Page 2 - Heritage High School Athletics 2023-24

2 HERITAGE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS
MEMORY BOOK | 2023-24
FOOTBALL
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Larkspur, the Heritage varsity football team displayed its full potential, shoving around host Redwood and advanc- ing to the NCS Division 2 semifinals by virtue of its 35-8 quarterfinal victory.
when junior Emanuel Rankins rumbled in for the game-winning score. After defeats to Granada and Whitney-Rocklin, Heritage won another key game on the road, defeating a Vintage-Napa team which would eventually also reach the Division 2 playoffs. In his first start that night, junior Mekhi Adanandus gashed the Crushers for 187 yards on the ground. He would eventually become the seventh running back in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season.
After back-to-back heartbreaking defeats at home, to James Logan and Antioch, the Patriots regained their footing with two key wins during league play, taking down Deer Valley on the road and shutting out Freedom at home, marking the fourth straight year in which the Patriots defeated their district rivals. Those two wins ensured eligibility for the postseason.
Senior Brooks Davis also ended up rewriting the record books for Heritage, setting new records for single-game and single-season receiving yards, while finishing second for career receiving yards. Senior Jesse Briggs also finished the year with the second-most sacks in a single season.
The victory was the first playoff win for the Patriots in six years and resulted in the second semifinal appearance in program history, joining the 2016 team in the school record books. Though Heritage fell to eventual section champion El Cerrito in a rainy semifinal game on the road, the Patriots ended the season with victories over two playoff teams, added new names to the school record book and won a playoff game for just the fifth time overall in program history.
The ultimately successful campaign started with a thrilling road win in the team’s first game, as the Patriots rallied from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Foothill-Pleasanton in overtime, 28-25,
Varsity Football