FORT SMITH — Rogers Heritage and its prolific offense got rescued by its defense here Fridaynight.
And as a result, the War Eagles returned home with the second-year program's first-ever 7 A-West Conference win.
Heritage forced five total turnovers - including four in the second half - and the War Eagles got just enough offense to beat No. 5 Fort Smith Northside 24-21at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.
The War Eagles (4-0, 1-0) won their fourth straight game to open the season, but unlike their first three nonconference victories there was no questioning the quality of their opponent.
"There was a comment in the paper that we played nothing but air our first three ballgames," said a fired-up Heritage head coach Perry Escalante, who seconds later was doused with an icewater cooler. "We didn't play air tonight. We beat a good football team at their stadium. These kids played their brains out tonight. I was so very proud of those guys. I hate when they make comments like that about these kids. I understand that it's my profession, but it's not fair to these young men. The defense played great."
Heritage trailed 21-13 at halftime, but scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter totake a 24-21 lead.
Sam Mayhall intercepted two passes in the fourth quarter and Jimmy Britton intercepted a Northside heave in the end zone on the final play of the game to seal the War Eagles' win.
"Defense saved our butts," said Heritage quarterback Reed Brown, who guided the offense to 388 total yards and no turnovers. "They've grown a lot. We didn't step up as much as we needed to. Thedefense, my friend right here Sam Mayhall is really the one you need to be talking to. We owe everything to him."
The War Eagles got 264 of their yards in the first half. Hayden Severs kicked a pair of field goals - 30and 31 yards - and Brown threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Travis Entwisle.
But Heritage wasn't slowing Northside (2-2, 0-1) down in any way as the Grizzlies rolled to 317 yards of offense in the first half. Northside scored on two big plays - a 33-yard touchdown run by Tanner Knight and a 66-yard run by Donnie Jones - and Knight hit Arthur Poole for a 14-yard touchdown pass.
The War Eagles adjusted in the second half, switching to a four-man defensive front.
Senior defensive end Casey Wilber batted down three passes at the line of scrimmage in the second halfand Stefan Reed recovered a fumble for Heritage on the third play of the second half.
That turnover led to a seven-play, 45-yard scoring drive capped by a 4-yard pass from Brown to Entwisle with 9:36 left.
The War Eagles' defense held on the next possession and got the ball back. Heritage drove inside the 10 and Severs booted home a 26-yard field goal for what would be the game's deciding points.
Northside's hurry-up nohuddle offense, which likes to snap the ball with between 20 and 23 seconds left on the playclock, got four more offensive chances after falling behind.
The War Eagles stopped Knight on fourth down for a turnover at the Heritage 15 and momentarily injured the Northside quarterback on the first one. Mayhall picked off passes on the next two possessions followed by Britton's pick in the end zone with no time left.
"It was nerve-wracking," Mayhall said of the fourth quarter. "It means a lot to us. We didn't get any (conference wins) last year. It feels amazing."
Sports, Pages 7, 8 on 09/26/2009