Sometimes it’s easier to be the underdog when you’re trying to build tradition.
From Heritage Academy’s perspective, Barrett Donahoe sees a Caledonia High School team that is very fast and very physical.
“It is going to be an extreme challenge,” Donohoe said.
From Caledonia’s perspective, Ricky Kendrick has no qualms saying Heritage Academy will be the favorite when the Lowndes County schools meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Caledonia for the second installment of their rivalry.
“They’re definitely the best team we have seen this year. There is no doubt about that,” Kendrick said. “They are a well-coached group. I am concerned about them because they play very hard. I told coach Donahoe they remind us a lot of us.”
Kendrick’s analysis is fitting because Heritage Academy (1-1) and Caledonia (2-0) are trying to establish identities entering week three.
Heritage Academy will try to build momentum following a 19-6 victory against rival Starkville Academy, while Caledonia hopes to continue its high-scoring ways following a 66-12 victory against West Lowndes.
Donahoe acknowledged not many people gave his team a chance to beat Starkville Academy, the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division 2 runner-up in 2011, last week. But the first-year coach said the pessimism stemmed from the fact people underestimated Lamar School, which defeated Heritage Academy 36-23 in week one. Heritage Academy responded from that “humbling” loss with a solid running performance on offense and an improved tackling and positional effort on defense.
“The kids had a lot of fun,” Donahoe said. “I think it was a growing experience for our team.”
Donahoe credited his players for showing determination in practice leading up to the Starkville Academy game. He said one of his seniors called the loss to Lamar School “humbling” shortly after the game. Donahoe said his team used the result as motivation and did a much better job executing.
Senior quarterback Cade Lott led the offense, while Parker Dunaway also had an interception return for a touchdown to help the Patriots avenge a 33-7 loss to Starkville Academy in 2011.
“I think it was very satisfying for them to beat a rival,” Donahoe said. “This group of players is getting more comfortable in our system. As they get more comfortable, the more confident they are with their play on the field. I think the win against Starkville was very satisfying for them because it brushed the monkey off our back a little bit.”
Even though many outside of the Heritage Academy family might not have given the Patriots a chance to win the game, Donahoe said his players believed. The trick is sustaining that mentality, confidence, and execution each week to help the team realize its goal of getting to the playoffs.
That goal has remained elusive, dating back to 2005. Donahoe’s challenge is to find a way to get Heritage Academy to play faster, harder, and longer to get the program to where he wants it to be.
“We have talked about consistency since day one,” Donahoe said. “It is something we are working on every day. We told them Friday night after the game as hard as it is to rebound from a loss and to play well and stay together, it is that much harder to come back from a big win to continue to maintain that focus and to see the goal at the end of the day.”
To get there, Donahoe knows the Patriots have to improve every day and can’t let up. He feels a game against Caledonia will provide the ideal challenge, especially since Heritage Academy won the initial matchup 48-45 in double overtime last season in Columbus.
“Caledonia has a phenomenal group this year,” Donahoe said. “I love (the timing of this game) with conference starting next week. We can see how mentally focused we can be. If not, we’re going to have to change some of the things we’re doing. Once we get into conference (next week against Madison-Ridgeland Academy) we’re going to have four in a row (in conference), so we’re going to have to win back-to-back games, and every one of them is big. I like the mental situation our kids are being put into so we can see how focused and consistent we can be.”
The growing process continues at Caledonia, where the Confederates have scored 116 points in the first two games. Last week’s output is the most the team has scored through games played going back to 1994. (Efforts continue to try to determine if the 66 points is the most the program scored in one game.) The fact that Caledonia is more than halfway to its point total in 11 games last season (178) and that it already has eclipsed its output for the 2010 season (88) reflects the progress Kendrick has led in his third season.
But the veteran coach who has worked at Amory High, Nettleton High, Tupelo High, and Columbus High, among other places, understands his team can’t lose sight of the fact it has defeated a young Class 3A team and a Class 1A team.
“Our kids understand (Nettleton) is not Heritage,” Kendrick said. “Last week, we played West Lowndes, a well-coached football team that is going to go a long way in Class 1A. We’re supposed to beat those 1A folks, but in the past that is something we haven’t been able to do. Hopefully, we are climbing up the ladder, and again, West Lowndes wasn’t Heritage. It is 0-0 on our clock. That is the way it is going to start (Friday night). I don’t know how it is going to finish, but I hope it comes out in our favor.”
Kendrick takes pride in the fact Caledonia has erased the memory of a 25-game losing streak that stretched from 2008-10. The Confederates won one game in 2010, his first season at the school, and improved to four last season. He readily admits the program has strides to take to compete with the heavyweights in Class 4A, Region 4, and that he feels things are moving in the right direction. A game against a budding rival like Heritage Academy is an ideal way to see if his team can answer the challenge of a county rival for the second consecutive week and begin to move closer to its goal of getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. A victory also would help Caledonia start 3-0 for the first time since 2004. Heritage Academy’s victory last season prevented Caledonia from accomplishing that feat.
Kendrick isn’t sure if his team, which has 22 seniors, is better equipped to handle Heritage Academy after the physical nature of the matchup last season. He said one of his linemen put it best when he said the final score last season wasn’t the score that mattered. Instead, the lineman said his final grade, which was well below passing, was the one that mattered. Kendrick said his players have taken that mind-set and appear to be focused on playing their role to help Caledonia take the upper hand in the series.
“I think we’re evenly matched,” Kendrick said. “It is going to be exciting for both schools. I would anticipate keeping (the series) going. I talked to coach Donahoe about it, and I think it is goof for both schools to continue it. I think it can become a good one. It was so even last year, and I look forward to the same thing this time.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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