Heritage loses to Perris, must wait to learn playoff fate

By Parker Costin, Correspondent

The Heritage High football team lost a close one against the Perris High Panthers on Thursday night, 48-34. Now, the Patriots must wait to learn their fate regarding the CIF playoffs.

With the loss, the Patriots fell into a second-place tie with Perris in the Inland Valley League at 3-2. If first-place Moreno Valley (4-0) beats Canyon Springs (2-2) tonight, the Patriots are in the playoffs. If Canyon Springs upsets Moreno Valley, there would be a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots.

In that case, the final decision for the top three playoff teams would be announced Sunday morning when the CIF Southern Section office announces playoff pairings.

The game started out strong for the Patriots. Quarterback Elijah Sanchez connected with Damian Calderon on a screen pass for 22 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots forced the Panthers to punt on the next two drives, resulting in the Patriots marching down the field using the run game. Hayden Hill pushed through the defense with a 17-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead.

Those were the only points the Patriots put on the board for the rest of the first half. The Panthers hurt Heritage downfield with deep passes, resulting in a 28-14 Perris lead in the third quarter.

Those 28 unanswered points wouldn’t be put up without a fight from the Patriots, however. Sanchez connected with Calderon on a 40-yard slant pass for an easy touchdown. That score seemed to help the Patriots regain some momentum. Later on, running back Matthew Flores punched through the gap up the middle for a 12-yard rushing touchdown.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, the 34 points scored by Perris in the second half was too much to overcome.

The Patriots’ receiving leader on the night was Calderon, who caught 2 out of 3 passes for 60 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.

Calderon had high praise for Sanchez’s throws.

“He was able to find me in high-pressure moments, which led to great opportunities for me to get through their corners and safeties,” Calderon said. “I wanna give praise to the line too, because without them, he wouldn’t have had the time to look for me and get the ball my way.”

The rushing leader for the Patriots was Hill with 58 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.

“I found the holes the offensive line provided for me and I tried my best to push through as many defenders as I could,” Hill said. “Thankfully, that led to the night I had and I was able to put some points on the board for us.”