Four Heritage High Football Standouts Sign College Letters

From left: Evan Rodriguez, Matthew Palmer and Limihai Hifo are joined by family members in signing football letters of intent. Not pictured: Sione Takitaki.

Four star players from Heritage High School's 2013 CIF championship football team signed national letters of intent today to continue their careers in college.

CIF Offensive Player of the Year Limihai Hifo signed a commitment to attend San Jose State, while the CIF Defensive Player of the Year, Sione Takitaki, signed to attend BYU. Defensive back Matthew Palmer and tight end Evan Rodriguez signed to attend Azusa Pacific University.

Before a gym full of boisterous students during the announcement assembly, athletic director David Drake spoke of the legacy these players are helping to build at Heritage.

"They have brought a glory to this school that is unheard of," Drake said. "They are leaving a legacy for those of you who are back next year ... they have set a precedent for all of you to live up to. Every athlete in this school from here on out will hear the stories of the 2013 football team."

Under the guidance of CIF Coach of the Year Kraig Broach, the Patriots compiled a 13-1 record last fall, beating Rancho Verde for the CIF title. Hifo rushed for 2,103 yards and 21 touchdowns in earning a scholarship to San Jose State, where he has been told he might start at running back right away.

"They had two running backs that got hurt last year and they played two slot receivers who had never played running back ever," Hifo said. "Hopefully this year, I'll get to take the spot.

"San Jose gave me the chance while I had a broken foot (last off-season). It's just another blessing. They've been doing really good. The program is on the way up and I'm glad to be a part of that."

Takitaki wasn't present for the assembly but showed up later to sign his letter of intent with BYU. He led the team with 81 total tackles from his linebacker position. Takitaki also played an important role on offense, carrying the ball for the Patriots.

Palmer ranked in the top five in the nation in interceptions on the way to All-CIF honors. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive back picked off 10 passes -- most of those during the playoffs to help seal postseason victories. He will join Rodriguez at Azusa Pacific.

"It's been hectic and exciting at the same time," Palmer said. "I wouldn't be here without my teammates and my coaches."

Rodriguez, also an All-CIF honoree, made a strong impact at tight end after switching positions from quarterback a year ago.

"It's gonna be a cool experience, being in college together," Rodriguez said about joining Palmer at APU. "We'll always be CIF champs."

"It's quite a day," Broach said. "It makes me proud to think about where these guys came from and what they did."

Heritage High to Host Semifinal Playoff Game Friday Night

Matt Palmer leaps high to intercept a pass in last Friday's game -- his seventh pick in the last three weeks. Photo by Matthew Anderson

For the third consecutive season, the Heritage High School football team will play in the CIF-SS football semifinals when the Patriots play host to Colony High of Ontario Friday at 7 p.m.

Having lost in the CIF finals two years ago and in the semifinals last year, the Patriots with a win Friday would put themselves in position to win their first CIF championship the following week. Yet no one on the team is talking about anything other than the task at hand this week.

"La Quinta was a running team. They're big and physical," coach Kraig Broach said about the team Heritage defeated on the road last week, 42-12. "Colony is kind of the polar opposite of La Quinta. They're more athletic and they spread the ball out."

Granted, the Titans (9-3) like to throw the ball and pick up yardage in big chunks. Sophomore quarterback Josh Thompson has passed for 1,951 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. But Colony can run the ball, too. Senior Devan Imbach has rushed for 1,068 yards and 12 TDs. Heritage defenders will have to be ready for anything when they face the Titans, who knocked off third-seeded Riverside Poly last week, 45-35.

When Colony puts the ball in the air, Heritage defensive back Matt Palmer will be ready. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior had two more interceptions last week against La Quinta, giving him seven picks in his last three games and nine for the season.

"I don't know why people keep throwing the ball my way, but if they want to keep throwing a jump ball to a guy 6-3, I'll take it," Palmer said. "So far I've been taller than every receiver I've faced, so that gives me an advantage."

Broach said there's more to it than that.

"Matt does a great job of assignment football," the coach said. "We have him playing deep and he knows where to be to go for the ball."

The Heritage offense also is coming into Friday's game running in high gear. Running back Limihai Hifo rushed for 270 yards and two touchdowns on runs of 90 and 29 yards. His ability to bust the big play is a key for the Patriots (11-1). Hifo has run for 1,470 yards and 15 touchdowns while sharing the rushing duties with three others.

Sione Takitaki has rushed for 638 yards and 10 touchdowns, Isaiah Morrow has rushed for 660 yards and 6 touchdowns and Jalen Glover has run for 410 yards and 4 TDs. Even sophomore quarterback Brett Virgil (above) has rushed for 400 yards and 5 scores.

Virgil also can throw when he has to, evidenced by a 61-yard touchdown pass to Chris Nile and TD passes of 8 and 65 yards last Friday. On the season, Virgil has thrown for 1,040 yards and 14 touchdowns.

"Limihai had three runs over 50 yards and Brett had two touchdown passes over 50," Broach said. "That changed the whole complexion of the game."

And now with a more wide-open offense coming to town this weekend, the Patriots defenders must be ready. Palmer, for one, says he will be.

"From what I've seen, Colony runs a spread offense and is a lot like Paloma (Valley)," he said. "The key for us is, once we shut down the run, expect the pass. I'm gonna love that."

Gates open at 6 p.m. for Friday's game. Ticket prices are $8 for adults, $5 for students and children.

Senior running back Limihai Hifo pics up big yardage against La Quinta. Photo by Matthew Anderson

Chris Nile prepares to haul in a 61-yard touchdown pass in the La Quinta game. Photo by Matthew Anderson

Heritage Advances to CIF Semifinals By Beating La Quinta

Limihai Hifo rushed for 270 yards and two touchdowns, Brett Virgil passed for three TDs and Matt Palmer intercepted two passes Friday night to lead Heritage High to a 42-12 win at La Quinta in the CIF-SS Central Division football playoffs.

The Patriots led from start to finish and improved their record to 11-1, earning a spot in the semifinals next Friday at home against Colony High of Ontario. It will be the team's third consecutive appearance in the semifinals.

Heritage took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and was cruising, 36-12, by halftime. Virgil threw two touchdown passes to Evan Rodriguez (8 yards and 65 yards) in the first quarter and one to Chris Nile (61 yards) in the second quarter.

Hifo scored on runs of 90 yards and 29 yards. Sione Takitaki added a 2-yard TD run.

Palmer's two interceptions on defense gives him seven in the last three games and nine for the season.

Heritage, which lost in the CIF finals two years ago and in the semifinals last year, will be facing a Colony team that knocked off Riverside Poly 45-35 Friday night.

Heritage Pulls Away From Arlington in Second Half, 21-7

Heritage High defenders stop an Arlington ballcarrier in Friday night's playoff game.

Story by Zac Force
Photos by David Stovall

Heritage High School broke open a tight game in the second half Friday night to score a 21-7 victory over visiting Arlington in the first round of the CIF-SS Central Division playoffs.

Heritage. seeded second in the division, came into the game with a 9-1 record against Arlington, which was 3-7. It turned out to be a very close game for quite a while, however.

Heritage struck first on a 35-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brett Virgil with four minutes left in the first quarter. Both teams remained relatively quiet until midway through the second quarter, when Arlington ended a drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown to tie the score.

With under a minute to go in the first half, Arlington attempted to get in field goal range or score with a deep pass down the sideline, but instead Matt Palmer of Heritage came up with his first of three interceptions, ending the half.

Near the beginning of the third quarter, Heritage running back Sione Takitaki broke off a 25-yard rushing touchdown to give the Patriots a 14-7 lead. Arlington had the ball with 5:00 left in the third quarter when Palmer intercepted another pass. Before being tackled, he quickly pitched the ball to Limihai Hifo (10), who then ran it back for a 25-yard gain.

This was a huge play for the Patriots, who eventually scored on a touchdown run by Virgil.

Arlington was held scoreless for the remainder of the game. Palmer intercepted another pass to end the game and give Heritage the 21-7 victory.

Heritage will go on the road to play La Quinta next week.

"They played us very tough and we are lucky to move on," said Heritage coach Kraig Broach. "It’s the playoffs and that’s all that really matters, that we move on."

Heritage normally relies heavily on its rushing attack, headed by Hifo and Takitaki, with a little support from the passing game, and this game was no different. Hifo rushed for 269 yards on 26 attempts, giving him over a 10-yard per carry average. Takitaki rushed for 89 yards on 11 carries. Total rushing for Heritage was 412 yards, with two rushing touchdowns from Virgil and one from Takitaki.

Arlington was held in check in both the passing and running game. The Lions accumulated just 129 yards passing and only 50 yards rushing.

"La Quinta is the number one team in their league and they’re gonna be tough," Broach added. "We need to fix the turnovers if we want to win next week. We had way too many tonight."

Heritage quarterback Brett Virgil finds running room against the Arlington defense.  Limihai Hifo works his way through the Arlington defense.  Sione Takitaki ran for a touchdown in the Patriots' playoff victory.

Heritage, Paloma Earn High Seedings, Home Games for Playoffs

Senior running back Limihai Hifo and the Heritage Patriots will open the playoffs at home against Arlington.

Menifee high schools Heritage and Paloma Valley received high seedings in the Central Division and earned home games for Friday night's first round of the CIF-SS football playoffs.

Sunbelt League champion Heritage (9-1 overall) was seeded second in the division and will be at home Friday at 7 p.m. against Arlington, a surprise playoff entry. Arlington is 3-7 this season, its only three victories coming in Inland Valley League play for a third-place tie with Canyon Springs, which was designated as the league's No. 3 entry. Arlington was placed in the 16-team bracket as the lone at-large team.

In contrast, Heritage has won six straight since its only loss of the season, a 43-40 nonleague loss at Great Oak. The Patriots finished the regular season with a 37-14 win over Elsinore Friday night, capping off their fourth straight undefeated league season.

Patriots quarterback Brett Virgil has passed for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns and has rushed for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns -- including 68 yards rushing Friday night when the Elsinore defense focused on running back Limihai Hifo.

Hifo leads Heritage rushers with 1,064 yards and 13 touchdowns. Isaiah Morrow (618 yards) and Sione Takitaki (543) add depth to the team's running game. Hifo and Takitaki are also leaders of a defense that includes defensive back Matt Palmer, who had two interceptions Friday night.

Arlington quarterback Wyatt Moore has passed for 999 yards and and 10 touchdowns, with 9 interceptions. Running back Ruben Kelly (608 yards, 4 TDs) is the Lions' only ballcarrier with more than 300 yards rushing this season.

Paloma Valley (9-1), the Central Division's third-seeded team, enters the playoffs as the No. 2 team from the Sunbelt League, its only loss of the season coming against Heritage. The Wildcats will be at home Friday night against Chino, which finished second in the Mt. Baldy League and is 5-5 overall.

Paloma wrapped up second place in league with a 42-6 win over Lakeside Friday night while Heritage was beating Elsinore, which finished in third place. The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Brent Boehm, who has passed for 1,815 yards and 26 touchdowns. His favorite receivers are Michael Valencia, who has 27 catches for 480 yards and 13 touchdowns, and RJ Benz, who has 34 catches for 446 yards and 6 TDs.

Sophomore Demarco Prewitt leads the Paloma ground game with 115 carries for 900 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Chino quarterback Josh Thornton has passed for 1,118 yards and 15 touchdowns. Malik Demby is the Cowboys' leading rusher with 38 carrries for 290 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Quarterback Brent Boehm will lead the Paloma Valley offense against Chino Friday night.

Heritage Takes Fourth Consecutive League Title With 37-14 Win

Members of the Heritage High football team celebrate another league title after Friday night's win at Elsinore High.

They did it again.

Heritage High School's remarkable dominance of the Sunbelt League in football continued Friday night, with the Patriots defeating host Elsinore High 37-14 to wrap up their fourth consecutive perfect league season.

Using a defense that was both stifling of the opposition and opportunistic in grabbing three interceptions, the Patriots (5-0, 9-1) quickly dashed any hopes the Tigers (5-5, 3-2) had of finishing in a tie for first place. Heritage led just 6-0 after one quarter but raced to a 27-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

Defensive back Matt Palmer had two interceptions in the first half, ending two Elsinore possessions practically before they had started. Limihai Hifo intercepted a pass as well, returning it 65 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half.

Hifo rushed for 157 yards and two more touchdowns on 17 carries, while quarterback Brett Virgil (right) rushed for 68 yards and passed for 165 yards and two TDs. It was a clear show of power and precision by the Patriots, who will enter next week's CIF playoffs as the No. 1 representative from the Sunbelt League.

Paloma Valley, which beat Lakeside 42-6, finished second in league, one game behind Heritage and one ahead of Elsinore. All three teams will learn their fate Sunday morning, when CIF Central Division playoff pairings are announced.

"We clicked tonight," said Palmer about the team's defensive play. "This was our best game by far on defense.

"Winning league again... it's a great accomplishment for a new school. But we want to go farther now. We want to win it all."

Palmer's reference was to the last two seasons. Heritage lost in the CIF finals two years ago and in the semifinals last year. But on this night, the celebration was of this victory and a great league and regular season.

"They did a great job tonight," said coach Kraig Broach. "To be Sunbelt League champs, it's pretty special. And four straight titles, it's pretty cool. Especially when you're playing teams like Elsinore, Temescal Canyon, Paloma Valley, teams like that. To be able to do that is an accomplishment. But like we talked about before, for these kids, to do this in their year, that's huge. It's a credit to them."

Heritage marched 80 yards on its first possession of the game, a drive kept alive by an 11-yard run by Virgil on fourth down. Hifo capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run but the PAT failed, leaving the Patriots with a 6-0 lead.

Elsinore's first possession ended quickly when Palmer outleaped Tigers receiver Chris Harris to intercept a long pass from quarterback Tommy Wilson. But following a big gain by Virgil, Heritage gave the ball back to Elsinore on a fumble. The first quarter ended 6-0.

Enter Palmer again. Early in the second quarter, Wilson threw downfield but his pass was tipped by Aleva Hifo and was grabbed by Palmer, giving the Patriots the ball back. Moments later, it was 13-0 after Virgil hit Chris Nile with a 33-yard scoring strike.

"I was right there in good position," Palmer said about the second interception. "I thought he (Hifo) had it, and then, 'whoops ... I'll take that.' "

Virgil found Evan Rodriguez (left) on a couple key passes, including a 3-yard touchdown pass play later in the quarter. Then, with time running out in the half, Limihai Hifo picked off a Wilson pass and raced 65 yards into the end zone.

The Elsinore defense focused on stopping Hifo, but Virgil's ability to run himself and complete the play-action pass was a key for the Patriots.

"Early in the game we did our read plays and I just saw how they keyed on our two top players (Hifo and Sione Takitaki)," Virgil said. "We took advantage of that with some other players. Teams in the playoffs will see we don't just have Taki and Hifo, we have a whole team to deal with. They'll have to key on other players, and that's going to open it up for Hifo and Taki to have big games, like they always do."

"I was waiting for a defensive game like this and we came through tonight," Broach said. "Elsinore did a great job, especially in defense of our run game, but I thought the way we were able to throw the ball balanced it out."

Although the focus this next week will be solely on the team's first-round playoff opponent, the Patriots know what the ultimate goal is.

"We just gotta finish this year off and get the ring this year," Hifo said.

The fun begins next Friday.

Defensive back Matt Palmer leaps to pick off a pass intended for Elsinore's Chris Harris in the first quarter.

Moments later Palmer was at it again, returning another interception of a Tommy Wilson pass.

Chris Nile hauls in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Brett Virgil in the second quarter.

The Patriots were cheered by a large crowd of fans in the visiting stands as they left the field with a 27-0 halftime lead.

Heritage Closes in On League Title With Easy Win Over Lakeside

Heritage running back Sione Takitaki points to the sidelines as he crosses the 5-yard line on the way to a 33-yard touchdown run Friday night.

Four down, one to go. Or is it 19 and counting?

The first set of numbers is what matters most, says Heritage High football coach Kraig Broach, who almost needed a calculator to track the Patriots' scoring in a 49-0 blowout win over Lakeside Friday night.

True, Heritage extended its four-year winning streak in Sunbelt League games to 19, with just a game at Elsinore next Friday standing between the Patriots and another perfect league season. Since coming into the league in 2010, the Patriots haven't lost once.

But most of that winning streak is ancient history to Broach, who is focused on the other stat -- a 4-0 record in league play this season.

"You don't even need to throw that stuff out there," Broach said about the team's dominance in league play over the years. "Next week we're playing Elsinore, who is playing right with us near the top of the standings, and we have an opportunity to play for the league championship. That's big enough. Next week is going to be a great high school football game."

Indeed, Heritage's win over Lakeside puts the Patriots in position to wrap up their fourth straight league title next Friday. Heritage will take a 4-0 league record and 8-1 overall mark into the game at Elsinore (3-1, 5-4), which has lost only to Paloma Valley (3-1, 8-1).

Heritage, Paloma Valley and Elsinore all are headed to the CIF playoffs, where the Patriots know they will be tested much more severely than they were Friday night.

For all intents and purposes, this game was over after the first quarter, when Heritage led 21-0. In fact, the Patriots scored two touchdowns on their first three offensive plays. Sophomore quarterback Brett Virgil (left) threw TD passes to Stefan Patterson (44 yards) and Chris Nile (16 yards) to give Heritage a 14-0 lead by the time fans had barely settled into their seats.

Moments after the defense forced the third consecutive Lakeside punt, Heritage was on the board again. Sione Takitaki rambled 33 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead. Limihai Hifo made it 28-0 with a 1-yard TD dive after a 49-yard run early in the second quarter.

At halftime, the Patriots had 346 yards total offense. Virgil completed 5 of 8 passes for 106 yards and 2 TDs. Hifo rushed for 77 yards and a score and Takitaki ran for 54 yards and a touchdown. Isaiah Morrow tacked on a 32-yard touchdown run and Jalen Glover ran 23 yards for a score for a 42-0 halftime lead.

The second half was played with a running clock, with virtually all the Heritage starters on the bench. Several seniors on the second string got a chance to play on Senior Night.

"It's the last home game for the seniors," Broach said. "I'm very proud of them and how they represented. It was a nice overall performance. In the second half, to have guys who normally don't get to play come in and execute, that was very rewarding."

Even a sophomore got into the mix in the third quarter. Running back Carlos Vargas scored on a 13-year touchdown run.

The only real challenge for the Patriots was to stay focused against outmanned opposition. The Patriots had 135 yards in penalties by halftime.

Senior wide receiver Cristian Sanchez heads upfield after catching a pass in the second quarter Friday night.

Sophomore running back Carlos Vargas crosses the goal line on a 13-yard touchdown play.

Limihai Hifo picks up yardage in a big first half for the Patriots.

Hifo, Takitaki Lead Way as Heritage Defeats Temescal Canyon

Limihai Hifo beats Temescal Canyon's Jacob Zinda across the goal line for one of his two touchdowns in Heritage's 48-28 victory Friday night.

They're cousins, but they call themselves brothers. On the football field, they are warriors -- and that's what matters most to the members of the Heritage High School football team.

Limihai Hifo rushed for 154 yards and and one touchdown and scored again on a pass reception, while Sione Takitaki ran for 62 yards and two TDs to lead the Patriots to a 48-28 Sunbelt League win over visiting Temescal Canyon Friday night.

Heritage (2-0, 6-1) took the lead right from the start, scoring on Jalen Glover's 88-yard kickoff return on the game's opening play. Pounding the Temescal defensive front with the solid running of Hifo, Takitaki and others, the Patriots never looked back.

In fact, Heritage has such depth at running back, Hifo and Takitaki -- both seniors -- are allowed frequent breaks while backs such as junior Isaiah Morrow (41-yard TD run) and sophomore Glover enter the game to throw different looks at the defense.

"People know when it's their turn to shine," said Takitaki (left), a bulldozer of a running back at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds. "Having more guys to run in there helps keep everyone's legs fresh."

Indeed, no one on the Patriots squad seemed tired as they ran up and down the field with the Titans, who fell to 1-1 in league and 3-4 overall.

Following Glover's initial touchdown, the Patriots got the ball right back on a fumble recovery during Temescal Canyon's kickoff return. Within minutes, Heritage led 14-0 following a 21-yard pass from quarterback Brett Virgil to Hifo.

Hifo scored again later in the game on a 3-yard touchdown run. He was an aggressive ballcarrier throughout the contest.

"I was happy with our fast start," Hifo said. "I thought it would be closer than this. It's nice to have the young guys stepping up."

Temescal Canyon cut the deficit to 14-7 on a touchdown run by Armani Simmons midway through the first quarter, but Heritage re-established control with Morrow's 41-yard touchdown romp for a 21-7 lead. By the time Hifo capped a 66-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run early in the second quarter, the Patriots were comfortably in charge.

Takitaki scored both his touchdowns in the second half, on a 1-yard run and 10-yard run. Chris Nile also scored for the Patriots on a 34-yard pass from Virgil.

"We were able to throw the ball early in the game, which was nice to see," said Heritage coach Kraig Broach. "I have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line. Overall, we're playing better as a team."

Next Friday, Heritage plays at crosstown rival Paloma Valley, which is undefeated at 7-0.

Sione Takitaki heads toward the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown run in the second half Friday night.

Chris Nile hauls in a pass from quarterback Brett Virgil and beats the secondary for a touchdown.

Isaiah Morrow is off and running on a 41-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Limihai Hifo takes to the air to avoid defenders on a run during the second half of Friday night's game.

Video Highlights: Heritage 56, Perris 3

Click on the video below for a highlight reel from Heritage High's 56-3 win over Perris in Friday's Sunbelt League action.

Thanks to Matt Palmer for posting this on YouTube and to coach Marcus Johnson for forwarding it to us. Here's a couple notes from Matt to accompany the video:

Heritage had three turnovers in first quarter, spotted Perris a field goal, then ran off 35 points in the second quarter, 56 unanswered points total.

Featured players in the video:

5 McKinley Grant
7 Aleva Hifo
12 Matthew Palmer
16 Sione Takitaki
25 Carlos Vargas
26 Isaiah Morrow
33 Evan Rodriguez
42 Raul Amaya
41 Jacob Marquez

Heritage Has Easy Time With Perris in League Opener, 56-3

Isaiah Morrow heads upfield for a big gain in Heritage's 56-3 win over Perris Friday night.

By Zac Force

Heritage High's football team got off to a fast start in Sunbelt League play Friday night, beating Perris High 56-3 in the Patriots' Homecoming game.

Perris scored the first points of the game with a field goal, giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead, but Heritage then struck for 56 unanswered points. Heritage scored 35 points in the second quarter and another 21 points in the second half.

With the win, Heritage improved to 5-1 overall. Perris dropped to 0-1 in league play and 2-4 overall.

Head coach Kraig Broach said this was a big win for the Patriots, who had been on the road the last four games.

"Homecoming aside, it’s the first game of league and it was great to win that," he said. "But we need to play better to compete with Temescal."

Heritage will host Temescal Canyon next Friday as the Patriots continue their bid to win the league title.

The Patriots' offense put up a total of 416 yards, 324 of which came from rushing. Isaiah Morrow led the rushing attack with eight carries for 100 yards.

Heritage was just as effective on defense against Perris. The Panthers had negative 51 yards rushing and only 2 yards passing, giving them a total of negative 49 yards total offense in the game.

The Patriots' defense was able to capitalize on every mistake made by the Panthers, which helped give the offense plenty of opportunities to succeed -- and the offense did just that.

Heritage trailed 3-0 early in the second quarter when Sione Takitaki (right) caught a touchdown pass from Aleva Hifo, who got some valuable playing time by playing the whole game at quarterback in place of starter Brett Virgil. About a minute later, it was 14-3 after Raul Amaya returned an interception for a TD.

Before the half was over, Heritage had scored two more times. Takitaki ran for a touchdown and Hifo passed to Evan Rodriguez for another score for a 35-3 halftime lead.

In the second half, Hifo ran 17 yards for a touchdown and Carlos Vargas scored on a 57-yard run.

This was the Patriots' highest scoring game of the season and the least amount of points and yards they have given up. Perris recorded its lowest point total of the season. Perris has been outscored 97-9 in its last two games.

The homecoming queen was also announced at halftime. Odessa Chandler (left) was chosen from a group that included Melissa Quijada, Elizabeth Gonzalez, Leslie Gastelum, and Kendra Johnston.

Heritage's defense made life miserable for Perris offensive players all night.

Heritage running back Carlos Vargas runs away from the field on a long touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Getting his first start at quarterback, Aleva Hifo scored on a 17-yard touchdown run.

Heritage, Now 4-1, Makes it Look Easy in 49-28 Win Over Rialto

Limihai Hifo heads toward the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown run for Heritage Friday night.

Heritage High School's football team cruised toward its bye week before Sunbelt League play opens Oct. 11 with a 49-28 victory at Rialto High Friday night.

Limihai Hifo, Sione Takitaki (left) and Jalen Glover each ran for two touchdowns for the Patriots, who will take a 4-1 overall record into league play following a well-deserved week off next week.

"We still have some things to shore up," said Patriots coach Kraig Broach, "but we took a big step today. Defensively, we improved. Rialto has a lot of skill players, but we handled ourselves well. And on offense, it was neat to see guys like Isaiah Morrow and Jalen Glover get some more playing time. And of course you can always talk about Limihai."

Glover (129 yards rushing) and Morrow (116) had impressive outings with more than their usual amount of carries, and Takitaki was solid as usual. But it was hard not to talk about No. 10.

Hifo rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns, one covering 60 yards in the second quarter. His first score, from 15 yards out, combined with Kyle Hernandez's PAT kick, gave Heritage a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, wiping out a 6-0 Rialto lead.

Hifo (right) virtually did it all Friday night. Switching to a new position of free safety on defense, he had a strong showing on that side of the ball as well. He came up with a couple of booming punts on special teams. And he even took a few snaps at quarterback when starting QB Brett Virgil left the game briefly with a twisted ankle.

"I just do whatever the coach says," said Hifo.

The 5-foot-11, 225-pound senior said he and his teammates thought it might be a closer game. Rialto came into the contest with a 2-1 record, defeating Summit High of Fontana last week.

"After watching the film, we thought maybe their quarterback (Javone Morgan) would make our defensive line tired," Hifo said. "But we learn from our mistakes quick. We still have to clean up things like penalties, but we played pretty well against a good Great Oak team (in a 43-40 loss) last week and we played well tonight."

Penalties denied Heritage some field position but didn't really cost the Patriots much on the scoreboard. They even survived the loss of starting defensive lineman Niko Cornejo-Gomez, who left the game late in the second quarter (left) with what appeared to be a broken leg.

Then there was the defensive play of Limihai's younger brother, Aleva Hifo. He recovered a Rialto fumble and made a big run to set up Limihai Hifo's 60-yard TD run inthe second quarter. Then when a Rialto player inadvertently touched a bouncing Heritage kickoff in the third quarter, Aleva recovered the ball, setting up a 9-yard TD run by Glover moments later.

And at the start of the fourth quarter, Aleva Hifo leaped in front of intended receiver Bryan Williams of Rialto for an interception in the end zone.

Another star of the Heritage defense was linebacker Caleb Marquez. The Menifee 24/7 Athlete of the Week made several key tackles in the first half.

"The bye week is coming at a good time, because we have a couple guys banged up," said Broach, who saw not only Cornejo-Gomez leave and Virgil sidelined briefly, but linebacker McKinley Grant limp off as well.

After taking next Friday off, the Patriots will open Sunbelt League play Oct. 11 against Perris -- Heritage's first home game since the first week of the season.

Aleva Hifo scoops up a Rialto fumble and gains big yardage, setting up a Patriots TD in the second quarter.  Jalen Glover races for a 23-yard gain in the fourth quarter of Friday night's win. Heritage quarterbak Brett Virgil was sidelined briefly with a twisted ankle but returned to action.

Heritage Comes Up Just Short in Shootout With Great Oak

Heritage receiver Reggie Murphy makes a one-handed grab over a defender for a touchdown in the final minutes. (Photos by David Stovall)

By Zac Force

Heritage High's football team lost to Great Oak 43-40 Friday night, giving the Patriots their first loss of the season.

The game literally came down to the very last play. After blocking a punt and taking possession, Heritage had the ball with 48 seconds left on the clock and a chance to tie or win the game.

With 28 seconds remaining, quarterback Brett Virgil took off running with the ball and went out of bounds to stop the clock. Great Oak was flagged for a late hit penalty, giving the Patriots 15 more yards and a first-and-10 at the 19-yard line.

After a defensive pass interference penalty on Great Oak, Heritage had the ball first-and-goal on the 9-yard line with only 7 seconds remaining. Virgil looked for Reggie Murphy in the corner of the end zone twice in a row but to no avail. With only 2 seconds left, Heritage lined up to kick a game-tying field goal, but Tyler Baca's kick was blocked by Great Oak defender Anthony Bandong, giving Great Oak the victory.

The total stats for both sides were very close. Heritage had 317 total rushing yards to Great Oak’s 297. Heritage had 199 passing yards to Great Oak’s 169. Limihai Hifo of the Patriots was the number one rusher with 187 yards on 25 carries, including three rushing touchdowns.

Heritage also had an interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter by McKinley Grant and a 16-yard rushing touchdown by Sione Takitaki.

Head coach Kraig Broach said it was an incredibly fun football game.

"You've got to give them credit; they were a high quality opponent and well coached.," Broach said. "It’s fun to play against such a good team."

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Great Oak started with the ball in great field position due to a fumbled punt by Heritage. Great Oak quickly scored, going up 40-33. With just over three and a half minutes left in the game, Great Oak tacked on a field goal to make it a two-possession game, 43-33.

With 3:30 left to play, Virgil completed a 54-yard pass to Matthew Palmer, then quickly rifled off a 25-yard completion to Hifo. Now in the red zone, Virgil escaped a potential sack, throwing a jump ball to Reggie Murphy in the end zone. Murphy made an acrobatic catch to come down with the ball for the touchdown, bringing the Patriots within three points.

Unfortunately for the visitors, they didn't score again. Heritage (3-1) plays its next game at Rialto next Friday night.

Great Oak's Anthony Bandong (5, center) leaps through a pile of players to block Tyler Baca's field goal attempt at the end of the game.  Heritage quarterback Brett Virgil scrambles for yardage. The Heritage defense wraps up a Great Oak ball carrier.