Heritage closes in on football playoff berth with 35-34 victory

Heritage quarterback Elijah Sanchez passed for 168 yards and 4 touchdowns. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Heritage High School scored its biggest win in four years and closed in on its first CIF playoff appearance since 2021 Friday night with a 35-34 Homecoming victory over Citrus Hill.

Elijah Sanchez passed for 168 yards and 4 touchdowns, Hayden Hill rushed for 218 yards and a touchdown, and the Patriots made a huge defensive stand in the final minutes. The victory improved Heritage’s Inland Valley League record to 3-1, good for second place with one game remaining.

The Patriots have come a long way since an 0-5 start to the season in non-league play. A program that has a 7-32 record since 2022 appears to be turning things around in coach Rich McClure’s third season.

“I'm so happy that we got to do this for coach McClure and we got to do this for our team,” said Hill. “We haven't got to the playoffs in a long time.”

The Patriots (3-1, 3-6) have an excellent chance to go this time, despite their overall record. The only way they won’t make it is if they lose to Perris (2-2, 3-6) next week and Canyon Springs (2-2, 7-2) beats first-place Moreno Valley (4-0, 8-1). That would be a big upset, considering Moreno Valley has outscored league opponents, 164-33.

Even if all that happens, Heritage would still finish in a three-way tie for second place with Canyon Springs and Perris. The top three teams advance to the playoffs. In that case, Heritage would hold the tie-breaker over Canyon Springs because the Patriots won that game, but Perris would hold the tiebreaker over Heritage if the Panthers win next week. And in that scenario, Perris would hold the tiebreaker over both Heritage and Canyon Springs because they would’ve beaten both.

However, the CIF office has the power to consider other factors, such as “value of league victories”, common interconference opponents, and coin flips.

It sounds complicated, but for Heritage, the challenge is simple: Win and they’re in.

“We finally just all came together,” said linebacker Matt Mason, who had a quarterback sack, tackle for a loss, and broke up a pass in Citrus Hill’s final failed drive, in addition to a fumble recovery earlier in the game. “We had a rough time at the start [of the season]. A lot of guys had their heads down, but a bunch of guys on the team just kept everybody going by playing their hearts out.”

The teams traded scores until early in the fourth quarter, when Sanchez hit Caleb Williamson with a 20-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick gave Heritage a 35-28 lead.

On the next possession, Citrus Hill drove 68 yards to score on a 9-yard run by quarterback Ricky Green. But there was a fumbled snap on the PAT attempt and the Hawks never got a kick away. That turned out to be the difference in the game.

“Sometimes one play is fortuitous,” McClure said. “They missed the extra point. We always talk about how it comes down to one or two plays.

“The defense played a great game. We made some adjustments at halftime. I try not to get involved because I’ve got enough of my own on the offensive side, but the defensive staff did a good job. Matt Mason was flying around, and we moved our big defensive end inside, trying to take away the inside run.”

McClure also had praise for Sanchez and Hill.

“I have to say that was Elijah’s best game," he said. "And Hayden had another great game. We really rely on him. He did a great job during the summer in conditioning with weight training. He’s been a great underclassman leader. We're trying to put it out there so we can get some [college recruiters] to look at him and give him a chance.”

In addition to two touchdown passes to Williamson, Sanchez also threw TD passes to Nofotau Sili and Damian Calderon.

The Patriots’ final regular-season game will take place at Perris High Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Hayden Hill picks up yards on his way to 218 yards rushing. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Matt Mason dives to recover a Citrus Hills fumble. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Nofotau Sili accepts congratulations after a touchdown catch. (Photo by Action Captures Media Grou)

Damian Calderon takes a touchdown pass in for a touchdown. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Caleb Williamson heads for the end zone with the winning touchdown. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)