Last year was something new for everyone at Winston Academy.
The football team was under the direction of its fourth different head coach in seven years and that meant another change in the culture the head coach implemented as well as offensive and defensive systems. For that new head coach, Pat Byrd, the world of private school and its athletics was a new experience. Byrd has spent most of his coaching career in the Mississippi High School Activities Association, most recently at Saltillo.
With just about everything about the WA program new, there were some obvious growing pains. The Patriots won the first game of the season and then lost eight of the final nine. It was the eighth-straight losing season for a once-proud program that boasts a run of four-straight state championships back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
All of those players coming through the program now never experienced the culture that was built during that time and it’s something that the new staff has had to incorporate into the everyday routine at workouts. Former state champions Davey Crawley and Josh Hatcher are volunteers on staff and can help deliver some of that and Byrd and his staff have plenty of experience winning games among them as well.
Little by little, the mindset is beginning to change with the players, but it takes time.
“Toughness is the biggest thing I’ve noticed that is different from last year to this year,” Byrd said. “I thought we got better at that as the season went on last year. The record is what it is, but I thought we were tougher. The main focus from November on was to develop the mental and physical toughness. Time will tell if we’ll be better record wise, but we’re a more physical team.”
23 players make up the 10th-12th grade players who will be making the biggest impact on this team, but Byrd has 17 freshmen that will be coming up through the ranks. That excites the coach but it also is a sign of a short bench for this season.
It’s why the health of his team has been of the utmost importance after injuries took their toll last year. If they are healthy, Byrd has a trust factor in this group that they’re definitely going to be better.
“Depth is going to be an issue. We’re trying to stay healthy which last year we struggled with,” Byrd said. “The kids have a lot better understanding of how they’re going to be coached this year and that helps. We just need to play somebody else and see where we’re at.”
The offense is where the framework should begin on WA’s improvement.
Last season, the Patriots struggled to move the ball much less score points against strong competition. They were shutout against Sylva Bay Academy and Indianola Academy and the only points scored against Starkville Academy was on a safety. Only twice did the Patriots score more than 15 points in a game and one of those was a season high 29 against Newton County Academy in the opening game.
Byrd went back to the basics in reframing his offense starting with the hiring of a familiar face and a longtime football mind in Tony Stanford. The new offensive coordinator has been the last few years coaching Starkville Academy’s offensive line after being a head coach around the area for many years at places like Columbus and Louisville, where he lead the Wildcats to a 4A State Championship. His expertise in the line is exactly what WA needed.
“Having an offensive line coach in place is a big deal. To me, that is the number one spot on any staff along with the defensive coordinator,” Byrd said. “Numbers wise, we’re all sophomores and juniors on the line with a few freshmen and one senior in the group. we’ll be better up front and we’ll have a better shot of establishing the run. We’ve got to run the football and take care of the football.”
The Patriot defense was much further along last season. They gave the team a chance in many of the games but it wasn’t enough to get them over the hurdle.
They lost their best player in linebacker Nash Vanlandingham but they return a good bit of the production and they’re switching defensive sets to fit the personnel this year.
“We’re kind of transitioning from a three-man front to a four-man front. We don’t have as many linebacker type kids so we’ll add another man up front and an extra defensive back and that suits us,” Byrd said. “We’ve got to be better on third down and tackling. I’ve seen good things and we run to the ball well. We’ve got to make sure that we force the offense to make a mistake.”
Reclassification and redistricting in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools has given the Patriots a bit of a break this season. WA is no longer in a district with Heritage Academy, Leake Academy and Starkville Academy which makes life easier when competing for a title.
District 2-4A is made up of WA, Canton Academy, Clinton Christian Academy and Tri-County Academy. It doesn’t make the overall schedule much easier, however, as WA will still player Leake as they kickoff the schedule with the rivalry game on August 23 at home and they play Simpson Academy in the non-conference as well as Wayne Academy.
Byrd doesn’t care who is on the way as long as he gets to see his guys in action against someone other than themselves soon.
“We’re playing some teams that we didn’t play last year which, for me, is teams I haven’t seen before,” Byrd said. “Playing Leake first will be a really good test for us and we’ll know what is and what isn’t real quick. I know Tri-County has a good history and you add Simpson and Wayne in the mix. It will be some challenges”
