Heritage Academy quarterback Carter Putt has been a magician all season, and his wizardry was on display again in Friday night’s 32-12 win over Caledonia.
Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, the Patriots were knocking at the door again, setting up at the Caledonia 4-yard line. Putt took the snap, ran to his left and disappeared.
Not long after, he was clearly visible in the end zone — and in disbelief of the unusual touchdown run he’d just finished off.
“I was sitting there going in, and nobody touched me, and all of a sudden I just feel my center disappear,” Putt said. “Whenever he did, I saw the end zone, and I was just like, ‘Wow, I just scored.'”
Putt’s excited Heritage teammates asked their quarterback to reveal his trick, but there wasn’t much to say.
“I was like, ‘I have no clue,'” Putt said. “I just closed my eyes and ran behind my line and trusted them.'”
The score pretty much sealed a dominant win for the 5-0 Patriots, putting them up 32-3 with 10 minutes, 45 seconds remaining. The magic they created with an early-season win over Jackson Prep, winners of seven straight state championships, was very much alive Friday on the Patriots’ rocking home field.
“That means a lot to us as a program, knowing we’re one of the top teams around here,” Putt said. “That means a lot to us.”
After a couple missed throws early — “he missed a couple; his receivers missed a couple,” Heritage Academy coach Sean Harrison said — Putt came out firing to buoy his team to a 25-0 lead at halftime.
He threw a 20-yard touchdown to Noel Fisher, ran in a 1-yard score and connected with Sam Hannon on a 21-yarder — all in the second quarter. Coupled with KJ Smith’s 10-yard rushing touchdown just over four minutes into the game, it was more than enough to bury the Confederates (2-2).
“We just didn’t execute very well on either side of the ball, and when you dig yourself a 25-point hole and turn the ball over in the first half, that’s the kind of outcome you’re gonna get,” Caledonia coach Michael Kelly said.
The ‘Feds’ option offense was repeatedly stymied by the Patriots’ defense, which Harrison said is a testament to the defensive game plan assistant coach Russ Whiteside put together.
“They threw us a couple wrinkles out there in changing fronts and moving people around. Gave our young offensive line a different look from what we’ve seen all week and what we tried to work against,” Kelly said. “They just whooped our tail.”
The Patriots didn’t let the ‘Feds on the scoreboard until Wes Rollins kicked a 25-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
Heritage Academy held Caledonia to 92 yards on 32 carries, an average of fewer than three yards per carry. The Pats only allowed four completed passes for 79 yards, one of which was a 52-yard pass to sophomore Kewon Wyatt.
“We had kind of been cheating ’em all night … and they busted us for it,” Harrison said.
It was a rare defensive lapse by the Patriots, who excelled again on both sides of the football. Heritage Academy ran for over 7.5 yards per carry, and Putt threw for 150 yards on just nine completions, trusting star receiver Jared Long and the Pats’ other pass-catchers to haul the ball in.
“They might be covered, but they’re some of the best athletes in the state,” Putt said. “If I throw it to them, they’ll make a play for me.”
Putt never let up — until he was pulled for freshman Mack Howard with less than four minutes remaining — and the Patriots kept the pressure on.
“We got beat by a good football team,” Kelly said. “They outcoached us. They out-executed us. They outplayed us from the first whistle to the very last whistle.”
Even so, Putt said he still wanted more and thinks the Pats could have had it.
“Our goal was just getting to a running clock,” Putt said. “We’re happy about the win and everything, but we could have played a lot better in the second half, and that’s what we’re not happy about. We’ve just got to come out in whatever we do, stay hungry and not be satisfied with anything.”
Next week, Caledonia will host Nettleton (3-1), which beat Baldwyn 24-21 on Friday.
Putt will lead the Patriots, still unbeaten, into next week’s game at Bayou Academy (1-3), which lost Friday to top-ranked Madison-Ridgeland Academy 47-6.
Heritage Academy 32, Caledonia 12
Caledonia 0 0 3 9 — 12
Heritage Academy 6 19 0 7 — 32
First quarter
7:58 HA — KJ Smith 10 run (pass failed)
Second quarter
9:53 HA — Noel Fisher 20 pass from Carter Putt (kick failed)
3:40 HA — Putt 1 run (run failed)
1:26 HA — Sam Hannon 21 pass from Putt (Fisher kick)
Third quarter
3:45 C — Wes Rollins 25 FG
Fourth quarter
10:45 HA — Putt 4 run (Fisher kick)
7:30 C — Safety
3:58 C — Darrius Triplett 28 pass from Brandon Edmondson (Rollins kick)
Team statistics
C HA
First downs 7 15
Rushes-yards 32-92 25-188
Passing yards 79 150
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-8-0 9-18-0
Penalties-yards 5-31 5-35
Fumbles-lost 4-1 3-0
Sacks 4 0
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Caledonia — Darrius Triplett 12-35, Brandon Edmondson 6-35, Kewon Wyatt 2-8, Anthony Triplett 2-7, Darquez Williams 7-4, Kelvin Robinson 2-2, Tre Bohannon 1-1; Heritage Academy — KJ Smith 5-89, Carter Putt 5-44, Rocky Wright 6-25, Austin Dotson 5-13, Braden Davidson 3-13, #21 1-4.
PASSING: Caledonia — Brandon Edmondson 4-8, 79; Heritage Academy — Carter Putt 9/18, 150.
RECEIVING: Caledonia — Kewon Wyatt 2-47, Darrius Triplett 1-28, Nicholas Bergstrom 1-4; Heritage Academy — Jared Long 4-66, KJ Smith 1-28, Sam Hannon 1-21, Noel Fisher 1-20, Banks Hyde 2-15.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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