BRENTWOOD, Calif. - Before Friday night, the closest Pittsburg-Heritage matchup in the last six seasons was a 21-point Pittsburg win, with the Pirates handily winning the last six games between the league foes. That’s why it was a shock to many when the scoreboard sported a four-point Pittsburg lead at the half, for a Pirate team that most thought would breeze through their five-game league-only schedule this season.
The Pirates (2-0, 2-0 BVAL), however, utilized a two-play sequence late in the third quarter to score a quick 14 points and take control of the game, with a 26-yard Eli Brickhandler touchdown pass to Lamont Fortenberry on fourth-and-18, followed by a Julian Velasco pick-six off on Heritage's next offensive snap to pad the Pittsburg lead. The Pirates would hold on for a 35-16 victory, with Brickhandler passing for 168 yards and two touchdowns, completing 11-of-13 passes in the game.
“I think it's just leadership all across the board,” Brickhandler explained, when asked how the Pirates powered through for the win on Friday night. “We were able to rally together and figure out what we could do as a team to rally back and fight harder. We have a great team, but sometimes you start out flat, but it's honing in for all four quarters and three phases of the game.”
The Pirate win did not come easy, as the Patriots (2-1, 1-1 BVAL) showed up ready to play in their last home game of the season. Coming back from an early 7-0 Pittsburg lead thanks to a 30-yard Daytuawn Pearson touchdown on the Pirates' first play from scrimmage, Heritage answered with a weapon they hadn’t used on offense all season in senior Jaden Price. Price turned a short catch into a 25-yard touchdown to tie the game before the end of the first quarter.
“This was my first time on offense and getting out there I low-key got butterflies in my stomach,” described Price, who had a team-high 44 receiving yards. “It was actually my first touchdown in my high school career, so it felt great. I wish we could have got out of here with the W, but I feel like we proved ourselves. We made a statement for sure, and they just outplayed us in the end.”
Pittsburg regained the lead on a two-yard touchdown run from sophomore Will Stallings in the second quarter, after Brickhandler connected with Matt Quesada for a key fourth down conversion in the red zone. Heritage, though, cut into the lead once again on a 32-yard field goal by senior receiver and kicker Tanner Hartwig. The Pirates drove into Patriot territory again late in the first half, but a tipped pass was intercepted by Heritage junior Tanner Smylie to keep the deficit at four points heading into the break.
The Pirates moved quickly down the field to open the third quarter, but another potential scoring threat was thwarted when Heritage senior Hanai Muhammad came up with an impressive interception in the end zone, taking away what looked for a moment like it would be a scoring connection from sophomore Jaden Rashada to Quesada.
The next Heritage drive started the string of pivotal plays in deciding the final outcome. First, the Patriots appeared to convert on fourth-and-two in their own territory when sophomore Devon Rivers took a quick pitch and sliced through the Pittsburg defense for the necessary yardage. However, a Pirates' defender reached through Rivers' arms at the end of the run to punch the ball loose, resulting in a turnover. The Heritage defense appeared as if it might hold on the ensuing possession, especially when the Patriots' defensive line got to Brickhandler for a moment on the crucial fourth-and-18 play, but the senior signal-caller escaped to extend the play before finding a wide-open Fortenberry in the end zone.
Following Velasco's interception return for a score, Heritage cut into the lead midway through the fourth quarter when Rivers added a 22-yard scoring run up the middle, but Pittsburg iced the game late in the fourth when Brickhandler connected with Keionte Guess for an eight-yard score.
Pearson ended up being the steady threat on the ground for the Pirates, rushing for 133 yards on 18 carries, while Quesada had five catches for 71 yards. Rivers had 81 yards on the ground for the Patriots, while Asher Haynes threw for 150 yards in the loss.
Even with the loss, the Patriots proved they have made great strides within the program since the addition of Dave Fogelstrom as head coach. Having won a combined three games in their prior two seasons, the Patriots are off to a better start at the halfway point of this condensed spring season. This start caught the attention of longtime Pirate coach Victor Galli, who was impressed by the new look Patriots.
“Quite honestly I’m excited for those guys,” said Galli after the hard-fought win. “I got a lot of respect for the coaches on their staff. They are going to be the up-and-comer, and I’m excited for what they are going to bring to our league, for them to bring some strength to our league. They are only going to get better and they played really hard tonight, so I tip my cap to them.”
This is just the start for Fogelstrom, as the Heritage head coach has big goals for the Patriots going forward. After starting the season at home, the Patriots will wrap it up with three straight road games to finish up this first season under the new leadership.
“Our guys realize the BVAL is going to be a fight every single week, and we saw tonight our guys are willing to fight for four quarters,” Fogelstrom said. “We’re excited to face Freedom next week and to get back into game-planning.”
The Patriots will go on to face Freedom (1-2, 1-1 BVAL) next week, while the Pirates will have a battle of the last undefeated teams in the BVAL as they will play Liberty (2-0, 2-0 BVAL) next Friday.
