DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
An early successful drive, with the Heritage Patriots grinding out yards and moving the chains, looked to set the tone for Friday’s sectional semifinal between the hosts and the visiting Garrett Railroaders, but after QB Kobe Meyer punched it in from three yards out, the home crowd never got the chance to celebrate another point the rest of the night and they went home disappointed after a 20-6, season-ending loss.
Meyer led the team with 83 yards on the ground. He was 13 of 24 for 90 yards in the air, where Garrett really did a nice job of taking away the big play from the Patriots the entire night. The longest completion of the night was a 13-yard catch by Eli Tigulis.
Heritage turned the ball over four times, each time preventing the team from putting together a drive like the 13-play one that led to a score, but the most consequential turnover was the near pick-six thrown to Brayden Nussbaum in the first quarter. The long return by Nussbaum set up Cam Ruble for a one-yard score on fourth down to level the score.
From that point on, the Garrett Railroaders, who had played on their home field in the rain and the mud against Bellmont in the postseason opener, seemed to adapt to the Heritage turf, winning the battles on the line and closing down the holes for Meyer, often reaching the backfield like no one (outside of AC) had all year.
Ruble got the assist on the second Garrett touchdown, helping his QB, Calder Hefty, with a push at the goal line as the Railroaders strengthened their position just before halftime, taking a 13-6 lead.
Meyer and Co. attempted to find a quick-strike touchdown with less than a minute left in the half, but again the ball was turned over.
A promising drive for Heritage in the third quarter ended with a fumble at the line of scrimmage and that came on the heels of Hefty hitting Parker Skelly for a 41-yard strike to put the game in serious peril for Heritage. Hefty was 5 of 7 in the game for an efficient 70 yards. He also finished with 22 yards rushing.
The loss marked the final game for a fantastic group of seniors who saw the Patriots’ program transform in four years. After winning just two games in the pandemic season, this group won an impressive nine games and the Patriots gained respectability across the state for their efforts.