Heritage outplayed by Temescal Canyon in 21-14 defeat

Heritage High defender Kyle Basham (5) closes in on Temescal Canyon ballcarrier Zachary Horton. (Photos by Kristi Jo Aguirre)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Heritage High’s defense made its share of big plays, but the offense couldn’t quite keep up with its counterpart Friday night as the Patriots lost a 21-14 decision to visiting Temescal Canyon.

The Patriots got the ball first and took advantage of the situation, starting with a 44-yard kickoff return by Elijah Smith. Nine plays later, running back Jason Chupany ran 6 yards for a touchdown, and Isaac Ahmed’s PAT kick gave Heritage a 7-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, they scored only once more in the game – and that came after the Heritage defense forced a Temescal Canyon fumble deep in the Titans’ territory. Jaylen Tanniehill scored on an 8-yard run and Ahmed’s kick gave the Patriots a 14-8 lead, but that was the end of the Heritage scoring.

Coach Andre Smith once again had praise for the defense, but he’s asking for more consistency from the offensive unit of the Patriots, who are 2-5 overall and now 0-1 in Ivy League play.

“It wasn’t good enough tonight; offensively, 14 points isn’t good enough,” Smith said. “They (the visiting Titans) did a good job. Their quarterback’s real crafty and he kept them in the game. We had some bad penalties in there, too.

“Our defense is doing a great job. [The Titans] just came up with a play or two more than we did. Give credit to them. They earned it. We’ve got to be better.”

Friday’s victory by the Titans was the first ever in 11 meetings against the Patriots. They moved the ball effectively behind the play of quarterback Koa Apana, who completed 20 of 24 passes for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns in addition to rushing for 60 yards.

After Heritage’s opening scoring drive, Temescal Canyon put together a similar scoring march. Apana started things off by passing for 21, 10, and 23 yards on the first three plays. He capped off the drive with runs of 7, 3 and 2 yards, the last one going for a touchdown.

Temescal then surprised the Patriots with a 2-point run by Zachary Horton for an 8-7 lead.

Heritage was forced to punt on its next possession, but the Patriots got the ball right back when, on Temescal’s first play, Apana was hit hard by Heritage defenders Brennen Lozano and Aurelius Thomas, with Thomas recovering the fumble. But after Tanniehill’s TD gave Heritage a 14-8 lead, Temescal Canyon came right back with a 65-yard scoring drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Apana to Sonny Kessell.

Temescal’s drive was extended when, during a punt at midfield, Heritage was called for having 12 men on the field. Given a second chance, the Titans went on to score and take the lead for good.

Temescal had a chance to score once more before halftime, but Joseph Nunez intercepted an Apana pass deep in Heritage territory to end that threat.

The only other score of the game came late in the third quarter on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Apana to Grant Givens. A failed PAT kept the Patriots within 7 points, but they could get no closer.

Heritage will play a Thursday home game next week against Elsinore, which improved its record to 5-2 Friday night with a 28-7 win over Hemet.

Heritage defensive players Aragon Tankik (37) and Bryce Jones (32) make the tackle on the Titans' Cole Thompson.

 Heritage tight end John Jamison hauls in a 30-yard pass from quarterback Hayden Lara Friday night.

 Running back Jaylen Tanniehill works his way through the Temescal Canyon defense Friday night.