensively, Moak is our playmaker. Lex (Rogers) has the interceptions, but you have to account for Moak in the run game and in the passing game. He is going to get downhill on you in the run game. … He has been our defensive leader.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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