The Heritage Patriots (6-2) played host to the Loganville Red Devils (2-5) Friday night, beating them 22-7.

The Patriots’ offense wasted little time in taking it to its opponents. With just two minutes having ticked off the clock, junior quarterback Ryan Sutton put their first points on the board, thanks to a 1-yard goal line rush.

Loganville’s defense, which couldn’t seem to stop the relentless Patriots offense, were spurned yet again by Sutton. This time, on a 40-yard quarterback keep with just 3:35 left in the first. 

Heritage defense also played an intricate role in its win as well, as it was able to foil many of the Red Devils drives throughout most of the game. The key play on defense came when Patriot senior free safety Reggie Thomas picked off what would have been a Red Devil first down. 

“I was real pleased with their performance; I thought they executed the fundamentals well,” said Heritage coach Chad Frazier. “I thought we blocked extremely well. I thought we took care of the football and tackled well on defense and played really physical ball that fortunately worked out in our favor.”

Surprisingly enough, with just 4:33 left in the third quarter, the Red Devils managed to score their only touchdown of the night as they were able to avoid a possible shutout. 

Rebounding from their 35-27 loss to Flowery Branch last week, the Patriots will look to capitalize on their newfound momentum as they face the Apalachee Wildcats (4-4) in a potential first round playoff matchup next week. Confident in his team’s ability, coach Frazier seemed more than ready to take on the Wildcats. 

“I’m certainly looking forward to playing them next week,” Frazier said. “With it being pretty much a first round playoff game, it’s a must win for them and almost a must-win for us as well, so it’s a very important game. We need to make sure we go over there and be focused and disciplined.” 

With a game plan already in mind, the Patriots have an idea of what they will need to do both offensively and defensively to come away with a win. 

“We definitely have to stop the run, especially since they like to run the football,” Frazier said. “We also need to limit their play action abilities. Offensively, we need to be able run the football. We just have to do all the small things the right way.”

Heritage faces Apalachee on the road next week, Nov. 2.