HARRISON — Rogers Heritage football coach Perry Escalante was pleased to walk off the field at F.S. Garrison Stadium with a victory Friday night. But with 7A/6A-West Conference play beginning next week, he also said his team must play better.
The Class 7A War Eagles outscored 5A Harrison 31-7 in the second half to pull away for a 52-35 victory.
Escalante said his team must maintain its focus and execute more consistently in the future.
“I’m glad the way we bounced back, played physical,” Escalante said. “We played our kind of football in the second half, other than that one score. But gosh we can’t survive playing like that.
“When we play, we’re pretty good. But boy these guys, they’re driving me crazy. A little concerned when it was 21-7 we just kind of relaxed. You can’t do that. Boom. Boom. They hit us. You could just feel it over here. You’ve got execute. At times we did and at times we didn’t. Take this one, throw the film away and start over.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Junior Joey Saucier returned kickoffs 89 and 97 yards for touchdowns. He also rushed six times for 41 yards and a touchdown, mostly in the second half when Heritage lined up in a two-back set and ran the ball right at the Goblins. Saucier also caught two passes for 18 yards. Running back Brandon Gates also earned mention by rushing for 202 yards and a touchdown. His 38-yard touchdown run gave the War Eagles the lead for good to end the third quarter.
PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Saucier’s second kickoff return for a touchdown of the game put momentum back into the War Eagles’ corner. Heritage had just given up a 66-yard touchdown pass to put Harrison up 35-27. But the 6-foot, 188-pounder caught a couple of blocks early, then turned on the jets for the 97-yard kickoff return. Gates rumbled in for the two-point conversion and a 35-35 tie with 93 seconds left in the third quarter. Heritage’s defensive stop on fourth-and-1 to set up Gates’ touchdown run on the next play also deserves mention.
INJURY UPDATE: Starting middle linebacker Brandon White suffered an ankle injury in the second half and did not return. His status for next week is uncertain.
NOTABLE: Heritage quarterback Josh Qualls had his string of passes without an interception end at 65 when his pass when in and out of a War Eagle receivers hands and into the hands of a Harrison defender in the first half. … Gates has now rushed for 588 yards through three games. … Jeremy Spickes caught six passes for 51 yards and now has a team-high high 17 receptions for 181 yards.
UP NEXT: Heritage finally will play a home game next week as it will open 7A/6A-West Conference play against Siloam Springs. The War Eagles opened the season with three nonconference games, all on the road. It will also be homecoming at Gates Stadium.
THAT FIGURES
5^Penalties committed by Heritage on Friday, after combining for 20 in the first two weeks.
0^Punts by the War Eagles against Harrison and turnovers forced by the Heritage defense.
2^Interceptions thrown by Qualls and games Gates has rushed for more than 200 yards this season.