Mac Barnes

For Lamar School, a bye week couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

With several players nursing injuries, head football coach Mac Barnes opted to give his team an off day from practice Monday before resuming work today. Having begun the season a week earlier than most teams in the MAIS, Barnes said it was time for his players to take a breather.

“We have some injuries to heal, plus we’ve played 10 straight games,” Barnes said. “They’re mentally tired. I don’t think we’ve played the way (we’re capable) the last few games. We’re a two-seed right now, which would give us another open date when the playoffs start, so that gives us another chance to get well.”

Barnes explained the one- and two-seeds have a bye in the opening round of the Class AAAA, Division 2 postseason, while the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds and the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds play each other in Round 1. There is an outside chance of the Raiders earning the No. 1 seed in Division 2, though that would require Oak Forest Academy, which is also on a bye this week, to lose to Parklane Academy Oct. 28, which doesn’t seem likely.

“You’d like the one-seed, because you’d get a better bracket, but if you get a bye, the semifinal game is at home. Last season we lost (having a bye) by a thousandth of a point, and we would have liked to play Washington at home,” Barnes said, referring to the team that eliminated the Raiders from the playoffs in 2015. “It’s a complicated system where we need the teams we’ve played to do well.”

There’s no news on quarterback Davis Harrison, who is still in a sling as he tries to recover from a separated shoulder. Barnes did say he’s hopeful to get receiver Parker Neal back soon, but it wouldn’t be as simple as playing him the second he’s cleared.

“We’re hoping to get him out of his sling and see how he feels,” Barnes said of Neal. “In our game last week, we made a lot of mental mistakes because we had a lot of guys who were able to play but didn’t practice. You can’t just show up and play.”

Friday, Barnes said he will do some scouting thanks to the open date. The Raiders (7-3, 1-1) will return to action Oct. 28 when they host Madison-Ridgeland Academy.