Quick offensive starts have become a signature of Heritage Hall football teams over the past decade.

The 2023 squad carried on that tradition with Charger Pride in the District opener against the visiting Lone Grove Longhorns. It only took two plays to put the first touchdown on the board.

After a Barrett Travis four-yard run up the middle, head coach Brett Bogert '05 pulled some razzle-dazzle out of the playbook and senior speedster Jordyn Harris took a reverse 59 yards to the house to set the tone early.

After the defense forced the Longhorns into a quick three-and-out, the Charger offense alternated short power runs with huge chunk plays. Bass found Rashaud Smith on a 20-plus yard pass, Vogel picked up 20 yards on a run, and then Bass scored from 24 yards out with just over 7 minutes still to play in the first quarter.

Lone Grove was unable to pick up their first first down of the game as Jerrod Williams made a great play to break up a third down pass along the sideline at the sticks. On the ensuing punt, Jordyn Harris nearly broke free for a score, but was brought down near the 20 yard line. A penalty moved the the ball back to the Lone Grove 30 yard line.

The Chargers faked another reverse to Harris and Bass three a quick pass over the middle to tight end Carter Knowles, who rumbled down to the 10 yard line. Two plays later, Bass pulled the option handoff and followed a lead block from Eddie Johnston to skip into the end zone for a 21-0 lead with 4 minutes to go in the first.

Despite not being able to move the ball against the Charger defense, the Longhorns were blessed by penalties that extended a drive that almost ended in an interception and then a punt. After a roughing the punter penalty, the Horns were on the doorstep of the red zone when the final seconds ticked off of the first quarter clock.

After a short run put them just inside the red zone, Zavier Freeman busted into the backfield for a pair of sacks that moved them back out. Facing fourth down and 14 yards, the Horns completed a pass, but the receiver was immediately dropped a yard short of the first down by Williams.

Backed up to his own goal line, Bass stood patient in the pocket and rifled a pass over the middle to his top target. Harris hauled in a concentration catch, withstood the safety's shoulder shiver, and busted loose on a 97-yard touchdown dash, leaving a legion of Longhorns in the dust. The connection broke the school record for longest touchdown pass, previously 95-yards (Jackson Jobe '21 to Phillip Smitherman '20 at Bridge Creek in 2019; Will Paque '22 to Gavin Freeman '22 at McLoud in 2020).

Now holding a 28-0 lead, the Charger defense forced another Lone Grove punt.

The Chargers began to churn the clock on the next drive, running the ball and making key third down conversions through the air. Once inside the 15 yard line, Bass found Smith on a quick hook and the senior wide out slipped through a trio of defenders to make it 34 unanswered points by The Hall.

Neither team was able to score on their final possession of the first half.

The Charger defense came out agressive and forced another punt after Edward Johnston batted down a pass attempt while blitzing into the backfield.

It didn't take long for The Hall to put up more points with possession of the ball. After converting a 4th down and short with a pass to Jordyn Harris, Bass scrambled to his right and tossed the ball to Carter Knowles who slalomed through defenders along the sideline and busted through two Longhorn tacklers into the end zone for a 23 yard touchdown and a commanding 41-0 lead. 

After another three-and-out series, Lone Grove was able to get a good bounce on their punt and the Chargers started their next drive from their own 27 yard line. Sophomore quarterback Hudson Ferris came in for some reps with the first team, but the Charger offense was unable to convert. With a comfortable lead, facing a fourth and three, Bogert '05 decided to go for it. Ferris pass was batted down at the line, though, and the Horns took over deep in Charger territory.

The visitors wasted no time taking a shot at the end zone and connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass to make it 41-7 in favor of The Hall.

Senior backup quarterback Walker Nelson came in to lead the next series, but the Chargers were forced into another three-and-out, this time punting the ball away on fourth down.

After a couple of runs, the Horns went back to the deep ball and connected on a 40 yard pass into Charger territory. Four power runs later, Lone Grove scored again to bring the score to 41-14.

With Bass returning at quarterback, The Hall looked to slam the door on any comeback hopes the Longhorns might be harboring. Bladen Vogel took the handoff from Bass, cut back behind great wide receiver blocks by Cal Welker and Rashaud Smith, then found pulling linemen Zavier Freeman and Eddie Johnston 25 yards downfield who cleared the path for the speedster to cruise in for a 60-yard touchdown run.

Lone Grove, surging with some offensive momentum, executed a long drive to open the 4th quarter that took 5 minutes off the clock before the Horns capped it off with a 15 yard touchdown run to cut it to 48-21.

The Charger offense set out to milk the clock on their next drive and did just that. Barrett Travis carried back-to-back 25-yard runs to move the ball deep into Horns territory. On the next six carries, freshman Walker Wedel punished the Lone Grove defense, converting a fourth-and-short and then punching in a touchdown from 6 yards out. After a missed extra point, the Chargers led 54-21 with under 2 minutes to play and would repel the final Lone Grove drive to seal the district win.

Bass led the passing attack, connecting on 12 of 19 passes for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns. Harris was the primary target with 4 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown, while senior counterpart Smith hauled in 4 passes for 44 yards and a score. Knowles nabbed 3 receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown, while Welker grabbed 2 for 20 yards.

Travis carried the load in the ground game on the night, with 8 rushes for 73 yards. Vogel provided the fireworks on 4 carries for 102 yards and the 60-yard dash into the end zone. Harris finished with 1 carry for the 58-yard reverse for a touchdown. Bass tallied 40 yards and 2 scores on just 6 carries. Wedel carried 6 times for 27 yards and the final Charger touchdown.

Defensively, Freeman led all tacklers with 10 that included a sack and a tackle for loss. Jordyn Harris added 8 and senior linebacker Ben Showalter tallied 7 of his own. Travis had 4 tackles, including a sack.

Up next for the Chargers is a district road contest at Pauls Valley. The 10th-ranked Panthers started 3-0 on the season before dropping a 22-7 defensive battle to highly-respected Marlow on the road. The game will be livestreamed on ChargerVision at hhchargers.tv so if you can't "put a little gravel in your travel" as you head into Wadley county, tune in to catch every snap.

Onward, Chargers!