Heritage Improves to 2-0 With a 38-12 Win at JW North

By Zac Force

Heritage High beat JW North 38-12 on Friday, giving the Patriots a record of 2-0 to start the season.

The Patriots' running game combined for 446 yards. Limihai Hifo racked up 186 yards on 18 carries, earning himself an average of 10.3 yards per carry. Sione Takitaki rushed for 111 yards on 13 carries. Brett Virgil had 128 passing yards on 17 attempts.

The game started out slowly with a first quarter that ended scoreless. Heritage had a great first drive that seemed destined to score but came to a sudden halt after a fumble. The game soon picked up speed, however.

During the second quarter, the score went from 0-0 to 17-6 in favor of the Patriots. Even though an apparent punt return for a touchdown was called back for a clipping penalty, moments later Hifo caught a pass that netted a 38-yard gain. That led to a 5-yard touchdown pass from Virgil to Evan Rodriguez for the first points of the game.

The Huskies' first drive also seemed like a touchdown was inevitable when the Patriots were called for pass interference, giving JW North the ball on the Heritage 13-yard line. Aleva Hifo intercepted a pass thrown into the end zone, however, to stop the Huskies' drive.

The Huskies were soon able to put their first points of the game up when running back Dre Hall scored on a handoff. The extra point was no good, making the score 7-6. Heritage scored one more time in the second quarter on a Tyler Baca 39-yard field goal.

In the second half, Takitaki found the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. Isaiah Morrow rushed for two touchdowns, including a 42-yarder. Reggie Murphy returned an interception for a 48-yard touchdown as well.

The only points for JW North in the second half came after a 67-yard kick return set them up for great field position, leading to a touchdown pass. The Huskies went for the two-point conversion but failed.

Heritage almost scored a final time but fumbled the snap on the 1-yard line, giving the Huskies the ball.

"We have a lot of areas that need work," head coach Kraig Broach said. "We had too many fumbles and too many penalties."

Broach also noted that the team "is still very young and has a lot to learn." He added, however, that "the offensive line played extremely well and made it easy on Hifo and Takitaki."

The Patriots' next game is at Beaumont.