FEBRUARY 16, 2018
WWW.THEPRESS.NET
Hometown Sports
|
17
HIGH SCHOOLS, RECREATION & SIGN-UPS
FOLLOW SPORTS ON TWITTER!
Scan with mobile device.
Patriots clinch share of BVAL crown by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The Heritage girls’ soccer team set a goal at the beginning of the season: to win the Bay Valley Athletic League title. Last week, the Patriots’ hopes were realized. Heritage (12-5, 8-2) came back from a 1-0 deficit to knock off Liberty (13-6-2, 8-2) and clinch a share of the league title with the Lions. “I couldn’t be more proud of the heart, the resiliency of our players,” said Heritage coach Gary Lafleur. “They showed true grit. We haven’t had that many opportunities to be in this situation, and we were a little nervous to start off the game, but I saw their growth, maturity and overall composure.” The Patriots’ winning goal came when Fiona Valdillez’s free kick bounced off the hands of Liberty goalkeeper Kaelyn Adams to the feet of Cheryl Salgado, who deposited it in the net with about 6 minutes left to give Heritage the 2-1 win. “It felt amazing,” Salgado said of the score. “I wanted to go in there, but I didn’t know what was going to happen, so I just ran in for it, and it ended up going in.” Not far away, LaFlour realized the team’s hard work had paid off. The Patriots had practiced that set piece many
The Heritage girls’ soccer team poses after a thrilling 2-1 win over Liberty to secure a share of the Bay Valley Athletic League title.
Photo by Tony Kukulich
times before, hoping it would play out like it did. “We knew sometime it was going to come in our favor,” he said. “Sure enough, it happened exactly how we planned it.” The late goal capped off a back-andforth game between the two elite squads. Liberty’s Taty Elsea rifled in a shot from about 34 yards out early in the second half to break a scoreless tie, but Heritage answered with about 12 minutes left
when Susanna Garcia took a ball off the foot of Jenae Packard and put it in the back of the net. “It was in the air, I turn around, see the ball at my feet and shoot it and see it going in,” Garcia said of the goal. “I can’t describe my excitement. I knew we were back in it, and we weren’t done yet.” That set the stage for Salgado’s magical goal, which came on the Patriots’ senior night.
“We were pushed down, but we came back stronger and finished what we needed to do,” Garcia said. Heritage and Liberty were scheduled to clash a second time on Wednesday during the opening round of the North Coast Section playoffs. Results of that game were not available as of press time. For complete results, visit www.thepress.net. To view a video, visit www.thepress.net/ multimedia
Heritage boys’ basketball team wins league title by Michael Dixon Correspondent
Throughout the season, the Heritage boys’ basketball team has earned a reputation as being a team that finishes a lot better than it starts. So it was fitting that the Patriots would follow that script in a game in which they clinched the outright Bay Valley Athletic League (BVAL) title. Heritage and Freedom went into the locker room at halftime tied at 31. But a strong third quarter from the Patriots gave them a 10-point lead heading into the fourth, and they went on to win 7366. “We were talking about coming out fast, coming out strong. And then we just got to it,” junior guard Ezra Manjon said of the team’s halftime talk. “We got hyped up; we got amped up. Everybody started playing their roles, playing as a team, playing efficiently and scoring buckets.” Patriots’ senior forward Jacob Williams made a difference in the second half. Williams was shut out in the first half but bounced back with 11 in the final two quarters. He finished the game as Heritage’s third leading scorer, trailing
Photo by Tony Kukulich
Heritage’s Ezra Manjon drives to the hoop during the Patriots’ 73-66 win over Freedom to clinch the Bay Valley Athletic League title. senior forward Jonathan Ned (24) and Manjon (17). “Not much changed (between halves),” Williams said. “My mentality is to shoot the ball. My teammates told me that, and I just felt confident going into
the second half. My intensity picked up, and I just got more into rhythm.” Freedom was led by senior guard Jabbar Wade. While the Falcons’ bench actually outscored their Patriot counterparts, Wade didn’t get enough scor-
ing from his fellow starters. Senior Erich Cumby had 12 and was the only Freedom player besides Wade to finish the game in double digits. The loss dropped the Falcons to 12-13 overall and 4-5 in BVAL play. Freedom will finish its league season on Thursday against Liberty. Heritage, on the other hand, continued a sterling season. The Patriots moved to 23-2 and are 9-0 in league play. Dating back to last season, they have won 13 straight games against league opponents and now have consecutive BVAL titles. “It’s a lot of hard work that goes into it,” Heritage coach Pat Cruickshank said. “Everything we do funnels to league. Everything we do in the preseason – all of our conditioning and everything is all about this. We’re going to enjoy this for a while and then worry about what’s down the road. We talk about wanting to win a title all the time. That’s our goal.” The Patriots will wrap up the regular season on Thursday at Antioch and will then turn their attention to the North Coast Section playoffs, which could include as many as five BVAL teams. To comment, visit www.thepress.net To view a slideshow, visit www.thepress. net/multimedia/slideshows