It was full of highs and lows.
It was long and it was ugly.
It was only the third quarter.
Madison-Ridgeland Academy scored 17 unanswered points in those 12 minutes and capitalized on four turnovers to beat Heritage Academy 33-10 in a battle of the Patriots on Friday night in Columbus.
“We have had some rough third quarters this year,” Heritage Academy coach Barrett Donahoe said. “We as a coaching staff have to got to find a way to address this and make improvements.”
Trailing 6-3 at halftime, Heritage Academy (1-3) used a 6-yard pass by senior quarterback Cade Lott to senior wide receiver Parker Dunaway and the extra point by Graham McCain to take a 10-6 lead.
It was early in the quarter and it was Heritage Academy’s game to win.
That’s when things started to get ugly for the Patriots in red.
MRA put up 17 unanswered points in the third quarter on two Matt Porter touchdown passes and a 27-yard field goal by Haiden McCraney. Lott threw an interception to account for one of Heritage Academy’s four turnovers that helped turn the tide.
“We had the momentum and they just took it away,” Donahoe said. “We have got to protect the ball better.”
Those mistakes and penalties were the turning point. Donahoe said third-quarter mistakes have been costly for his team.
“We have got to find a way to finish the game,” he said. “Third-quarter mistakes have pretty much cost us our three losses. I feel like we are saying the same things every week. We have to quit turning the ball over and making so many mistakes.”
Donahoe hopes to reverse his team’s fortunes Friday against Clarksdale-Lee Academy (3-1).
“This is a huge division game for us,” Donahoe said. “This is the biggest game we have played this season. This game could get us back on track with a big division win.”
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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