The rest of the ACAC learned a lot about Heritage Friday night.
Anyone who thought the loss in Week Five to Adams Central would make the Patriots roll over and wait for the postseason looks awfully silly right now.
Led by the efficient and talented Eli Tigulis, the visiting Patriots smashed through the Bluffton defense for a whopping 550 yards of offense and seven touchdowns in a 51-20 victory.
Tigulis completed passes to five different receivers and finished 12 of 14 for 154 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Lucas Weber and Braden Walter for scores, as well.
The story on defense was the ability of Heritage to hold the hosts on third down as the Tigers managed just two third-down conversions. Bluffton failed on each of its three attempts on fourth down.
The defense gave Tigulis the opportunity to play with a short field with three interceptions.
Braden Walter and Lucas Weber each had a long run of over 50 yards in the game for the visitors, who had 376 yards on the ground alone.
Nasir Martin had 82 yards before leaving the game, but the Patriots had plenty of options.
“That’s the thing about our scheme and our program,” said head coach Jeremy Hullinger, “we have guys who can step in from the slot or from tight end and become weapons in the backfield.”
Hullinger noted that the coaching staff was cautious with Martin’s injury.
“Nasir is such a dynamic player and we are going to make sure that he’s healthy and ready to go so that he can be the player that he truly is.”
With the Patriots set to play winless Southern Wells next week, it may be an opportunity to rest Martin out of caution.
Coach Hullinger also lauded the blocking of his two tight ends, Grayson Mullins and Killian McBride, in the victory.
“Those guys have really embraced the thankless dirty work that is blocking downfield,” said the coach. “It’s something we’ve really worked hard on.”
The Patriots were ranked in the Top 15 in 3A entering Friday’s game at Bluffton and are likely to climb. The computer ratings back up the respect being handed to coach Hullinger and his boys, as the Patriots were rated 16th in the Sagarin Ratings in 3A heading into Friday.
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