A quick change wasn’t a shock to the system for Dylan Barker.
After all, Barker shared the quarterback duties with Tyler Anderson and learned the Heritage Academy football team’s offense last season. Barker had to digest an added wrinkle in the offseason when he moved from quarterback to tight end and figured to be a big part of the Patriots’ passing attack as a blocker and receiver.
But injuries often force coaches and players to shift gears. Barker and Heritage Academy had to do that in their sixth game of the season Sept. 25, when Anderson was injured in a 35-14 loss to Starkville Academy. Since then, Barker has settled into a bigger leadership role and guided Heritage Academy to wins against West Lowndes (30-20) and Winston Academy (24-19).
Last week, Barker had his best game of the season, going 10 of 16 for 169 yards and three touchdown passes (two to Michael Ledbetter).
“It was kind of a quick change, but I was used to it because of last year,” Barker said. “I just wanted to do the best I could and be the best I could be for my team.”
Barker will try to duplicate that effort at 7 tonight when Heritage Academy (4-4) plays host to Indianola Academy (9-0) in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA game at C.L. Mitchell Field.
The game won’t have district playoff implications for either team. Indianola Academy is unbeaten in District 1 and has the inside track on a top seed and an automatic playoff spot. Heritage Academy has a regular-season game remaining against Leake Academy to determine which team will finish second in District 2. The outcome of tonight’s game and next week’s matchup will help determine if Heritage Academy has enough power points to be seeded from sixth to 16th in the Class AAA playoffs.
Heritage Academy coach Barrett Donahoe said Barker’s ability to mature as a quarterback from last season has been a key reason why the team is in position to control its destiny and earn a return trip to the playoffs.
“I think Dylan has really done a great job,” Donahoe said. “He has a strong arm and he has put the ball where he wants to. We have leaned on it a little more and more the other night. He did a great job on some of our rollouts of understanding he had green grass in front of him and he pulled the ball down without hesitation and got the ball up the field for positive yards. That shows as much, in my mind, what we’re doing in our passing game as anything.
“In the past, we would force that ball or we would make a bad decision on that play. For him to be comfortable on his rollouts and to understand the importance of gaining positive yards on every play and seeing that, helps us in our overall scheme and do what we want to do and be more confident.”
Barker, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior, feels he has improved and isn’t feeling any ill effects from surgery on his elbow to remove what he called “bone spurs.” As much as he feels he has raised his level of play, Barker quickly credits his offensive line for giving him time to throw and running backs like Michael Ledbetter and Dontae Gray and his receivers for making plays. He said staying in the pocket and making throws is his biggest area of improvement. He said he initially was “a little timid” and would try to run or throw the football as soon as he saw someone from the defensive side. He said the focus on pass patterns and the ability to read when to throw or when to tuck the football and run have helped him build confidence. That decision-making has added another dimension to an offense that features speedy playmakers like Ledbetter and Gray.
Barker hopes the confidence he and the Patriots gained the past two weeks will carry over to tonight. He said he knows Indianola Academy and Leake Academy will present difficult tests, but he believes he and his teammates will be up for the showdowns.
Donahoe hopes that is the case and that Barker and his weapons can continue to deliver because he knows Indianola Academy will try to bring pressure and make things a lot tougher.
“I am really pleased with where he is,” Donahoe said. “We have got to do a good job of taking what their secondary gives us and letting him make plays.
“We worked this week on getting the ball out of his hand quickly and knowing where the pressure is coming from and knowing what that gives us and what that gives us, and where our open receivers will be. Hopefully we will be successful with that (tonight).”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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