Patriot Recap
The four white flags whipping in the wind above the home bleachers here Friday night at C.L. Mitchell Field point to the success the Heritage Academy football program has enjoyed in the past. One flies for each of the State championships won by the Patriots - 1986, 2012, 2019, and most recently 2021.
In contrast, the scoreboard at the conclusion of the game pointed to an ill-fated present: Bayou Academy 45, Heritage Academy 21.
A program that had produced 74 wins over the previous seven seasons finished with zero this season. A program that had lost only one of its last 31 district games lost all four this season. The Colts’ convincing win before a large homecoming crowd put an end to what is believed to be the first winless season in the Patriots’ history.
Nine up, nine down - 10 if you count a forfeit loss to Coosa Christian. Many pundits thought this may be a bit of a rebuilding year for Heritage and first-year head coach Tobias Smith. After all, the Patriots lost 15 starters from last year’s team, including 10 on the offensive side of the ball. However, few, if any, saw things playing out the way they did.
The bully was bullied this season. Even the most successful of programs have a bad year every once in a while. It’s inevitable. That year proved to be this year for Heritage, which was outscored 327-131 in the nine games it played. The Patriots’ lack of depth - several players were called upon to play both ways - really showed in the second half. They were outscored 166-55 in the third and fourth quarters.
“You don’t always get everything you want in life,” said Cameron Kidd, one of five seniors and the lone returning offensive player from a year ago. “But it’s always fun to come out and compete and do what you love with the guys no matter the outcome. This season has been a learning experience for all of us. It’s tough getting your butt kicked every week and having to come back and try to fix it and prepare better and still getting the same outcome. But that’s what we did. Things just didn’t work out like we hoped they would. That’s about all you can say.”
What direction the program goes in the immediate future remains to be seen, but the road has come to an end for this season. For the first time in recent memory, Heritage, winners of the last five district titles and six of the last seven, won’t be playing in the playoffs. If the Patriots are to add a fifth state title, it will have to wait.
The last and latest loss played out in a similar fashion to the previous ones. The Patriots were competitive for a little while - they actually led 7-6 midway through the first quarter - before succumbing to a superior opponent. In this case, it was Bayou, which proved to be too balanced on offense and too physical on defense.
The Colts regained the lead, 12-6 by the end of the first quarter, extended that lead to 28-7 at halftime thanks to a blocked punt return in the waning seconds of the second quarter, then tacked on 17 more points in the second half to cruise to a 24-point victory.
Bayou outgained Heritage 422-215 in total yards. The Patriots rushed for a season-high 148 yards, but couldn’t muster much in the passing game. In fact, 28 of their 67 passing yards came on a 28-yard flea-flicker pass from Noah Madan to Charlie Fowler. Heritage cut the deficit to 28-14 midway through the third quarter but could draw no closer.
“There were so many plays that happened throughout the game . . . if those go a different way we’re in a better situation. But it happened how it happened,” Smith said. “That’s a really good football team on the other sideline. That’s a playoff football team. They’re one of the more physical teams we’ve played this year.
“I thought we fought hard to the end,” Smith continued. “My hats off to these guys, especially the senior class. I know there’s not many of them, but they helped us build a foundation. I know we didn’t have much success this season, but we will have success in the future. Those five guys exemplified leadership, and they set the standard off the field that we will have to carry onto the field for success in the future.”
Bayou improved to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in district play. The Colts will carry a five-game winning streak into the upcoming Class 5A playoffs.
“Heritage had a lot of fight in them,” Bayou coach Flip Godfrey said. “We got the blocked punt right before halftime, I thought that was big for us. But they came out and played hard in the second half, too. We got some things figured out, though, and our guys played really well. We’ll see how we do moving forward. I have no idea who we will be playing at this point, but I like our chances. I feel good about my team.”
Kidd and Madan, seniors playing in the final game of their high school careers, accounted for all three of Heritage’s touchdowns. Kidd’s 10-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter gave the Patriots their only lead of the game. He added another touchdown run from three yards out midway through the third quarter to cut the deficit to 28-14. However, that was as close as Heritage would get despite Madan’s 2-yard touchdown run late in the game.
Aslan Buckner had three touchdown runs to lead the way for Bayou, which got its first win over Heritage in five tries. The Colts churned out 298 yards on the ground.