Time has a way of slowing down for Carter Putt and Jared Long.
Credit hours of practices on Sundays between Putt, the Heritage Academy junior quarterback, and Long, his standout junior wide receiver. The duo started their work last season, when Putt learned how and where to put the ball so the 6-foot-4 Long could go up and get it.
The practice between Putt and Long has blossomed, as evidenced Friday by the fact they hooked up five times, including two for touchdowns, in a 49-26 victory against Canton Academy in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 game at C.L. Mitchell Field.
“We throw every Sunday,” Putt said. “We know where each other is going to be. I trusted him to go up and make a play, and did that for me.”
Putt was referring to a 35-yard touchdown pass that was a part of a 21-point second quarter that blew the game open. Putt said his first option was covered and he thought there was a linebacker on his second receiver, so he moved to Long, who was coming across the field from the left and had a few steps on his defender.
The delivery didn’t produce a perfect spiral. Instead, the ball wobbled in the air toward the front right of the end zone.
“When you see your player make the play, it is just the best feeling ever when they go up and make a play for you and make your job look easy,” Putt said.
In all, seven receivers had catches in the victory, but the connection between Putt and Long remains the strongest. It’s almost as if Long can track down any ball Putt throws or Putt can locate Long in the most scrambled situations to complete a pass.
Putt was 13-for-14 for 197 yards and five touchdowns. His effort pushed him past 2,000 yards passing for the season, a mark he also eclipsed last season. Putt said he set a goal of passing that mark in his second season as the team’s starter. A deep run into the postseason could help him close in on 3,000.
Long led the Patriots with five catches for 123 yards. Strong running by Kelvin “K.J.” Smith (22 carries, 165 yards, two touchdowns) and blocking and protection by the offensive line enabled coach Sean Harrison to balance the running and passing attacks. The third-year coach said Putt’s second touchdown pass — a 35-yarder to Long — epitomizes the growth of his quarterback in that he trusts him to take shots down field, even if it turns out to be one of those “No, no, no … yes, yes, yes moments” that bedevil coaches.
“I didn’t necessarily like that shot, but more times than not it ends up that way,” Harrison said.
Long said he, too, thought the football was going in slow motion. He said everything “zones out” and he can’t hear anything when he sees a ball in the air and sets out to make it his. On that play, he said he didn’t recognize another teammate in the area who could have made a play.
“I know where he is going to put the ball,” Long said. “He knows where I am going to be. He throws a dime and I catch it.”
Sometimes, though, you almost sense Putt and Long have a mental connection that enables them to stay together when they’re apart, as evidenced by their second touchdown pass. Forced to scramble, Putt used a block by Smith that allowed him to work back to his right toward the Patriots’ sideline. Putt said film study helped him know Long would be open on the back side, so he looked back to his left and threw to the left corner for an 11-yard scoring strike.
Long said he tries to create “the biggest distraction” possible to be seen. He said that means he will do jumping jacks or up downs if needed to get his quarterback’s attention.
In this instance, though, Long just stood still.
“It goes back to the offseason and all of the extra stuff they do together,” Harrison said. “There is a chemistry between them.”
Putt and Long know they will need to stay connected to keep defenses honest. They agree the willingness of players like Eli Acker, who snaps the football, Smith, Rocky Wright, Moak Griffin, Banks Hyde, Davis Fitch, Lex Rogers, Noel Fisher, and others to attend Sunday sessions shows all of the Patriots want to be a “zoned in” with their teammates to realize the ultimate goal on the team’s check list.
“When I watch film and I look back on it, we look so in synch,” Long said. “When I come back up here on Sunday, I shake (Putt’s) hand, hug him, tell him how much I love him, and (tell him) we have to keep this up. (I tell him) you don’t know how good we look on film. This is beautiful. We’ve got to keep working at it and just keep getting greater and greater.”
Said Putt, “Last year, our team might not have been all in, but it shows you having seven to 10 guys up here on Sundays — they could be out doing whatever they want — but it just shows there are some people who really care about this team. … It just shows you our whole team is focused and wants to get a ring.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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