Heritage keeps streak alive, beating rival Paloma Valley

Sherod White races ahead of the Paloma Valley defefnse on his way to a touchdown in Heritage's 35-13 victory Friday night. Photos by Cheyene Aguirre

By Daniel Millhouse

It wasn’t the Chicago Cubs vs. the Cleveland Indians, but to the residents of Menifee, Heritage High School vs. Paloma Valley in the Menifee Bowl football game made for an exciting Friday night.

Before an overflow crowd watching two undefeated teams playing for the Sunbelt League championship, the Patriots of Heritage hoisted the city championship trophy into the air after defeating the crosstown rival Wildcats, 35-13. Heritage, which has never lost to Paloma Valley, improved its seven-year record in the league to 35-0.

Notable performances for Heritage included Javier Luna’s two touchdowns while running the ball 12 times for 238 yards; Sherod White’s 17 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown; and the Patriots’ two takeaways on defense within the red zone.

"I’m very happy with how they (the Patriots) played today," said Heritage coach Kraig Broach. "The score doesn’t indicate it, but Paloma played us very tough tonight and made things difficult. We had some big plays offensively and defensively, and that was what made the difference.”

The running game of Heritage was just too dominating. Besides the big touchdown runs by Luna, James Phillips scored a touchdown on a 67-yard run, and White jumped over a pile of linemen from both sides to score a goal line touchdown. Already known for its stellar running game, Heritage had 312 yards rushing by halftime.

The Patriots threw down the gauntlet early in the game when they scored on their third play of their first possession. Luna scored on a 59-yard touchdown run to give his team an early 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats were quick to answer, scoring on the very first play of their next possession -- or so they thought. Corey Maddox (right) showed off some fancy footwork and ran the ball 71 yards into the end zone, but the play was called back because of a holding call.

"I think we started rolling after they (Paloma Valley) got the touchdown called back," Luna answered when asked when he thought the game shifted in Heritage’s favor. "After that, we just started rolling, in my opinion."

The Wildcats didn’t give up. On that same possession, they took the ball 70 yards down the field before finding themselves with the ball on the 1-yard line on fourth and goal. The wall more commonly known as Heritage’s defensive line stood its ground, however, as Maddox tried unsuccessfully to punch it in.

"When we started the game, our kids were vocal coming in," Paloma Valley coach Bert Esposito said. "Everyone’s energy was high. But immediately after when you get a touchdown called back and we can’t punch it in from the one, that changes the whole momentum. You know, they’re teenage kids. All people feel that pain, and it was hard for them to recover."

That’s when the momentum appeared to completely shift in Heritage’s favor.

Within three minutes, Heritage drove the ball 99 yards down the field, capped off by a 73-yard touchdown run by Luna, giving Heritage a 14-0 lead.

The players on Paloma Valley’s sidelines quickly quieted down. Meanwhile, the Patriots didn’t let up. They scored three more touchdowns. Paloma Valley finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Nick Naranjo took a kick return up the right sideline for a 94-yard touchdown return.

Life finally sparked into the Wildcats, who then stopped Heritage on the next possession. Unfortunately for Paloma Valley, the clock was still running and they didn’t get the ball back until two minutes were left in the game.

Running a two-minute offense, the Wildcats marched down the field and scored on a touchdown pass from Chance Nolan to Seth Carvalho with 18 seconds remaining. After a failed two-point attempt, Heritage players watched the final seconds run off the clock for the victory.

After the game before jumping on the team bus, Paloma Valley’s Phil Mills tried to put things into perspective.

"I’d rather it (losing a game) happen now than in the playoffs"," he said. "We gotta go back and focus. We were overly hyped this game and we didn’t play our game."

Heritage quarterback Devan Freedland couldn't say enough about the Patriots' running game.

"If they’re not stopping the run, then why stop running it?" Freedland said when asked about his team’s running game in the first half. "If they can’t stop it, we’ll just keep running. We don’t need to pass it if Sherod and Luna are running the ball like that."

Freedland never had to throw one pass until the second half. Throwing three passes total, Freedland connected with Rashoud Shelton for a 37-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for Heritage’s final score of the game.

On Paloma Valley’s side, notable performances include Naranjo’s 5 receptions for 69 yards and the 94-yard kick return for a touchdown; Blake Moore’s 5 catches for 72 yards; and 7 tackles each made by Mills and Damian Torres.

"You can’t key on anyone," Broach replied when he was asked if his team focused on any particular players on Paloma Valley. "What you have to count on is your players and your coaching staff. You know we have a pretty good defense. Paloma is very balanced and there’s no tricks to stopping them. You just have to play sound football."

On Sunday morning, both teams will find out who they will face off against in the first round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Heritage and Paloma Valley are in different divisions in the playoff brackets, meaning it could be possible that Menifee will end up with two CIF champions when this season comes to an end.

"We went into it (this game) knowing it was one game," Esposito said about the excitement of this game. "The hoopla and everything, it’s great, and if you win it, it’s great and all that, but it’s really nothing in the big picture. We've still gotta take care of our division and what we do, and that’s where it is."

When asked if he would be waiting by his computer on Sunday morning to see who Heritage will be playing, Luna responded, "I’ll be sleeping."

Heritage running back James Phillips avoids Paloma Valley defenders on his way to a touchdown run in the first half.  Heritage running back Sherod White finished the game with 98 yards rushing and a touchdown. Heritage players hold up the city championship trophy after the game.