History will be made tonight when area teams kick off the 2015 prep football season.
Featured among the non-region and non-division games that will kick off at 7 tonight is a matchup between Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Columbus Christian and Heritage Academy. While the schools have faced each other in other sports, tonight’s game in Columbus is believed to be the first between the two in football.
“They have some good athletes,” Heritage Academy coach Barrett Donahoe said. “They have some fast kids in the backfield, and their quarterback is a salty little player. Their quarterback (Dawson Shaw) isn’t big in stature, but he plays with a lot of heart. You can tell that from the preparation.”
Heritage Academy, which plays in Class AAA, is coming off a 7-6 victory against Raymond and a 14-0 loss to Simpson Academy in a jamboree last week in Jackson.
“Raymond was very athletic,” Donahoe said. “I felt like we were in a little better shape than they were and a little more prepared from a fundamental standpoint at this point in the season — I think we had a little more practice time than they did — and I felt like that paid off at the end. I was pleased with the resolve of our kids to come back and win that game and take the ball 90 yards in about four and a half minutes with a running clock and score. Tyler Anderson really got going running and our read-option game started working for us. It was fun to watch.”
Donahoe said the performance was a great way to bounce back following a scrimmage the week before against Pillow Academy. He said the momentum carried over to the second two-quarter scrimmage against Simpson Academy, a perennial playoff team.
“I was pleased with the way the guys played,” Donahoe said. “They played hard and did a lot of good things. We were fundamentally better against them. … The score didn’t indicate it, but overall I was pleased with the effort and I saw progress.”
Tonight’s game will be even more exciting for Donahoe because it will complete a busy summer that has seen numerous people help with upgrades to the facility. Heritage Academy took down the concession stand on the visitors’ side and put in new bleachers that will accommodate 300 fans. On the home side, the Patriots’ fans also will have new bleachers that will seat 800. The addition includes red chairback seats, which is appropriate because red is one of the school’s colors. There also is a new wooden stairway leading up to the press box and a new fenced-in playground on the home side adjacent to the concession stand.
“It is just exciting,” Donahoe said. “It wouldn’t have happened without all of the people involved. It has been really fun to watch the Heritage family come together on this and to see something positive happen. This project shows how much the people around here value the school and how the patrons care about our kids and what we do.”
Donahoe said he saw progress from Anderson, a junior quarterback. Last season, Anderson shared time at quarterback with then-junior Dylan Barker. This season, Barker has moved to tight end as one of many of the Patriots’ hybrid players. Against Raymond, Donahoe said Barker made a nice catch in a one-on-one situation for a first down.
“I am pleased with where the offense is,” Donahoe said. “That is week to week, and we have to continue to get better, but I think we have shown progress.”
Donahoe also said Lucas Bryant did a good job at the fullback, or H-back position.
The position change has opened the door for Anderson to showcase his skills as a runner and as a thrower.
In the jamboree, Donahoe said Anderson did things he didn’t do against Pillow Academy he said he stayed in the pocket better and did a better job of making his reads. He said Anderson missed a couple of reads in the read option, but he said Anderson did a good job of shaking an incorrect read off and focusing on the next play.
Kemper County at Columbus
n Columbus High School kicks off the second season of the Randal Montgomery era at 7 tonight when Class 3A power Kemper County comes to Falcon Field.
Columbus will look to a young backfield to help improve on last season’s 4-7 finish. The Falcons also will have to contend with a move to Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 1.
“The kids are excited,” Montgomery said. “We are glad to be part of opening week again. We didn’t play the first week last season, which was a good thing because we were installing things and working on who to put where.
“Now everybody is on the same page. We have a comfort level with each other. The guys are ready to compete. We have set some high goals for the season.”
Columbus dropped a 17-14 decision to Louisville in the New Hope Jamboree on Saturday at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium. Montgomery said the team “played well” but was done in by four turnovers. Taking better care of the football has been a priority in training camp since it was a major issue last season.
“We simply have to keep possession more often,” Montgomery said. “We asked too much of the defense a year ago. Our goal is to be a power running game behind an offensive line, which was has grown a lot over the last year. (Quarterback) C.J. Gholar is developing more into a leader each day. He has a firm grasp of what we are trying to do.”
Juniors Kendre Conner and Kylin Hill will lead the running game. Hill, who announced an offer from Tennessee on Twitter on Thursday night, scored both touchdowns in the loss.
Kemper County, which won 11 games a season ago, lost to Class 6A South favorite Meridian 21-7 in its jamboree.
“Kemper County has a lot of size on both sides of the ball,” Montgomery said. “We were able to watch them play last Friday against third-ranked Meridian. Meridian scored on a kick return touchdown and on an interception return. Essentially one of the best offenses in the state had one offense touchdown against their defense. We know this will be a big challenge.”
New Hope at Louisville
Year two of the Kris Pickle era begins at 7 tonight in Winston County against the Wildcats, who are expected to challenge in Class 4A after two seasons in Class 3A.
New Hope rallied to beat Amory 14-10 on Friday at the New Hope Jamboree. The Trojans scored two touchdowns in the final 2 minutes, 38 seconds, including a 3-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Stevens to T.J. Stephens.
“I thought we executed pretty well other than turnovers,” said Pickle, who led New Hope to 10 wins in his first season as the school’s head coach. “We have to stop that because we’re not going to beat many people doing that.”
Pickle was pleased with the contributions from wide receivers Carlos Brooks, a senior, and Terryonte Thomas, a junior. Both players are members of the school’s boys basketball team and are in their first seasons with the football team.
“I always had a feeling those guys would be able to make some plays,” Pickle said. “Carlos was right at 100 yards receiving Terryonte caught five or six balls and did exactly what we thought he could do on the field, which is make plays. Andre Earby could have had big night as well. I was pleased with how we threw the football.”
Pickle said the plan is to start Stevens, a junior, at quarterback. He said Stevens and senior JJ Jones split time at the position against Amory and helped the Trojans throw for 200 yards in a half. He said his goal is to play as many of the quarterbacks as possible, and that determining a starter will be a “week-to-week thing.”
“I thought (Thomas) had the better of the scrimmage game,” Pickle said. “I thought our pass protection was really good. The sack we gave up was some guys who are inexperienced and don’t play a whole lot and missed guy off the edge. Our run blocking has to get better. We’re not going to beat a team by lining up and knocking people off the ball.”
Caledonia at Shannon
Caledonia coach Andy Crotwell is eager to see how his team fares against another Class 4A playoff team on the road in its opener.
A year ago, Caledonia secured its first playoff berth since 2005. This season, Crotwell said the Confederates have plenty of “fresh faces” filling in and trying to make their case to be starters. He hopes some of those players emerge tonight in what he expects will be a test against a team that returns nine starters on defense.
“Shannon has a considerable bulk of their offense back,” Crotwell said. “They are very athletic. They know what they’re doing, and they’re all comfortable with the positions they’re playing. You see that on film. It is going to be a big challenge for us, and it will give us a good picture of where we are.”
Crotwell said the Confederates are still trying to find their way on offense and to identify the best five offensive linemen up front. He said the team also is working to settle on a starting four in the secondary. Crotwell said four of the five offensive line position are “well established.” He said the fifth spot is “still up in the air,” with a couple of guys competing for it. He said the hope is one of those guys will emerge and say, ‘This is mine. I am not going to turn it loose.”
As for quarterback Spencer Unruh, Crotwell said he wants to see the junior be more consistent in his pre-snap reads and to have a better understanding of where the football needs to go based on those reads, and where his progression needs to start. He said Unruh threw a lot of catchable balls, ran the ball well, and had a good presence in the pocket in a 14-10 loss to Pontotoc last week in its jamboree.
Senior running back Zion Ford had Caledonia’s touchdown. Crotwell said the Confederates will ask Ford to do a lot and that the team is excited about what he has the potential to do. Chase Pennington will serve as the team’s fullback, or H-back.
“From a skill player standpoint, we have a lot of guys who were in complementary roles last year, so they have some experience,” Crotwell said. “It is just a matter of finding that guy or those guys who say, ‘I am going to take charge. You can put this workload on me.’ ”
Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino and Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters contributed to this report. Follow them on Twitter @ctsportseditor and @dispatchscott
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