Santa Rosa, Heritage meet in playoff opener; Liberty at home

Quarterback Jacob Goode will lead the Rangers against Heritage on Friday. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The first round of the CIF Southern Section football playoffs will feature a matchup of Menifee schools.

Santa Rosa Academy, which won its first-ever league championship on Thursday, will be the visiting team Friday at 7 p.m. against Heritage, which qualified for the playoffs as the No. 3 team from the Inland Valley League, in a Division 13 opener.

In a first-round game in Division 10, No. 2 Liberty from the Ivy League will be at home for a first-round game against West Torrance. The Bison nailed down a second-place finish with a 41-35 double overtime victory over Paloma Valley on Thursday.

League champions are traditionally given home-field advantage in first-round playoff games, but Santa Rosa Academy (8-2) was designated as the visiting team against Heritage. The Patriots started out 0-5 in non-league games but rallied in the league season.

Hayden Hill has rushed for 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns for Heritage. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Heritage is just 3-7 overall and lost its last regular-season game to Perris, 48-34. But a 3-2 record in league play allowed the Patriots to finish in a three-way tie for second place with Perris and Canyon Springs. In the league tiebreaker process, Canyon Springs was eliminated because it lost to the other two teams this season.

Santa Rosa Academy comes into the playoffs with an 8-2 record (4-1 in the Cottonwood League). The Rangers are led by quarterback Jacob Goode, who has rushed for 1,059 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. He has also passed for 673 yards and 7 touchdowns. In Thursday’s 35-14 victory over Trinity Classical Academy, Goode rushed for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns in addition to passing for 162 yards and 2 scores.

Four different receivers caught passes, including Ian Taylor and Max Dupree with touchdown catches. On defense, Tyler Quaintance led the team with 13 tackles, followed by Travis Maisenbacher with 10.

Heritage is led by quarterback Elijah Sanchez, who has passed for 1,516 yards and 16 touchdowns. Hayden Hill is the Patriots’ leading rusher with 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns. Matthew Flores has rushed for 391 yards and 4 TDs. The team’s leading receiver is Dane Ortiz with 35 catches for 413 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Liberty’s Bison nailed down a playoff berth and knocked Paloma Valley out of the playoff picture with their win on Thursday. The winning touchdown was scored in the second overtime by Parris Peacock, who finished with 142 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Peacock has rushed for 954 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Trent Hallis has rushed for 901 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Bison quarterback Devin Dillard has passed for 787 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Parris Peacock is Liberty's leading rusher with 954 yards and 14 touchdowns. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)