Gone are the days of 5A and 6A football in the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools after the organization’s executive director Barrett Donahoe and 18 headmasters voted unanimously last November to restructure the districts in which teams are assigned to play in. 

Now the highest level is 4A, which is split into four different districts, leaving teams like Heritage Academy playing against some new foes. Instead of playing Starkville Academy, Pillow Academy, Magnolia Heights and Bayou Academy in District 1-5A for power points to make the playoffs, the Patriots are now set to battle East Rankin Academy, Lamar School and reigning back-to-back 6A champion Hartfield Academy while keeping its rivalry with Starkville Academy still alive in the brand new District 2-4A. 

Heritage head coach Tobias Smith said his team’s new district is a real step up in competition.

“Our (new) district is really tough,” said Smith, who is entering his third year of leading the Patriots. “It was a really tough district last year. We were able to do well enough to make the playoffs. It’s a little different this year. We got the No. 1 team in the state, the 6A champions the last two years in Hartfield, as one of our district opponents. So, that adds a little dimension to our district schedule that we weren’t having already.

“It’s so different. One way or another, it don’t matter to me, we just have to be the best we can be on any given Friday. We have to prepare each week like it’s a championship.”

While he was surprised that the MAIS did away with 5A and 6A, Smith said they did a good job of spreading the top teams throughout the four divisions. Jackson Academy is in District 1 with Bayou, Magnolia Heights, Madison-St. Joe and Pillow. Jackson Prep now resides in District 4 with Cathedral School, Copiah Academy and Oak Forest Academy and Silliman Institute in Louisiana. District 3 is made up of Brookhaven Academy, Madison-Rigeland Academy, Parklane Academy, Park Place Christian Academy and Simpson Academy. It’s made the challenge of winning a title as a whole, much harder.

“I think they are pretty equally balanced. Each district has one of those big Jackson schools in it and all of those teams bring a different dynamic we don’t usually see in our district,” he said. “I think that it will be, competition wise, tougher.”

Included in the changes is a new playoff format that lets teams compete for three different state championships in 4A. The four teams with the top power points average will have a two-week playoff for the Division I title, the next six teams with the highest power points play a three-week playoff for the Division II championship and the Division III crown will be played for by the next six teams with the highest power points over a three-week period. It’s a format that Smith said he still doesn’t quite understand.

“I don’t want to even get into it,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t understand it. A lot goes into it. … You might have to talk to someone else that knows a little bit more about it. We are just going to try and win every game, and if we do that then it doesn’t matter.”

For the last two seasons, Heritage has opened its season with a contest against powerhouse Hartfield, losing both games by a combined score of 78-7. Last year’s 49-7 loss didn’t put too much of a damper on the season as the Pats went on to post a 5-6 finish, losing two close contests against Starkville and Bayou. Though the team generated enough power points to make it to the post season, a 47-21 loss to Simpson Academy in the first round ended their year on a sour note, despite having bounced back from a winless campaign to kick off Smith’s time as head coach in 2023.

“We have a routine, and we’ve been having that routine since I’ve been here and we are going to stick with it,” Smith said. “The guys are familiar with it. They’ve been working their butts off, and I’m excited for Aug. 29 when we go to Louisville to play Winston (Academy.)”

Those hard-fought games against strong teams will pay dividends in Heritage’s new district, he said.  

“But the luxury that we have is that we’ve played (Hartfield) the last two years. This won’t be the guys first time playing a team of that magnitude, but it makes our team tougher,” Smith said. “Adding a team like Lamar, East Rankin out in Jackson and Starkville, which is our down-the-street rival, it makes for a tough district. But, it don’t matter who we are playing. We are going to take every day the same, and it don’t matter who we are playing. We can play our junior high team, we can play Hartfield or we can play the dang ol’ Cowboys; we are going to prepare the same way. But, the district is definitely tougher.”