During Week 5 of the 2023 season, the undefeated Heritage Hall Chargers traveled to Pauls Valley to go against the 2-2 Panthers. It would be head coach Brett Bogert '05's first time visiting Pauls Valley to face them. 

The Chargers started off strong with a 77 yard touchdown on a trick play. Quarterback Andy Bass sent Williams in motion and handed the ball off to him on the snap. The defense bought into the fake run play and rushed toward the ball carrier. Williams set up and tossed it downfield to a wide open Smith for the first score of the game.

The Panthers first offensive drive ended abruptly as Barrett Travis sliced through the offensive line to make a tackle for loss on first down. The Panthers running back worked hard to break tackles, but cornerback Carter Counts and free safety Jordyn Harris got to him fast enough on second and third downs to stop the Panthers in their tracks.

Riding a surge of energy, Bass took off on a 40 yard run to the edge of the red zone. On the next play, Travis took a toss and made it near the goal line before getting tackled. The bruising tailback powered it into the end zone on the next hand off and Cal Welker kicked the extra point to put the Chargers up 14-0 early.

After a great offensive drive by The Hall, the Panthers were feeling the pressure to answer. Several successful runs moved the ball into Charger territory, but their drive ended after the quarterback threw it right to Carter Counts for an interception in the endzone.

The Chargers continued to look great on offense. Bass connected with Harris on a long pass play. After another long passing play to Travis was called back on a penalty, Bass ran all the way down to the endzone for a 59 yard touchdown. Welker kicked the extra point to put The Hall up 21-0 in the first quarter.

The second quarter started and the Charger defense forced a quick three and out.

Heritage Hall's offense continued to dominate. Bass completed a pass to Welker. Travis busted another run for about 30 yards. Bass and Smith connected again to put the Chargers on the 2 yard line. Bass found Welker on a short pass and after the touchdown scorer kicked the extra point, the Chargers held a decisive 28-0 lead.

The Panthers moved down the field with a series of successful run plays, but were eventually stopped by an interception from Jordyn Harris.

Bass then delivered a devastating blow on an astonishing 86-yard touchdown pass to Harris. Welker tacked on another extra point, and the Chargers had scored 35 unanswered points.

The Panther offense finally got things into gear and drove the field into the red zone. However, the Charger defense held and time ticked away before Pauls Valley could capitalize with some points.

The Panthers started the second half with the football, but the stingy Charger defense forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball back.

The Chargers moved the ball easily and Travis extended the lead to 42-0 after a 19 yard touchdown run and Welker's extra point.

With some subs beginning to trickle in on the defensive side of the ball for Heritage Hall, the Panthers were finally able to put together a scoring drive and spoil the shutout.

After a good three quarters from the Chargers, Bogert put the junior varsity team in and the teams played to a stalemate the rest of the way.

The road win was an outstanding game for the Chargers offensively and defensively. 

Bass led the passing attack with 189 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 7 of 8 passing attempts. Jordyn Harris, who played amazingly well on both sides of the ball, was his top target with 2 catches for 116 yards, while Smith nearly broke the century mark in yards with 96. Travis, Welker, and Porter England each caught a pair of passes. Bass also led the ground game, with 4 rushes for 96 yards and a score. Travis finished with 7 carries for 38 yards and two trips into the endzone.

Defensively, Jordyn Harris paced the Chargers with 15 tackles – 9 of them solo – and the interception. Williams, defensive end Zavier Freeman, and linebacker Callahan Lowry each finished with 6 tackles, while Bladen Vogel had 5 tackles with 2 for loss. Graham Murphy also recorded 5 tackles from his linebacker spot.

Up next is Douglass (0-4) so the Chargers will have plenty of reason to feel very confident going into this game. The game will be livestreamed on ChargerVision at hhchargers.tv. So if you won't be able to make it to the game, make sure you tune into every snap online or watch it on-demand afterward.

Onward Chargers!

Written by Owen Burns '27
Photos by Ben Thomas '25