Heritage High Athletes of Week: Stafford, Rodriguez

Lauren Stafford of the tennis team and Evan Rodriguez of the football team are the Heritage High Menifee 24/7 Athletes of the Week.

A standout tennis player and star football player are this week's representatives of the Heritage High School athletic department in the Menifee 24/7 Athlete of the Week award program.

Lauren Stafford has excelled as the No. 2 singles player for the Patriots in just her first year of playing organized tennis. After spending the preseason on the JV team, she won a challenge match against a varsity player and earned a spot on the varsity team.

To what does Stafford credit her quick success in a new sport?

"I think it's more my athletic abilities than anything specific in tennis," she said. "Plus, I'm a fast learner."

Stafford has competed in the jump events for the Patriots track team the last two seasons and plans to do so again. She hopes to attend UC Santa Barbara next year and study engineering.

"I was kind of nervous in the challenge match, but I was also excited for the chance," she said. "It seemed like they didn't notice anybody on JV, and that gave us a chance to show what we can do."

Evan Rodriguez plays tight end and defensive lineman for the Heritage football team, which is 5-1 this season. He is part of the strong side of the offensive line that includes nose guard Caleb Marquez and tackle Niko Gomez.

With Gomez sidelined last week because of a leg injury, Rodriguez stepped up to protect the offensive backfield in the Patriots' 56-3 rout of visiting Perris.

"When Niko first got hurt, I was like, 'Who's going to play next to me?' But Paydin (Derrick) was getting the job done and we all worked together well," said Rodriguez, who played the first three quarters of the one-sided game.

Rodriguez also had a big game in the Patriots' last nonleague game Sept. 27 at Rialto, making two catches and performing well on both sides of the ball. He said he has no concerns about the fact a sophomore quarterback, Brett Virgil, is playing behind him.

"I'm really close with him, just like I was close with his brother Chad," Rodriguez said, referring to former Patriots QB Chad Virgil. "I know he's always looking for me and I look out for him."