It’s hard to miss Jared Long.
At 6-foot-3, the Heritage Academy sophomore wide receiver usually has a height advantage against nearly every defender he faces.
Carter Putt is learning how to locate Long in his first season as the Patriots’ starting quarterback. Sometimes, though, defenses don’t always oblige. Last week, Manchester Academy used a strong rush to pressure Putt and flush him from the pocket. As a result, Putt had little time to set his body to throw and often was scrambling to avoid a sack.
Things were different for Long and Putt on Friday night.
Buoyed by a 184-yard rushing effort by senior running back Dontae Gray, Heritage Academy rolled to a 42-16 victory against Wayne Academy at C.L. Mitchell Field.
Putt ran for a 4-yard touchdown and threw for two more scores, including a 9-yard jump ball to Long, to help Heritage Academy improve to 3-0.
Putt can thank Jared Long’s uncle Chris, who lives in Tupelo, for making his job a little easier. Long said his uncle, who typically sends him gear and accessories to complete his football uniform, sent him a pair of Under Armour gloves to replace the black and red adidas gloves he used in the summer. The right Under Armour glove is primarily blue and white, while the left glove is red and white. When Long puts his hands together in an attempt to catch the football, the gloves form the logo for Under Armour, which is U overlapping an upside down U to resemble an X.
Putt said it is hard for him to miss that colorful target and they he tries his best to throw the football high enough where only Long can get it.
“Somebody else will have to have (gloves like that), but he has the best ones by far,” Putt said of the gloves that are the school’s colors and go with the team’s uniform, which is supplied by the same company.
Putt gave way to Rocky Wright in the second half after going 5-for-8 for 60 yards in the first half. The Patriots led 42-0 in the second quarter, which is when the running clock started and last the rest of the game.
“Last week, I tried to scramble some when I should have thrown it,” Putt said. “I was looking forward to coming out and throwing it to them and trying to get rid of the ball and not take sacks.”
Putt didn’t need to put up eye-popping numbers in the passing attack because Gray was his usual elusive self. Gray scored on a 64-yard run on the first play and tacked on scores of 55 and 27 yards.
Gray’s signature move came on the 55-yard scamper when he hopped out of the grip of Michael Watson around the Wayne Academy 35-yard line en route to the score.
Gray isn’t the Patriots’ only weapon. With JR Lott, who caught a 12-yard touchdown pass, Moak Griffin, Eli Acker, and Dalton Alexander as four more options, Putt has a lot at his disposal. He plans to use last week’s 3-0 victory against Manchester Academy as a lesson in how to handle pressure defenses and how to get rid of the football quicker.
“I felt comfortable,” said Putt, who also is a pitcher on the school’s baseball team. “I had my guys to read and I found them easily and the open receivers fast and quick.”
Long also hopes to take plenty from the game against Manchester Academy. After dropping one pass, not going full speed on a fade route in which he was targeted, and becoming visibly agitated when he wasn’t targeted on another play, Long said he understands he has to be mentally ready every play, whether it means catching a pass or blocking for a teammate.
“It is mental toughness,” Long said. “Coach (Sean) Harrison preaches that a lot. … As a wide receiver, I have two jobs. If the ball comes my way, I have to make a play on it. If that ball isn’t coming my way, I have to take that cornerback to the sideline.
“I am doing a good job on it. I have to stay up and keep doing it and give everything I have got every play.”
Long admitted he “lost a ball in the field lights,” which he knows is an excuse New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who is his favorite receiver, wouldn’t use. He said his brother, Lexus, also got onto him for saying that.
When it comes to catching balls, the gloves should work wonders. Long hopes he and Putt continue to find other ways to connect because he said he is ready to go get the ball whenever he is called on.
Harrison said Putt and Long showed growth from last week. He said both players “finished” after he felt they tried “to do too much” and “got down on themselves” against Manchester Academy.
Harrison said the Patriots’ depth at wide receiver motivates the players to do their jobs because they know they will come out of the game if they don’t.
“They have bought into that,” Harrison said. “Luckily I have a group that is good and wants to be on the field, and they know what it takes to stay on the field. At practice this week, some of them got pulled off the field. They didn’t like it. They responded perfectly tonight.”
In the preseason, Harrison praised Putt for his poise at quarterback. He feels the game will continue to slow down for Putt the more snaps he takes.
“In junior high football, you throw the ball when you see somebody open,” Harrison said. “In high school football, you throw the ball when you think they are fixin’ to be open. Tonight, you saw him flipping his hops and getting rid of the ball. I thought he made great decisions.
“He made two plays that sophomores don’t make. The (32-yard run) was a handoff to Dontae that was a bad snap that he went and hit where Dontae was supposed to hit. He took a loss on a buck sweep at the end of the second quarter. He saw the two guys walked up and knew we couldn’t block it, so he pulled it and got back to the line of the scrimmage.”
Harrison praised Putt for not turning the ball over again. In fact, Heritage Academy hasn’t committed a turnover this season. He hopes that continues next week when his team plays host to Lamar School at 7 p.m. Friday for Homecoming.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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