WEST POINT — This week has been about going back to basics for Chris Craven and the Oak Hill Academy football team.
The first chore on the Raiders’ to-do list was to re-familiarize themselves with what it means to play a home game.
“That is one of the things one of the players said to me Monday. He said, ‘Coach, I am so glad we get to play at home again,’ ” Craven said. “Not that we play at home this week, but again, like it was never going to happen again. It wasn’t easy playing a month on the road, but playing at home is definitely an advantage.”
Oak Hill Academy originally has a three-game road trip in the middle of its schedule. But the decision of Mississippi High School Activities Association members Cathedral, St. Aloysius, and Greenville St. Joseph made in July to leave that organization for the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools forced the MAIS to shuffle the schedules of many of its members. As a result, Oak Hill Academy’s three-game road trip turned into a four-game jaunt.
The alterations to the schedule worked against Oak Hill Academy in another way in that it replaced a game against Leake Academy with a game against Winona Christian. The timing of the move didn’t help the Raiders, who were forced to play their first Class A-AA, District 2 game without senior running back Drew Riley. The change and the injury likely couldn’t have come at a worse time for Oak Hill Academy because Winona Christian already has won two district games, which meant a victory against Oak Hill Academy would all but wrap up the district championship for the Stars.
Four interceptions and four fumbles later, Oak Hill Academy was left to wonder what could have been last week after a 24-7 loss to Winona Christian. Craven said his team easily could fall victim to excuses and to the unusual situation of having to play four-straight games on the road. But the first-year head coach said Wednesday the Raiders have to regroup because they have plenty of time left in the season to realize one of their goals and qualify for the postseason.
Oak Hill Academy (4-2, 0-1 district) will try to take that first step at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays host to Columbus Christian Academy (0-6, 0-1) in a Class A-AA, District 2 matchup.
“We really find ourselves in this football season having to prove to ourselves we can do what it takes to play football over and over again,” Craven said. “Our quarterback goes out, we’re minus a receiver, our starting tackle missed one game. Now the same starting tackle is out with a concussion. Our starting tailback is out with broken ribs. Our starting quarterback is out. That hurts, especially with 16 players. But we find ourselves in the same situation where we have to prove ourselves over and over again that we can play football, we can do what it takes.”
Craven said Oak Hill Academy will play again without Riley, its leader on offense and defense (linebacker). He said the team’s focus on the basics this week in practice has been centered on working with new people in new positions again due to the injuries. He said fullback Collins Brown will move into Riley’s tailback position, while Heath Westover will take over for Clark Hays at left tackle.
Craven also said senior Kaleb Darnell, the team’s backup quarterback, also will get repetitions at quarterback in an attempt to give the team versatility at quarterback with third-stringer John Carver Middleton.
Craven said trying to regroup following the loss to Winona Christian was a challenge in the first two days of the week. As much as he said everyone was disappointed, he said it is crucial for the players and coaches to move on.
“We have to let the past go and let the past be the past and play in the present because we want to play in the future,” Craven said.
Craven said the momentum turned at the end of the second quarter with his team leading 7-0. Instead of running the football to kill the clock, Craven said he saw something he wanted to exploit, so he opted for a pass play. Unfortunately, Middleton faced pressure and threw off his back foot, which resulted in an interception. Winona Christian capitalized on its possession by barely getting a pass off under pressure in the waning seconds. The pass went over the head of a defender receiver to another receiver who snuck behind those players to catch it for a touchdown.
Winona Christian missed the extra point, but Craven said there was a big difference in the mind-set of the teams as they went into the locker room.
Craven said Winona Christian likely will win the district title because Carroll Academy is the only district opponent remaining on its schedule. With three district games left to play, Craven said his team will have to rise back up and focus on the goal of winning as many games as possible to secure as many power points as it can to put itself in position to earn a seed into the 16-team playoffs.
Craven said his team will have to fight the distraction of playing a Homecoming game Friday. He said he originally set his team’s Homecoming game to fall on the week it played Leake Academy, but the shuffling of the schedule changed that plan.
“They have displayed the ability to have great focus,” Craven said. “This is a good football team. They have accomplished a lot of great things. I feel they already have accomplished a lot more than some folks thought they would at the beginning of the season. They are good boys to coach, they have great determination, they have fight about them, and they have good focus. They just want to get back to winning.”
If Oak Hill Academy is finally back home, Greg Watkins and the Columbus Christian Rams will have to wait another week to play a game on their home field. Friday’s game will be Columbus Christian’s fourth in a row (Tupelo Christian, Winona Christian, Newton County Academy) on the road. Its best game of the season — a 34-27 loss to Winona Christian — came in that streak. The Rams had a chance to win or to tie the game on the final play, but a receiver was ruled out of bounds on a potential touchdown play. Watkins said he would have gone for the two-point conversion to get the victory.
Watkins also said the Rams shouldn’t have been in position to have an official’s call determine their fate. He said two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and another score by the Stars off a short field played a large role in the setback.
“The confidence is there. I think the youth has to do with the inconsistency,” Watkins said. “We get out there and don’t do our assignments or see something we thought we saw instead of doing our assignments. That kills us on offense and defense, especially defense.”
Watkins said the Rams are as close to 100 percent healthy as they have been all season. He feels the game against Winona Christian showed his team that it can play against anybody as long as it plays a complete game.
To do that, Columbus Christian will have to rebound from an “on-and-off” performance in a 56-28 loss to Newton County Academy last week. He said the Rams didn’t play their best game defensively and played in spurts on offense. He said an 80-yard kickoff return by the Generals turned the momentum.
“We are still trying to find ourselves and trying to find that killer instinct,” Watkins said. “When they have control of the game, I want them to take control. We seem to have those spurts where we take control for a little bit and then lax for a quarter. That just kills us.”
Despite the winless start to the season, Watkins said the enthusiasm and focus are still there. With offensive lineman Billy Brewer as the team’s only senior, Watkins said the Rams are leaning on juniors like starting quarterback Dawson Shaw for maturity and focus. He said the players realize reaching the playoffs remains an attainable goal. He said the key is putting it all together Friday.
“We know if we win three of the last four or all four there is a real good chance of us making it in,” Watkins said. “As far as just trying to finish the season, the guys aren’t satisfied with that. They are coming out here and playing for that chance.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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