The Patriots (7-0) defeated the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs (5-1) with a score of 29-9 in an important district game.
The last home game of the regular season, Friday, Oct. 14 was senior night. The seniors of the football team, marching band and cheerleaders were honored and thanked for their hard work,
Coming into tonight’s game, both teams held impressive undefeated records. Both teams understood that after the game, one team would walk away with its first loss of the season which added extra stakes to the game.
Most favored Heritage to win the game, but acknowledged the talent of the Gibbons team. The Chiefs’ schedule has not been easy by any means as they previously beat the tough Miami Jackson and Chaminade-Madonna teams. Coming out of those games without any losses proves how good the Chiefs are.
The game started off a little slow with no score in the first quarter. However, things picked up for the Patriots in the second quarter when they started to switch up their offensive play calling. A good drive to start the second quarter, a couple of short passes and a big run from junior Miles Jones led to a Patriot touchdown.
Overall penalties played a big role in the game with the penalty count going up to 25 with about 26 minutes of actual play time. These penalties cost the Patriots big time as multiple false starts and holding calls backed the Patriot offense close to their own end zone on the next offensive drive. This led to a safety while senior Zach Thomson was punting the ball which gave Gibbons two points.
The Patriot defense played very well, not allowing a single point scored by the Chiefs in the first half. Junior Andrew Chatfield played a huge role as his blitzes forced the quarterback into multiple scrambles and quick ineffective throws.
More than 100 yards of penalties were given up to the Chiefs in just the first half of play. This lack of discipline caught up to the Patriots as the Chiefs were very close to taking the lead with their good field position. However, continued stellar defensive play stopped them from even scoring a field goal.
The Patriots blew the game open in the second half coming out with more offensive focus and overall discipline. Jones and junior Jordan Johnson ran well to set up junior Abraham Alce with two touchdowns. One costly mistake by the defense allowed a screen play by the Chiefs to turn into a gain of 60 yards, ultimately leading to a touchdown. However, this score was not enough as the Patriots wore the Chiefs out play after play to win the game.
The Patriots will play Jackson high school next week at an away game.
