by Brian Bohne
HERITAGE HILLS 10
NORTH POSEY 0
The Heritage Hills football program paid tribute to a coaching legend with the dedication of Bob Clayton Hall of Fame Plaza last weekend.
And it seemed appropriate the Patriots won a big game on this special evening.
Why?
Because Clayton led Heritage Hills to a slew of victories during his highly successful tenure — 320 to be exact — including the Class 3A state championship in 2000.
That said, if this Patriot squad continues to play defense the way they did in their latest game, their aspirations of another deep post-season run could come to fruition.
Combining a stingy defensive effort with just enough offense, Class 3A, No. 3 ranked Heritage Hills tackled Class 2A, No. 6 ranked and previously unbeaten North Posey 10-0 last Friday night at The Jungle in Lincoln City.
Given the circumstances — Clayton was in attendance and addressed the crowd before the game — current Heritage Hills coach Todd Wilkerson admitted it was great that his team was able to rise to the occasion and walk away with the solid win.
“You think about having a really tough opponent on a night like this and it’s great to win a big game in this situation,” confirmed Wilkerson, who played for Clayton in the mid-to-late 80’s. “It’s a big win, and it’s great that Coach was here to see it.”
Jett Goldsberry, whose father Jon also played for Clayton, offered some of the same sentiments.
“It’s awesome that Coach Clayton was able to come out. He was able to see his former players, and we could also give a shout out to what he did in the past,” said the Patriots’ sophomore quarterback/linebacker. “It wasn’t the prettiest win tonight, but we battled some adversity and got the job done.”
They did so thanks to that aforementioned defensive performance.
North Posey (4-1) entered the contest averaging nearly 40 points per game, but they were shut down by Heritage Hills.
“I don’t think we could have played better than that defensively. We made plays when we needed to,” said Wilkerson. “It was a very physical game. It was a slugfest. Both teams probably thought they would put up more points, but our defense has been there all year. I’m pleased with the way those kids played.”
He had reason to be happy.
The Patriots limited the Vikings to 181 total yards. Primarily a running team, North Posey was held to a modest 139 yards on the ground last Friday.
“I’m proud of our defense,” said Goldsberry. “We still have some little things to work on, but our defense is pretty good.”
Heritage Hills (5-0) also has a potent offense, but like North Posey, they were somewhat grounded in their latest contest.
After a scoreless opening stanza, the Patriots finally found the end zone with 4:37 remaining in the second quarter when Goldsberry capped an 11-play drive with a 25 yard touchdown run.
The Heritage Hills defense then forced a three-and-out, giving the Patriots one final offensive possession in the first half. Heritage Hills took advantage when Seth Deom finished off a 10-play drive with a 25 yard field goal to send his team into the locker room with a 10-0 cushion.
Featured Image: Former Patriots Football Coach Bob Clayton speaks at his Hall of Fame plaza dedication ceremony before the game last Friday.
Bob Clayton places the dedication place marker into the bricks at his new Hall of Fame plaza.
The HHHS Band performed at Friday’s game against North Posey.
The Heritage Hills Patriots took the field Friday with their game faces on.
Heritage Hills and North Posey competed last Friday in what would end in a Patriot 10-0 victory.
