BRENTWOOD, Calif. - With time winding down, and a big play needed, Heritage looked for a momentum-shifting moment to start a comeback. The Patriots went for just that with a trick play to try and catch the California defense off guard, late in the third quarter, but the Grizzlies' Brian Carvajal thwarted the attempt with a drive-killing interception at the 29-yard line, helping to enable California to hold off the Patriots in a defensive-minded 12-3 victory.
In the California (4-0) victory, they ran, ran, and ran the ball more. The combination of eight different players in the Grizzlies backfield ran for 177 yards on 36 attempts.
“That’s Cal High football. That's what we always do," said California coach Eric Billeci.
The Grizzlies asserted that mindset from the beginning, taking the ball on their opening drive and marching the length of the field, capped by a one-yard scoring plunge from Daniel Desoto for an early 6-0 lead. Desoto and Belal Alatasi were the primary ball carriers for California, which used its ground game to control time of possession and field position throughout the contest.
“With our lineman blocking well, we were able to get some great runs,” added Alatasi.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, their workhorse in the backfield, Hanai Muhammad, went down early in the first half with an ankle injury and wasn’t able to return for the rest of the game. With the next man up mentality, Heritage (1-4) turned to backup running back and starting linebacker Alec Brannen, who flourished in a much-needed position. He finished with 74 rushing yards and was able to fill a much-needed void that Muhammad’s injury left. Quarterback Trevor Moorman added 33 yards on the ground.
“Coach told me at the beginning of the week, that if someone went down on offense, it was next man up. He called my name, and I had to put it on for my team," Brannen said.
Heritage put together its only scoring drive midway through the second quarter, but the California defense stiffened inside the 10-yard line, resulting in a field goal from Tanner Hartwig, making it a 6-3 game at the time. Late in the first half, it appeared that the Grizzlies would match those three points after a long drive and then a defensive stop by the Patriots' defense, but California faked the field goal attempt and Giovanni Phillips scored from nine yards out, points which prove crucial later in the game when time was running out and it was a two-score game instead on a single-score deficit.
After the third quarter interception, Heritage drove once more into California territory midway through the fourth quarter, but again an interception ended the drive and gave the ball back to the Grizzlies. The Patriots had an earlier third-quarter end on downs at the California 32-yard line, as both defenses pitched a second-half shutout.
“We played extremely hard, we made a couple of mistakes here and there, but taking a quality team like this and pushing them to their limits of 12-3 was a good game for us,” said Heritage coach Don Sanders.
California will face 1-3 Granada next week, as Heritage will be playing its first league match-up next Friday against Antioch, which fell to 0-5 on Friday with a loss to Marin Catholic.
