Heritage seeks a fresh start with 21-12 victory over Prairie

Friday night was the unveiling of the Heritage Timberwolves 2.0 at McKenzie Stadium.

“We’ve got new uniforms, a new fight school,” Heritage’s second-year coach Matt Gracey said. “There’s a lot of rebranding going on at Heritage. And we’re just trying to feed into that fresh start.”

Junior quarterback Michael Taras scored his first varsity touchdown and also threw touchdown passes to two players for their first varsity touchdowns as the Timberwolves beat Prairie 21-12 in a non-league opener.

“It feels good to get my first touchdown on varsity,” Taras said. “Last year I played a little bit, but I didn’t score. So getting that first touchdown of the season feels great, and it’s something we can build on going forward.”

Senior Tashiem Hurse had a big game, rushing for 122 yards on 14 carries. Taras passed for 113 passes and completed his seven passes to six different receivers.

“I feel like we have a lot guys who can make plays,” Taras said. “A lot of guys with speed and a lot of guys with size. So I feel like teams can’t really zone on one guy because we have a bunch of playmakers.”

Hurse had four carries for 41 yards on the Timberwolves’ first scoring drive that set up Taras’ 8-yard TD run.

On Heritage’s next possession, Taras hit Robbie Meadors for an 11-yard TD pass as Heritage took a 14-0 lead in halftime.

Prairie got on the board in the third quarter on Kevin Aguirre’s 14-yard TD run. But Heritage answered on its next possession with Taras hitting sophomore Kahai Umiamaka on a 53-yard TD pass play.

Prairie got with 21-12 on Carson Slagle’s 10-yard TD run with 5:21 left. But when the Falcons’ two-point conversion failed, Heritage was able to keep a two-scored edge.

“I was really pleased with how our defense played,” Gracey said. “That’s a really good team Prairie has over there. They don’t get enough credit for what they are. (Aguirre and Slagle) are two tough players to stop and they are going to give people trouble.”

Aguirre finished with 107 yards rushing, and Slagle added 64.

It was the third season-opening win for Heritage over Prairie, so the Timberwolves know they must keep improving if they hope to have a solid season.

“Things are different at Heritage,” Lee said. “What happened here the last three years doesn’t matter.”

HERITAGE 21, PRAIRIE 12

Prairie 0 0 6 6–12

Heritage 0 14 7 0–21

Second quarter

H — Michael Taras 8 run (Kyle Hood kick)

H — Robbie Meadors 11 pass from Taras (Hood kick)

Third quarter

P — Kevin Aguirre 14 run (pass failed)

H — Kahai Umiamaka 53 pass from Taras (Hood kick)

Fourth quarter

P — Carson Slagle 10 run (pass failed)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Prairie: Aguirre 20-107, Slagle 7-64, Aaron Brumley 6-41, Tyler Feeney 7-14, Alec Gawley 2-3, Bryson Pena 3-8, Jaelen Stephen 1-5. Heritage: Tashiem Hurse 14-122, Gavin Lee 10-44, Oscar Gonzalez 5-15, Taras 2-11, Hayden Klimas 2-10.

PASSING — Prairie: Aguirre 5-13-1-38. Heritage: Taras: 7-15-1-113.

RECEIVING — Prairie: Stephen 2-25, Nolan Mickenham 1-6, Feeney 1-4, Izaiah Ward 1-3. Heritage: Lee 2-22, Umiamaka 1-53, Matt Rivera 1-26, Meadors 1-11, Daniel Barerra 1-1, Hurse 1-0.