Coaches love experience.
Players who have been in tight games and know how to handle the excitement associated with decisions that go down to the final minute help coaches manage their teams.
Veterans also give coaches a handy fall-back answer when they’re momentarily stumped by a question.
That’s the position Heritage Academy football coach Sean Harrison was in Monday morning when asked why he thought the 2016 Patriots “bought in” to the style of play and the system he and Russ Whiteside, the school’s first-year defensive coordinator, brought in to replace former coach Barrett Donahoe.
“I don’t know,” Harrison said.
After a moment of reflection, Harrison went back to his security blanket, a group of 15 seniors that has been the foundation for the team’s success this season.
“We have talked all year about maturity,” Harrison said. “I think they were very much of the mind-set that they were good enough to win and they wanted that. I didn’t do anything special. They took us in and it has worked out great.”
Heritage Academy (8-2, 3-0 Class AAA, District 1) took care of business Friday night with a 38-10 victory against Leake Academy that helped it win its first district championship since 2003. As a result, Heritage Academy wrapped up the No. 4 seed for the MAIS Class AAA playoffs, and will play host to St. Aloysius (3-7), the No. 13 seed from District 3, at 7 p.m. Friday at C.L. Mitchell Field.
A win would give Heritage Academy a second-straight home playoff game against the winner of the game between No. 5 seed Manchester Academy and No, 12 seed Cathedral Unit School.
The home playoff game is the program’s first since a 42-18 victory against Prairie View (La.) on Nov. 6, 1998. Heritage Academy lost to Carroll Academy 20-14 in overtime the following week in Carrollton in the Mississippi Private School Association (MPSA) Class AAA North State Championship.
Harrison’s comment about the 2016 squad mirrors a comment by Jon Wilson, who coached Heritage Academy’s football team in 1998. Interviewed by former Dispatch sports editor Henry Matuszak for a story in the Nov. 4, 199, edition, Wilson said, “I think it’s just attitude. These kids made up their minds that they wanted to have a good year. It wouldn’t have mattered who was coaching them. They’re not scared to come to practice. They like coming to practice and when they’re here they get their work done.”
The 1998 Heritage Academy football team was making its first trip to the playoffs since 1994, when it reached the state title game. This year’s senior group of Patriots didn’t have to wait as long between playoff appearances. Last season, Heritage Academy lost to Silliman Institute in the first round.
This season, Harrison has relied on the experience and desire of his most experienced players to push the program forward. He credits senior quarterback Tyler Anderson for setting the tone for an offense that has overcome injuries thanks to a bunch of weapons.
“The senior leadership is what has kind of tugged us along,” Harrison said. “We’re 11 weeks in now. They’re not listening to my voice anymore. They’re tired of my voice and me hollering. It takes those seniors to pull everybody along.”
Harrison said he saw players from all classes “test the waters” of the coaching staff to see how the program was going to change. He said the emergence of different players each week has been a constant in a season that has seen a six-game winning streak propel the Patriots back to championship status. Harrison feels the senior group has “re-established the standard” at the school thanks to its hard work in the offseason, in the weight room, and at practice.
The only hiccup has been a 26-6 loss to Lamar School in the second week of the season. Harrison said the Patriots showed their poise and maturity by bouncing back and realizing they couldn’t let that loss sidetrack their season.
“We finally started practicing at the tempo we needed to be,” Harrison said. “We have had bad days since then. We’re not perfect, but overall it picked up a whole lot from that point.”
Harrison doesn’t feel the team will lose focus after the celebration following the game against Leake Academy. There were plenty of pictures to go around with friends and cheerleaders, but Harrison and the Patriots were back at work Sunday to prepare for their playoff opener. He doesn’t feel this group is ready to have its last week of practice.
“You don’t want to be complacent because, basically, the real season starts now,” Harrison said. “You just want to make sure they don’t take anything for granted. We’re only promised one game at a time now, and this is the last one we’re promised, so I told them (Sunday) you don’t want today to be your last Monday practice. You need to practice like there is no tomorrow.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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