Heritage Rolls In League Opener

Rogers Heritage gave Siloam Springs a rude welcome to the 7A/6A-West Conference, rolling to a 49-14 halftime lead and finishing with a 70-21 victory.

The War Eagles lit up the Panthers for 610 yards of total offense, scoring six times on plays of 40 yards or more. Heritage improved to 4-0 and proved unstoppable on offense, scoring on its first seven possessions.

That Figures

610 — Total offense Heritage accumulated Friday

2 — Turnovers forced by the Heritage defense

4 — Victories for the War Eagles this season and number of receivers who caught passes from Josh Qualls on Friday

Forrest Johnson, senior receiver, enjoyed a huge night with five catches for 232 yards and three touchdowns. He scored on passes of 61, 54 and 67 yards from quarterback Josh Qualls in the first half.

Plays of the Night: With six scoring plays of 40 yards or more and another 34-yard touchdown run, there’s quite a few candidates. But Qualls’ 43-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Hernandez with 8 minutes, 29 seconds left in the first quarter snapped a 7-7 tie and started a string of 28 unanswered points that helped Heritage take control.

Injury Update: No significant injuries were reported.

Players of the Game: See above. Johnson definitely deserves mention. Running back Brandon Gates rushed for 153 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, while Qualls threw for 327 yards and five TDs with no interceptions.

Notable: Heritage intercepted a pass Friday to bring its season total to 11 ... Gates’ 153 rushing yards pushed his season total to 453, topping his total for all of last season.

The Lingo: "Last year Siloam just lined up and whipped us. Just plain and simple. They were good all the way around. They were better than us. We’re a lot better than we were last year. That was motivation."

Perry Escalante

— Heritage coach

Up Next: Heritage will host Springdale Har-Ber next week in a key 7A/6A-West Conference game. The Wildcats lost 28-7 to Bentonville in their league opener.

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