ROGERS -- Rogers Heritage football coach Perry Escalante couldn't help but gush about the play of his defense following Friday's 7-6 win against Russellville.
The War Eagles (1-1) held the Cyclones to 218 yards of total offense and just two field goals.
That Figures
0 — Turnovers by Rogers Heritage on Friday night.
4 — Passes completed for negative yardage by both teams combined.
41 — Total passing yardage for Heritage this season.
"They've played so well, we think we should be 2-0 really," Escalante said. "They have been outstanding. We've got kids who buy in to what we're trying to do. They play so hard."
The War Eagles defense came up big to keep Russellville out of the end zone all night. Heritage's defense looked as though it might buckle late in the fourth quarter. But the War Eagles forced a mistake out of Cyclones quarterback Michael Mullin, which led to an 11-yard loss that pushed Russellville out of field goal range.
Heritage then forced back-to-back pass incompletions to hold on downs with less than two minutes left and the War Eagles salted away their first win of the season.
The Heritage defense stood tall, despite several challenges. The War Eagles already were playing without starting defensive lineman Jed Wilson, who suffered severe dehydration a week ago. However, they also lost junior defensive end Andy Mendoza to a calf strain.
In addition, starting linebacker Tim Cole was forced to play more on offense in place of senior running back Joey Saucier, who suffered a hamstring injury in the week one loss to Olathe (Kan.) North. But that didn't limit Cole's snaps on offense.
"I was so proud of him," Escalante said of Cole. "He just sucked it up and played. He ran the ball hard for us and played well on defense, too."
Heritage defensive coordinator Paul Wilson said in the preseason he liked the depth on the War Eagles' defensive line. He got to see it for real on Friday.
Sophomore Connor Thomas (5-10, 232), junior Ashton Johnson (5-10, 220) and junior Jose Brena (5-9, 238) all saw significant playing time on Friday and played well at times, Wilson said.
"We just kept shuffling the deck at times during the game and it seemed to work out," Wilson said. "We had Connor and Ashton doing some good things, but neither were consistent. They started to gash us some and moved Juan Jacobo inside to give us some weight."
Player of the Week: Junior quarterback Joel Brackett accounted for more than 75 percent of Heritage's total offense on Friday night. His second-half touchdown run proved to be enough thanks to the War Eagles defense. He rushed for 93 yards on 18 carries.
Play of the Night: Brackett faked a handoff and kept to the left, broke a couple of tackles at the line, cut down the sideline and turned on the jets for a 56-yard touchdown, Heritage's lone score of the night.
"They were bringing both inside backers most of the night and one of them was keying on Joel most of the night," Escalante said. "He popped it there and showed good speed. He showed some good break-away speed there. That's good to see."
Injury Update: Saucier is about 75 percent and could see action next week, while Mendoza should be good to play next week, Escalante said.
Notable: Five of Heritage's 17 first downs in the first two weeks have come by penalty. ... Two touchdown plays have made up 39 percent of the War Eagles total offense. ... Senior Eric Grom has punted 15 times over the past two weeks, including nine in Friday's win.
Up Next: The War Eagles will now make the more than 500-mile trek to face 3-0 Navasota, Texas, on Friday. The Rattlers were ranked No. 2 in Class 4A in Texas by the Associated Press before their 35-14 win over Coldspring-Oakhurst on Friday.
Sports on 09/14/2014