Heritage Routs Raiders in Must-Win Game

By Tim Richardson

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Heritage had little trouble getting past Loudoun County and doing its part to keep its playoff hopes alive.

The Pride halted Loudoun County's two-game win streak and stomped the Raiders at home, 42-6. But despite finishing third in the AA Dulles District, Heritage (7-3, 5-2) needs Brentsville to defeat Handley on Saturday to ensure itself the fourth and final spot in the Region II Division 4 playoffs. If Handley wins, the Pride loses a tiebreaker with James Wood.

"It'd be sad if we didn't go the playoffs," Heritage Coach Wes Driskill said. "They've worked for the success that they've had."

Except for a drive that ended because of halftime, Heritage scored a touchdown on its first five possessions. The Pride didn't punt until late in the third quarter -- the first of only two punts the entire night.

Loudoun County quarterback Kelly Reimers, who also is the team's punter, pinned the Pride inside their 1-yard line to start the game on offense. The poor field position didn't stop Heritage, which drove 99 yards to score its first touchdown when Kyle Nelson threw a 48-yard touchdown to Darius Tibbs, who had three receptions for 126 yards.

A two-point conversion put Heritage up, 8-0, with 3 minutes 30 seconds to go in the first quarter. Nelson finished the game 9 of 11 with 262 yards.

"I know he wanted to come back [after the Park View loss]," Driskill said of his quarterback. "I felt like he was on. He came out here like a champ and really operated well."

Nelson hooked up with Michael Massey for the Pride's next two touchdowns.

The first came with 10:49 left in the second quarter on a 23-yard pass from Nelson. The second came when Massey caught a 13-yard touchdown about two minutes later that put the team up 23-0 after a two-point conversion. Massey finished with three receptions for 70 yards.

Ross Madison got the Pride's next two touchdowns -- a five-yard run in the second quarter and a 12-yard run to start the third quarter -- and finished the game with 58 yards.

Down 36-0 at home, the Raiders got their only score of the game with a short field after Raiders linebacker Chase Williams blocked Heritage's first punt of the game. With only 25 yards to go for a score, quarterback Kelly Reimers ran the ball into the end zone on a one-yard quarterback sneak.

Reimers finished the game 7 of 15 with 91 yards passing.

"They're a real good football team," Raiders Coach Todd Hill said of Heritage. "We tried to take some things away from them and we just couldn't match their speed. Once they took us out of our scheme, it really caused problems for us."

Loudoun County (2-8, 2-5) finished the season in sixth place in the AA Dulles District.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks