DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
Eli Tigulis didn’t need a whole game to prove himself to the Heritage fans Friday night.
He only needed half.
The senior threw for 224 yards on just 6 of 9 passing, with four of the six completions going for scores.
Braden Walter had two spectacular plays on offense, catching long touchdown passes of 55 and 73 yards as the Patriots built a big lead.
Ironically, it was Walter’s celebration penalty that set up the Braves’ only score. After he was flagged for his celebration in the end zone, Will Kintz ran the ensuing short kickoff all the way back to the 10-yard line, setting up Easton Curtis for his first touchdown pass to Aiden Wemhoff on fourth down.
Walter also made a difference on defense, picking off a pass from Curtis, making big hits and breaking up passes.
The night could not have gone better for the Patriots.
Nasir Martin led the team in rushing as he got the bulk of the carries in the first two quarters. He piled up 82 yards on eight touches and scored the first touchdown of the season for the team and another one later on.
After the Braves got a heavy dose of Martin, the Patriots switched to CJay Barnett and he scored on a 15-yard run just before half. Barnett finished with 33 yards in the first half on four touches.
By the time the two teams went into the locker room (Heritage had to wait for their door to be unlocked), the second half was set up for a running clock.
Coach Hullinger took no risks and put in his second string for the second half and they ran out the clock, adding just 17 yards of offense to the team’s total of 400 from the first half.
Preston Moore contributed one catch for 40 yards and a score. (See sequence below)
For the Braves, the real positive was the first-half play of freshman running back Jason Lykins. Along with some nice screen passes from Curtis, there was definitely an ability to move the ball, but Bellmont made several penalty mistakes and turned the ball over four times.
Curtis finished his debut as QB1 with a 13 for 22 night for a total of 100 yards, along with the TD pass. One big difference in his night compared to previous seasons was that Curtis did not carry the ball really except for a broken play or two.
Lykins finished with 47 yards on the ground on ten carries. Will Kintz and Aiden Wemhoff had 13 total rushing yards between them on seven attempts.
Oliver Werling led the team with 33 receiving yards on two catches.
About the Author
