By MIKE MACKE & DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
The Heritage Patriots traveled to Decatur to take on the Bellmont Braves at Bob Worthman Stadium as high school football got underway on Friday night. While the Braves showed signs of improvement at times, it was Casey Kolkman’s veteran team that dominated the game and won 34 – 0. Quarterback Kobe Meyer was unstoppable, running for 213 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw for 114 yards and two scores, both to wideout Eli Tigulis. Meyer even ran in the 2pt conversion as he was responsible for all 34 Heritage points.
“Our kids are closely tied and that’s why we wanted to play this game. These kids know each other,” said Kolkman after the win, noting that Kobe Meyer is a first cousin to Job Hoffman for Bellmont.
“We’ve become a good program, but we still have to answer the question of what we need to do to be great. To win conference, to win sectional. We still have a lot of work to do.”
The game began with Bellmont forcing Heritage to turn over their first possession on downs when Dylan Velez stuffed a run on fourth and one at the 44-yard line. Heritage then returned the favor forcing the Braves to punt after a three and out. The Patriots started the drive on their 18 yard line and went 82 yards for the first touchdown of the game. The key play of the drive was a 32-yard pass from Meyer to Braden Walter on 3rd and 19. A few plays later, Meyer took it in from nine yards out for the TD at 5:05 of the first Quarter. Lucas Weber added the PAT and it was 7 – 0.
Bellmont then started on their 29 and put together a drive that reached the Heritage 21 yard line. Christian Hatch had two nice runs on the drive, one a nifty play where he was bottled up in the backfield, then found daylight and scampered up the left sideline for 20 yards. The drive ended when a fourth and seven pass attempt from QB Will Franze was incomplete.
Both teams exchanged possessions as the defenses stiffened. Heritage then went 56 yards for their second score of the game. The drive began with three Meyer runs and ended with a 33-yard TD pass from Meyer to Tigulis. The PAT by Weber was good and the Patriots were up 14 – 0 with 2:30 left in the half. Bellmont mounted a drive when Hatch went 27 yards to the Patriots 45 yard line, but Franze was intercepted by Caleb Abbot to end the threat.
The third quarter was all Heritage.
An interception by Walter stopped the first Bellmont possession of the half. On the very next play, Meyer took off from 45 yards out and reached paydirt with 10:51 on the clock. After an offside penalty, the Patriots went for two and Meyer took it in to make the score 22 – 0. Bellmont when three and out and on the second play from their own 30 yard line, Meyer again found open field and ran 70 yards for the touchdown. The PAT kick was blocked making the score 28 – 0.
The Braves advanced to near midfield on their next drive. Franze’s pass attempt to wideout Gavin Krull drew a pass interference call, but the drive stalled. Heritage then went on their third straight scoring drive, this one for 58 yards culminated by a ten yard pass from Meyer to Tigulis. The PAT kick was again low and blocked making it 34 – 0 Patriots with 2:22 left in the third Quarter.
The fourth period yielded no additional scoring. A couple of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were given when things got chippy, but cooler heads prevailed and both coaches did a great job getting their guys under control. The officials notified the players that another fracas would result in ejections, which would have meant missing Week Two for anyone involved.
“They played the whole game,” noted coach Nick Hall. “The chippiness doesn’t bother me. We didn’t have guys throwing punches or anything serious there.”
Hall took a big hit when he lost Aiden Miller early in the game.
“We lost our fullback in the third series of the game and that hurt. He might have tweaked a knee or something. We will try to find out this week.”
Heritage got 35 yards rushing from Nolan Hoskins to complement Meyer as they ran for 260 yards. They also had four receivers catch ten passes for a total of 114 yard for the game. Bellmont showed signs of life with the Hatch runs and some good hard runs by Ethan Miller.
Franze connected with TE Job Hoffman four times and found Krull for a 20 yard play as the Braves showed that they are adding more passing to their attack this season. The defense gave up some big plays, but the tackling and effort appears to have improved in coach Hall’s fourth season.
At halftime, the State Championship team of 2008 was recognized and honored. A number of the coaches on the current staff were part of that tremendous group as they strive to bring that toughness and pride to the current edition of Bellmont Football.
“We had a lot people out tonight, it was great to see the support by the community,’ said head coach Nick Hall after the game. Hall was one of the stars of that 2008 team. “That’s probably the most people we’ve had out there in a lot of years.”
Coach Hall also commented on the two quarterbacks in the game, beginning with his own:
“That was his first varsity game. He knows the offense and we know he can throw the ball. We just have to get him some more confidence and we will work on that throughout the week.”
And then about Kobe Meyer:
“He’s a stud. There’s a reason that coach Kolkman wants to put the ball in his hand every time. He reads linebackers really well.”
Scoring Summary:
Q1 5:05 Her Kobe Meyer 9 yard run Lucas Weber PAT 7 – 0
Q2 2:30 Her Kobe Meyer 33 yard pass to Eli Tigulis Lucas Weber PAT 14 – 0
Q3 10:51 Her Kobe Meyer 45 yard run Meyer 2pt conv. 22 – 0
Q3 8:48 Her Kobe Meyer 70 yard run PAT blocked 28 – 0
Q3 2:22 Her Kobe Meyer 10 yard pass to Eli Tigulis PAT blocked 34 – 0
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