Defense leads Heritage past West Valley for 3-0 start

The Heritage defense did its job again of keep the opponent out of the end zone, and it even helped out with the scoring on Sunday.

Robbie Meadors had an interception return for a touchdown as the Timberwolves shut down West Valley of Yakima 27-7 for Hertiage’s first 3-0 start in school history.

Led by White Sosene and Meadors, the Timberwolves’ defense extended their streak of eight scoreless quarters. The Rams’ lone score came on a 97-yard interception return by David Lindgren that trimmed the Heritage lead to 13-7 in the third quarter.

“Our defense is good. I don’t know what to say,” running back Tashiem Hurse said. “We’ve got a great coaching staff and we’re building on it and we’re better than ever now.”

The defense gave the offense time to find its stride.

After a couple of scheme adjustments, Heritage and their halfback corps found their stride and claimed the victory.

Through three quarters, Hurse racked up only 30 yards on 10 carries. In the fourth quarter, he carried the ball four times for 66 yards and a touchdown that gave Heritage a 20-7 lead.

He finished with 96 yards.

“It’s playing with formation, using different kids and different plays,” Heritage coach Matt Gracey said. “We put that one (halfback) in and everything started working.”

With the rain proving to be a difficult factor early, the Heritage coaching staff decided to keep the ball on the ground. The team ran the ball nearly 77 percent of their plays and totaled 178 yards on the ground.

Although the Timberwolves’ defense allowed West Valley running back Mason Sali-Orvald to gain 71 yards, the defensive line sacked Rams quarterback Brandon Battle seven times for a loss of 38 yards.’

The most important number, however, is the zero the defense allowed on the scoreboard.

“Our defense is well-trained,” Sosene said. “We have great coaches — offense and defense. Defense wins games.”

Meadors returned an interception 26 yards on West Valley’s first possession of the game for a 6-0 lead. J’Wan Vick caught a 31-yard TD pass from Gavin Lee to give Heritage a 13-0 lead at halftime.

Lee capped the scoring with a 16-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Gracey said while they take pride in putting points on the board, the team values their team camaraderie and defense over all else.

“It’s a team thing,” he said. “We’ve been preaching ‘team’ all week to these kids… I wouldn’t take anyone’s defense over ours.”

The Timberwolves travel north to play Redmond next Friday.

HERITAGE 27, WEST VALLEY-YAKIMA 7

West Valley 0 0 7 0– 7

Heritage 6 7 0 14–27

First Quarter

H — Robbie Meadors 26 interception return (pass failed)

Second Quarter

H — J’Wan Vick 31 pass from Gavin Lee (Kyle Hood kick)

Third Quarter

WV — David Lindgren 97 interception return (Colby Kitt kick)

Fourth Quarter

H — Tashiem Hurse 12 run (Hood kick)

H — Gavin Lee 16 run (Hood kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — West Valley: Mason Sali-Orvald 16-71, Justin Vandebrake 1-2, Brandon Battle 8-(-35); Heritage: Hurse 14-96, Lee 14-48, Jalynnee McGee 3-36, Michael Taras 5-21, Oscar Gonzalez 5-0, Kahai Umiamaka 1-(-4), Hood 1-(-19).

PASSING — West Valley: Battle 13-29-2-99; Heritage: Lee 5-8-1-55, Taras 2-5-0-40.

RECEIVING — West Valley: Vandebrake 5-31, Cody Allen 1-26, Lindgren 3-20, Quinton Stromme 2-15, Sali-Orvald 2-7; Heritage: Matt Rivera 3-58, Vick 1-31, Hood 1-8, Lee 1-2, Shane Chandler 1-(-4).