Virgil Leads Heritage High to 49-13 Victory at Beaumont

Heritage High quarterback Brett Virgil heads down the sidelines on a 69-yard TD run in the third quarter Friday night.

Brett Virgil showed once again Friday night why there is no reason for Heritage High School football fans to be worried about a sophomore starting at quarterback.

In three quarters of play, Virgil passed for 122 yards and 3 touchdowns, rushed for 117 yards and two more scores and effectively led the Patriots' dismantling of a winless Beaumont squad, 49-13, at Beaumont High.

An opportunistic Heritage defense forced six Beaumont turnovers, coming up with five fumble recoveries and an interception, as the Patriots improved their record to 3-0 heading into a big nonleague game at Great Oak next Friday.

Heritage led 14-0 two minutes into the game, scoring quickly off fumble recoveries, and was ahead 49-10 at halftime. That allowed coach Kraig Broach to give the second and third string some valuable playing time in the second half.

"It was neat to see guys come in, show they knew what they were doing and play the scheme correctly," Broach said. "We got a lot of guys playing time.

"We're not there yet, but we're making a lot of improvement."

The Patriots have greatly reduced their penalties and are showing more consistency on offense and defense each week. In their first three games -- two of them on the road -- the Patriots have outscored the opposition, 124-38.

On the second series of the game, the Patriots recovered a fumble at the Beaumont 13-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Limihai Hifo ran 13 yards for a touchdown (above). Tyler Baca's PAT kick gave Heritage an early 7-0 lead.

On Beaumont's next possession, the Cougars fumbled the ball away again, with Reggie Murphy recovering for the Patriots on the Beaumont 22. On the very next play, Virgil hit Chris Nile with a 22-yard touchdown pass (left) and the Patriots were off and running.

"Chris Nile had a nice game at receiver and Evan Rodriguez was solid at tight end," Broach said. "It was nice to see so many people involved."

Of course, Broach had high praise once again for Virgil, who showed speed and versatility on a 42-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 69-yard TD run in the third.

"Virgil had a great game again," Broach said. "Like we've talked about, eventually he's going to be a very special quarterback, and he's certainly on his way already."

On his first TD, Virgil rolled right, reversed directions and sprinted 42 yards into the left corner of the end zone.

"I rolled out to pass but had to bail out," Virgil said. "Hifo made a great block to help me cut back and take off."

Heritage compiled 309 yards rushing and 122 passing for 431 yards total offense. Murphy caught a touchdown pass from Virgil, Rodriguez caught a 10-yard TD pass and Jalen Glover ran 2 yards for a score.

Heritage defensive back Raymond Everett heads out of his end zone with an interception in the third quarter.

Tight end Evan Rodriguez heads into the end zone with a 10-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Patriots quarterback Brett Virgil completed 7 of 10 passes for 122 yards and 3 touchdowns.