One more step.
A week ago, Barrett Donahoe challenged his Heritage Academy football team to regroup following a loss to Starkville Academy and win its next two games to even its record at 4-4.
After seeing his team commit a turnover Friday that allowed West Lowndes to score the go-ahead touchdown, Donahoe wasn’t sure if his team was going to get a chance to realize that goal.
It took the Patriots all of 7 minutes, 48 seconds on the scoreboard to change Donahoe’s thinking. In that time, Heritage Academy re-focused and ripped off two scoring drives and held West Lowndes to a three-and-out.
Challenged again later in the fourth quarter, Heritage Academy delivered the knockout blow on a Michael Ledbetter 30-yard touchdown run that put the finishing touches on a 30-20 victory.
The win helped Heritage Academy (3-4) beat West Lowndes (4-3) for the third year in a row. In snapping the Panthers’ four-game winning streak, the Patriots ended their three-game skid and took a strong step toward realizing their goal. It was an important step considering Heritage Academy returns to Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Region 2 play next week with a home game against Winston Academy.
Following the victory, Donahoe reiterated the team’s desire to get back to .500 and to return to the playoffs. He also praised the Patriots for their resiliency after a deflating turnover that cost them the lead. Instead of losing focus and confidence, Heritage Academy responded and took care of business like it was a team playing with a purpose.
“(Losing the lead) put some fire in our stomachs, so we were able to turn it around and get going,” Heritage Academy quarterback Dylan Barker said. “(Coach Donahoe) didn’t really say anything on the sideline, I think it was just all of as individuals finally had that pit in our stomach that said, ‘All right, it is gametime now. We can’t let them keep hanging around. We’ve got to go.’ ”
Barker laughed when asked why the Patriots like to make things hard on themselves. But he said Heritage Academy has executed well the past few weeks but has fallen victim to mistakes that have derailed its rhythm. He said he was pleased with the Patriots’ ability to run the football and respond when they were tested.
“We didn’t want to, but we let them hang around all game and we kept giving them a chance and letting them think they had a chance to be in it,” Barker said. “When they picked that off (on the fumbled exchange), I think we really decided to kind of turn it around because that is not who we are.”
Barker said the Patriots lost the lead on a double handoff that was designed to go from his hands to Dontae Gray to Zach Oswalt. But Heritage Academy couldn’t execute the second exchange as Oswalt moved from right to left. The ball popped up in the air to Tedarrious Barr, who returned it 21 yards to a gift-wrapped touchdown and a 14-9 lead. The Panthers failed on the two-point conversion run.
“It could have been a devastating play,” Donahoe said of the turnover. “We tried a little trickeration — and we have been working on it — but their ends got up field so fast and were so aggressive on the handoff. They did a great job. We messed up the protection and they made a great play and scored.
“I love the way we fought back and scored right after that and were able to go up two scores. On the head set, someone said, ‘When is the last time we were up two scores?’ I don’t know, but it sure does feel good.”
Heritage Academy wasted no time to turn the tide. Toby Young’s 25-yard kickoff return gave the Patriots a first down on the Panthers 40-yard line. Following a West Lowndes penalty, Lukas Bryant had a 12-yard run to kick-start the drive. Two plays later, Young scored on a 10-yard run up the middle. Barker connected with Dontae Gray on the conversion pass to make it 17-14. The scoring drive took 1:30.
“Once we fell behind 14-9, I guess we realized we had to get it together if we wanted to win,” Heritage Academy tight end/defensive end John Isaac Stafford said. “None of us wanted to be 2-5. We have been working really hard. We wanted to prove we were better than our record showed.”
The Patriots held the Panthers to 5 yards on the ensuing series and wasted little time on their next possession. West Lowndes aided Heritage Academy’s cause with two penalties that resulted in first downs. The Patriots didn’t waste the opportunity, as Ledbetter had an 11-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal at the 2. Barker’s keeper and Ledbetter’s extra point made it 24-14 with 6:07 remaining.
“As we progress during the season, it is becoming easier and easier for us to bounce back when our opponents do good things against us,” Ledbetter said. “This year, we haven’t been as successful as we have been in the past. For that weight to be on our shoulders, we really felt that weight needs to get off our shoulders and we have to push and we have to start winning some games. Whenever you said ‘fire in the pit of our stomach’, it lit and we went with it.”
Stafford feels the resiliency the Patriots showed and their ability to move the football — 293 yards rushing, including 130 by Gray and 84 by Ledbetter — will give them confidence for next week’s key district game. Barker echoed that sentiment and said, “We’re really going to try our best to get up to 4-4 because our season goal is to make the playoffs. This is a huge conference game for us, so everybody should have that fire in them. I think it is going to be a great game.”
Heritage Academy could have made it easier on itself Friday night, but Donahoe said the game felt eerily familiar in that his team failed to complete plays that would have resulted in touchdowns or had key mistakes that stalled drives. He realizes the Patriots will have to improve in the passing game and clean up their mistakes if they are going to get back to .500 and climb even higher to get a chance to play in the postseason again.
“Nobody wants to be sitting there six games in with the comment we have to get this thing to 4-4,” Donahoe said. “That is not an ideal situation for any coach or any team. We didn’t want to be there. We didn’t want to be where we are right now. There is not a guy on this team that going into the season said if we are 3-4 when we leave West Lowndes, we’re going to feel like we have been a success. We feel like we still have so much more to prove and so much more to grow.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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