Heritage Academy’s football team is no stranger to the playoffs.
The Patriots have reached the postseason 21 times, including each year since 2015. They have played 42 playoff games with 25 wins, including last week’s 31-12 win over Starkville Academy.
Sixth-year coach Sean Harrison has led Heritage to a 10-4 postseason record, including an MAIS 5A title in 2019.
So Harrison and the Patriots have seen a lot over the years. But they have not seen Oak Forest Academy, their opponent in Friday’s 5A semifinals. And they rarely see an offense quite like the Yellow Jackets’ wing-T.
“They’re big, physical and well coached,” Heritage coach Sean Harrison said. “They run the wing-T, double slot, which is not something we see very often.”
The wing-T is a very old offense and can be considered an older version of the flexbone. It is so connected with former University of Delaware coach Tubby Raymond that it is often called the Delaware wing-T, and Raymond used it to win 300 games with the Blue Hens.
In a nutshell, it takes the motion and run-strength of the single wing and combines it with the quarterback-under-center from the T-formation. Counters, jet sweeps and plays that involve deception are common.
And it has worked for Oak Forest (9-1), the 5A-3 champion, which comes in averaging 39 points per game.
Harrison said eye discipline is the key for a defense facing the wing-T.
“There’s so much misdirection,” he said. “If you’ve got your eyes on the backfield and not on your keys, you can get yourself in trouble. They break tendencies really well. You can’t go key on one guy and say he’ll take you to the ball. It’s a challenge just because it’s different.
“But at the end of the day the power is still their favorite play, just like it’s Starkville’s favorite play, like it’s our favorite play. But good eye discipline is really what it requires.”
But the Yellow Jackets have had a strong defensive year as well. Four of their wins have been by shutout, and in two other games they allowed six points.
Whatever Oak Forest’s travel schedule is, at some point before 7 p.m. Friday the Yellow Jackets would have spent more than four hours getting from Amite, Louisiana to Columbus. Harrison is happy to be the No. 2 seed.
“We knew the winner of the league would be 1, but we weren’t sure how 2 and 3 were going to shake out,” he said. “We Google-mapped it, and it’s like 4 hours and 10 minutes.”
The district champions were placed in the bracket by power points, and Heritage’s slight edge gave them the No. 2 overall seed, behind Leake Academy, the only team to defeat the Patriots this season.
The Patriots would like nothing more than a rematch against the Rebels, but first things first, and Oak Forest should be a worthy opponent.
“It’s definitely going to be a test,” Harrison said.
Class 6A
Hernando (5-6) at Starkville (10-1): On paper, there can’t be too many games that look like bigger mismatches than this one. A one-touchdown loss to Oxford is the only blemish on the Yellow Jackets’ record, while the Tigers had to win four of their past five just to slip into the postseason. A one-point win over Horn Lake proved to be the difference when the teams tied for fourth in Region 1.
The Tigers have allowed 75 points more than they have scored, while the Yellow Jackets have scored twice as many points as they have allowed. The Tigers have played five postseason games in their history; the Yellow Jackets have won 54. And so on …
The winner of this one will get the winner of the Clinton-Southaven game next Friday night.
Class 5A
Ridgeland (6-4) at West Point (8-2): The road to a fifth state title in six years begins at home for the Green Wave, who have yet to lose a game on the field this season. West Point has scored more than 40 points in five consecutive games
This is the second straight year these teams have met in the playoffs, with last season’s 29-22 Green Wave win the closest of four games the teams have played all time. But that Ridgeland team won 10 games; this year’s model is 6-4 and drew West Point because of a fourth-place finish in 5A-2. But while the Green Wave are the clear favorite, the Titans have had their moments.
Senior quarterback Thomas Dyess has thrown for 1,664 yards and 17 touchdowns, with junior Ayden Williams his top target with 63 receptions for 1,156 yards and 14 TDs. Junior Kamari Payne leads the rushing attack, compiling 1,082 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns. The Lions have committed 18 turnovers, split equally between lost fumbles and interceptions.
West Point is 66-17 all time in the playoffs, including 22-5 in first-round games.
The winner of this game will face Vicksburg or Cleveland Central next week.
Class 4A
Caledonia (9-2) at Pontotoc (7-4): Welcome to the second round of the playoffs, Cavaliers. Caledonia’s 31-24 win over Kosciusko was the first playoff win in school history, so everything from this point forward is virgin territory for the Cavs.
If the stage doesn’t get to them, perhaps the fact the Cavaliers have never beaten the Warriors might. Pontotoc is 10-0 all time against Caledonia, including last year’s 37-12 win which marked the fourth consecutive year the teams have played.
“The first thing that stands out to me is their size and physicality on both offensive and defensive lines,” Caledonia coach Michael Kelly said. “They really get after you on the line of scrimmage.”
But they’re not coming in on a roll. The Warriors squeaked into the second round with a 35-34 double-overtime win over Gentry, although they played one of their best games of the year a week earlier in a 27-7 win over Ripley. The Cavs and Warriors have played two common opponents, and Caldeonia fared better in both games. Itawamba Agricultural defeated Caledonia 28-14 and Pontotoc 55-28; while Shannon lost 35-8 to Caledonia and 33-32 to Pontotoc.
But Pontotoc has put up some good numbers, and they have multiple weapons. The Warriors have rushed for 2,224 yards this season, with four backs gaining at least 280 yards.
“Their quarterback along with their other backs are athletic playmakers that we need to hem up and neutralize,” Kelly said. “We need to stay ahead of the chains and eliminate turnovers and penalties.”
The winner will face Clarksdale or Louisville in the quarterfinals.
Class 3A
Noxubee County (7-4) at Winona (10-1): The Tigers come in winning five of their past six games, most recently a 24-7 win over Booneville in the opening round of the playoffs.
But Winona offers a significant challenge. Winona has scored 50 or more points five times, including a 52-0 rout of Byhalia in their opening playoff game. Their only loss has come against Louisiana’s Alexandria on Sept. 30; they have scored 195 points in four games since.
Still, these teams met just a year ago, and Noxubee County crushed Winona 50-7 in the 3A semifinals in the first game the teams played since 1976.
And this is Noxubee County’s time of year. The Tigers have made the playoffs each year since 2007, and only twice during that span did they play fewer than three games.
The Noxubee County-Winona winner gets North Panola or Aberdeen next week.
Class 1A
Richton (6-5) at West Lowndes (8-2): After a 1-2 start, the Panthers simply have been crushing people. In going 7-0 in Region 4, they have outscored opponents 300-54. They can beat you through the air and on the ground, and their offensive line has been wearing down opponents throughout the winning streak.
It’s difficult to imagine the Richton offense keeping up with the Panthers. Before last week’s 44-0 rout of winless Salem, the Rebels had scored more than 26 points just twice; the Panthers have scored less than that just twice.
Richton and West Lowndes have never met on the football field, and the winner of this one will face either Taylorsville or French Camp Academy in the next round.
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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 42 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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Starkville sophomore quarterback Trey Petty breaks off a long run late in the first half of the Yellow Jackets' Oct. 8 game in Tupelo. Austin Frayser/Special to The Dispatch.
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