COLUMBUS — The area’s biggest Midsouth Association of Independent Schools rivalry game will be renewed this Friday night. Heritage Academy will host this season’s battle against Starkville Academy, with the Patriots looking to continue their quest for redemption after a defeat in last year’s contest.
Tobias Smith’s team is 5-3, 1-1 in district play, but is coming off of back-to-back defeats, losing 35-28 at home to district opponent Magnolia Heights a week ago. After their last win, a 34-32 thriller over Leake Academy, Smith underlined his team’s goals to get back to competing at the very top of the game.
“Our goal is to get to the big one at the end of the year,” Smith said. “We are just going to keep on winning and prepare for the next game on Monday.”
To get back to their winning ways, the Patriots have to face a familiar foe.
Starkville Academy (3-5) is similarly 1-1 in district play, meaning the rivalry between the Golden Triangle schools has extra meaning as the end of the regular season comes into view.
The Patriots lead the all-time matchup record 31-27, but the Vols came away with the bragging rights in a big win last season, blanking the Pats 42-0 in Starkville.
It’s always a game that both teams circle on the calendar, but for Vols head coach Chase Nicholson one of the keys to victory is treating it with the same importance and intensity in preparation as every other week.
“It’s going to be a battle for all four quarters,” he said. “It’s a rivalry game, it’s Heritage Week, it’s our district. These guys know it’s important to us as a team, but it’s always week-to-week for us. Nothing in the past matters, it’s always about this week. If we look down the road or look back we’ll miss out on what’s in front of us.”
The Vols have just one win in their last four games, with two of those losses coming to some of the strongest teams in the state, Hartfield Academy and Jackson Academy. Nicholson is looking for his team to battle each week, and those tests against tough non-district opponents go a long way in finding an identity.
“I think our whole season, no matter who it has been, we’ve come out and played hard against opponents,” Nicholson said. “We’re going to play physical football and we’re not going to quit no matter what the score is. We fight to the end.”
With playoff seeding and bragging rights on the line, Nicholson’s message hasn’t changed. The Vols are focused on the Vols, and finding a way to play their game in a hostile environment is going to make the difference in what he expects to be another challenging road trip.
“We focus on us.” Nicholson said. “We’ve gone to a lot of places that prepare you for everything. We’ve played eight games and everyone prepared us for the next one. That’s the whole point of going 0-0 each week and building through a season, the only thing that matters is who we play next.”
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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 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
