With a score of 50-30, the Heritage, led by head coach Dave Fogelstrom, beat the Freedom Falcons.
Devon Rivers (#20) helped lead the Patriots to victory through some big offensive plays against the Falcons. Rivers is a junior who plays running back, and he finished off the night with 21 carries for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He added on another touchdown to his stats when he threw a 44-yard pass to his teammate, Jeremiah Ruffin.
Football is a big part of the Rivers family. Devon's brother and father were the first ones to pave the way, and Devon is following in their footsteps. His father, Ron Rivers, played six years in the league at running back with the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers. Devon's brother, Ronnie Rivers, is currently playing running back at Fresno State where he recently broke the all-time touchdown record.
Devon started playing football when he was six years old. He played one year of flag before he switched over to tackle football at the age of seven. Coach Fogelstrom had a lot of great things to say about his feature back. "He has great vision, a low center of gravity, good speed and the ability to make people miss and break tackles," said Fogelstrom. "He is also the strongest guy on the team, the team captain and the anchor of our offense."
The team got off to a quick start when Devon rushed for a 49-yard touchdown on the first offensive play. This touchdown run set the tempo for Heritage and gave them the momentum for the rest of the night.
Although Devon was involved in five touchdowns, another one that stood out to Coach Fogelstrom was the halfback pass he threw for a touchdown. Coach Fogelstrom remembered Devon when he was a kid because he used to come watch the football games at Freedom. He always knew Devon had a strong arm because they used to play catch with each other. This touchdown was a full circle moment for coach Fogelstrom.
As the school of this week's recipient of the 49ers PREP High School Player of the Week presented by U.S. Bank, Heritage High School will receive a grant from the 49ers Foundation to put towards its football program.
Congratulations, Devon!
