COLUMBUS — Heritage Academy soccer returned from the holiday break in their schedule on Tuesday, braving the cold and the wind at C.L. Mitchell Field to take down Delta Streets Academy to the tune of 8-0.
When the two teams met a year ago, Delta Streets came away with a big win. While the Patriots dominated possession early in this one, they led only 1-0 at the break. The near-freezing temperature and wind certainly played a factor, but coming into the second half, the Patriots were determined to make their chances count.
Cole Shelton highlighted the scoresheet with a second-half hat-trick, joined by Max Ledbetter who had a brace of goals himself. Arthur Dawson, Sam Starks and Jacob Britt each added a goal to complete the dominant showcase after halftime, prompting an early final whistle from the referee.
“We feel good, we like to score a lot of goals,” Patriots head coach Jacob Hunt said. “This team beat us 5-1 last year so we came in with some revenge on our minds. We controlled the entire game, even in the first half, we just lacked the final ball and quality shot at the end of a move. Once we got that one in the second half it flowed after that.”
Ledbetter opened the scoring late in the first half, finding a breakthrough moment with a line-breaking run and calm finish past the goalkeeper. He and Shelton came out of the break ready to add more and did just that.
“We’re feeling strong getting back,” Ledbetter said. “It was a cold start, but we’re looking to do good things in the next district games.”
The Patriots, now 7-3 on the season, suffered three straight losses shortly before the Christmas break; a 1-0 loss to district and local rivals Starkville Academy followed by a pair of 7-0 defeats to Starkville High and Jackson Prep. A 3-0 win over Magnolia Heights before the holidays set them back on track, and they feel good going forward into a rematch on Thursday after the big win on Tuesday.
“I think it’s a good partnership, we’ve been playing together since we were kids,” Ledbetter said of partnering Shelton up top. “I think it’ll be good again against Mag Heights.”
The final slate of district games will determine the Patriots’ playoff seeding. They hope to sit atop the district like they did last season, and that’s where their focus is now, which is why the 8-0 win felt a bit sweeter than normal.
“We’ve got a district game for each of the next three games, so it’s good to have this one and kick things off coming back,” Hunt said. “There’s a lot of confidence from everyone and that’ll help going into the next one.”
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