Rancho Verde knocks off Heritage to take Ivy League title

In a familiar sight for Heritage High football fans, Ika Tuatala powers his way to some big yardage Friday night. Menifee 24/7 photos: Doug Spoon

By Doug Spoon, Editor

One might say that a football team is allowed to lose one league game every nine years -- but that doesn't make it any easier to take.

Heads were hanging Friday night after Heritage High School lost its first league game since 2009, but coach Kraig Broach didn't let that last long. In a loud, animated post-game speech, Broach challenged his players to bounce back quickly from their 17-10 loss to Rancho Verde.

Why? Because they have to if they are going to have success in the CIF playoffs, which begin next weekend. Friday's loss might've broken a 42-game league winning streak, but there's no time to dwell on the past. Playoff pairings will be announced on Sunday, so the Patriots will have to put this loss behind them in a hurry.

Besides, Broach pointed out, the Patriots lost to a pretty darn good team. Rancho Verde, a CIF divisional champion last year, not only knocked off Heritage to win the Ivy League title, the Mustangs improved their overall record to 10-0 and virtually assured themselves the top seeding for the playoffs.

Granted, the Patriots were penalized often and lost a fumble at a key point in the fourth quarter, but that's not what hurt them the most, Broach said afterward.

"Rancho Verde is a very good football team," Broach said of the Mustangs, whom the Patriots call Ivy League rivals for the first time after eight unbeaten seasons in the Sunbelt League. "So what bothered us most is they're a good football team. Yes, we did have penalties that were hard to overcome at times. But our kids played hard. As much as you heard me get on them after the game, I was proud of their effort.

"We have to turn it back around real fast. That's the fun part about the playoffs. There's no guarantees from here on out."

The loss overshadowed some standout performances by the Patriots (7-3 overall). Free safety Kenny Teter intercepted three passes. Unfortunately for the Patriots, Teter lost a fumble that was recovered by Rancho Verde's Jaxon Turner at midfield in the fourth quarter, as the Patriots were trying to fight back from a 14-10 deficit. The Mustangs took possession and increased their lead to 17-10 with less than a minute left on a 40-yard field goal by Luis Santiago.

Heritage didn't trail until the fourth quarter, when Rancho Verde forced a Heritage punt and then went on an eight-play, 79-yard scoring drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback AJ Duffy to Turner for a 14-10 lead.

The Patriots started the game off strong, with Teter intercepting a Duffy pass on Rancho Verde's first offensive play. Led by the running of Ika Tuatala (160 yards rushing) and Teter, Heritage drove 56 yards to a touchdown. Tuatala bulled his way for 13 yards on three consecutive carries before Teter ran the final yard for the score.

Rancho Verde marched 51 yards and scored on a 3-yard run by Xavier Urgorji on the next series, and the score was tied at 7-7. The only other scoring of the first half came on a 33-yard field goal by Javier Pedraza in the second period.

"They were a better team than us tonight, but we have another opportunity ahead of us, so that's where our focus has to be going forward," Broach said.

Kenny Teter scored Heritage's only touchdown of the game and had three interceptions on defense.