Hartfield Academy (0-0) at Heritage Academy (0-0), 7 p.m.
COLUMBUS — A new season, a new head coach, a new-look roster and a new opponent to open up the 2023 schedule.
Heritage Academy saw quite the shakeup in personnel following the 2022 season as head coach Lance Pogue stepped down.
In stepped West Lowndes assistant coach and former Mississippi State player Tobias Smith, who brought with him former NFL veteran and Mississippi State standout Jonathan Banks to Columbus.
“We’re on a one-week schedule every week,” Smith said. “We have Hartfield coming up first. Our focus is on them.”
With a new quarterback under center in junior Thompson Regimbal and new expectations for the program, the Patriots get things started Friday night against Hartfield Academy, the first time the two programs will meet.
“We’re excited,” Smith said. “You can’t get these guys out of here. We’ll practice twice a day and once we’re done, the guys sit around and want to talk about plays, what they do, their positions, different things to help them get better.”
The Hawks, a Class 6A school in the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools, finished 9-3 in 2022 with a loss to Jackson Prep in the semifinals.
Two years removed from a state title game appearance, Hartfield has shown consistency among 6A schools. However, two years ago, Heritage won its fourth state championship in school history.
The Pats have won 10 or more games in five of their last seven seasons, one of the best 5A teams in MAIS, which is going to make Friday’s season opener must-watch football.
“It’s a great situation to be in and the guys are making my job lovely,” Smith said.
Lamar School (0-0) at Starkville Academy (0-0), 7 p.m.
STARKVILLE — A rematch of familiar faces to begin the season follows right in line with how the 2022 season began for Starkville Academy and Lamar School.
Last season in Meridian, the Volunteers and Raiders went down to the wire, but for the third-straight game, Starkville Academy came out victorious.
It was the Vols’ sixth win in their last eight games against the Raiders, and they look to make it four-straight in Friday night’s season opener.
“It’s an exciting time,” head coach Chase Nicholson said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s June or November. Any time you get to coach football, it’s an exciting time.”
This time around, Starkville Academy is hosting, and home cooking against Lamar has been a storyline in recent years as the Vols are 3-1 against the Raiders at home in their last four meetings.
Lamar struggled last season, starting off 0-5 before finishing out the year 4-1 to reach the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools Class 5A playoffs.
A first round loss bounced the Raiders from the playoffs, much like the Volunteers, who went 7-5 on the year.
Starkville Academy has had a chip on its shoulder since that first round loss in October and is ready to flip the script for 2023.
“We’re excited to get started because we see the potential of this football team,” Nicholson said. “We see what these guys can be and what they can grow into. The journey of the season from next Friday until November 17, what that can be and how special that can be for this football team.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Related Photos
Starkville Academy’s Cy Hallberg runs with the football on a kick return against Leake Academy in the first round of the 2022 MAIS Class 5A playoffs. The Vols open the season at home Friday against Lamar School. (Photo by Jeremy L. Miller/Dispatch file photo)
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