During the preseason, the Heritage High varsity football team showed that they have talent, and a lot of it. But what really shined in the Bay Valley Athletic League opener Friday night was the Patriots’ resiliency, as they came from behind to beat the host Liberty Lions, 44-29.

Early in the second quarter, Liberty junior cornerback Josh Ramos intercepted a pass at midfield and ran untouched for a score that gave Liberty a 16-0 lead and it appeared as though an upset could be in the making. Heritage took over from there, though, as they got two touchdowns from senior running back Kruger Story Jr., evening at 16 at halftime.

“We didn’t come out ready to play or ready to hit,” Story Jr. said. “Coach talked to us at halftime and said we need to step it up and that it was 0-0. We just knew that we needed to come out and play in the second half.”

The second half didn’t start much better for the Patriots. After a failed fourth down attempt gave Liberty the ball on the Heritage 30, senior running back Shawn Vasquez scored on a six-yard run. It was his second touchdown of the night; the first came on a 66-yard first quarter run. In total, Vasquez had 185 yards, scoring two touchdowns and losing one fumble.

Heritage evened the score with less two minutes remaining in the third quarter on a two-yard run by senior running back Shai Kobayashi. After a Lion three and out, the Patriots took the ball over at the 20-yard line.

On the last play of the third quarter, senior RB Treyvon Hanna ran a sweep, got one downfield block, and scored untouched on an 80-yard run, giving Heritage its first lead at 30-23. Senior quarterback Brent Eikanas ran for one fourth quarter touchdown and hit junior receiver Dorian Hardy on another to put the game away. Lions’ senior running back Josh Straiten scored at the end of the game to close it at 44-29.

“Coach just told me to try my best and to do what I can with the ball, I just took it straight to the house,” said Hanna of his 80-yard run. “I’m glad that my coach trusts me to do those things and I just want to thank my line and have faith in them that I can get to the house.”

Liberty started the game with a long drive and while it didn’t result in any points, it did set them up. The opening drive was highlighted by an 18-yard run from senior punter Kyle Gaffett on a fake punt. After the drive stalled, a Gaffett punt pinned the Patriots in the shadow of their goal line. Eikanas fumbled the first snap of the game, which resulted in a safety.

After Heritage was unable to take advantage of a Liberty fumble, Vasquez scored his first touchdown on the 66-yard run. Ramos’ interception came three plays later, delighting the home crowd and silencing the Heritage faithful.

“We’re a really tough team, we fought hard tonight. We didn’t quit,” said Liberty coach Nate Smith. While Liberty expected Heritage to break some big runs, Smith cited the 80-yard run, as well as mishandling the ball a few times on their previous possessions, as the turning point of Friday night’s game.

Hanna was the Patriots’ top rusher for the game, running for 163 yards. Story Jr. was right behind him with 153 and Hardy had 115 yards receiving.

Heritage (5-1, 1-0) has won the Brentwood Bowl every year since the series began in 2007. This game was the closest in the series, though with Heritage winning the 2008 and 2009 games by a combined score of 90-0.

“I tip my hat off to them, they’re a really good team and I respect them,” said Story Jr. “They came out strong, this is the best Liberty team that I’ve ever seen and that we’ve ever played against.

Liberty (2-4, 0-1) will look to break its BVAL losing streak next week in a road game against a 1-5 Antioch team that lost its league opener 27-10 against Freedom. Heritage will host a Pittsburg team that defeated Deer Valley 47-12. The Patriots will be looking for revenge against a Pittsburg beat them 46-20 last season, and whom they have never beaten.

Heritage’s win completed a sweep for the night as the junior varsity team beat Liberty 34-28.