Heritage football players ready for new league, new season

Running back/linebacker Ika Tuatala returns as a key player on both sides of the ball for Heritage High. Photo by Amber Garcia

Every football season brings change, but there has been a bit more than normal this year for Heritage High coach Kraig Broach.

Broach prepared for the season knowing about some changes brought about by CIF officials: A season shortened by a week, meaning no bye week; a new conference, the Raincross Conference; and a new, four-team league, the Ivy League.

On top of that, the first few days of practice were altered by school closures because of smoke drifting from the Holy Fire. The Patriots spent two days practice at Great Oak High School in Temecula before returning home on to prepare for their season and home opener Friday at 7 p.m. against Oak Hills High of Hesperia.

“You just adapt and move on,” Broach said, displaying his usual amount of composure.

It’s a familiar story: Heritage loses several key players but seems to always have capable personnel to replace them. That formula worked well in winning eight consecutive Sunbelt League titles without ever losing a league game.

There’s a different twist this year, however. As the Patriots prepare to replace the talented Devan Freedland at quarterback, they also prepare for an Ivy League that will include not only crosstown rival Paloma Valley High and Valley View High, but also Rancho Verde – a CIF Southern Section division champion last fall.

“Change can be a good thing,” Broach said about the new league lineup. “We’ve played the same opposition the last eight or nine years. But we still have Paloma, and now you add Valley View, who we’ve never played, and Rancho Verde, a very good team we haven’t played in a while.”

Heritage will miss Freedland, who passed for more than 1,700 yards last season, but senior Trey Goodlow appears ready to meet the challenge. He was the school’s freshman and JV quarterback before switching to defense last season with Freedland at QB.

One of the team’s top returning players is senior Ika Tuatala, who is a punishing running back as well as a leader of the defense at linebacker. He will share time in the offensive backfield with Kenny Teter, Carlos Ruelas and Dominic Cyr.

Jose Garcia is the anchor of the offensive line of a team that once again has Broach optimistic.

“We have some good players, but they're inexperienced in what they do,” Broach said. “That’s the fun part. It’s an ever-changing thing to see the new kids come in.”