Defense, run game paves way for Heritage in win over Kelso

As the time ticked down in Heritage’s 30-17 win over Kelso on Friday night, Timberwolves senior Bodee Parker addressed a number of players on the sidelines and expressed just what a win like that means.

Not just for him as a senior and for a class of players who hadn’t beaten Kelso before Friday, but also for the program moving forward. 

“It shows the testament of where our program is going,” the running back and defensive back said after the win. “These boys are amazing and it’s only going to get better from here.”

A win such as Friday over the Hilanders at McKenzie Stadium can be a program-defining one as it continues to make strides under second-year head coach Dennis Moody.

As it had done through the first three games of a condensed spring season, Heritage (2-1 overall) defense shined. Heritage outscored Kelso 23-0 in the second half, made crucial fourth-down stops and disrupted Kelso’s rhythm that had the Hilanders up 17-7 at halftime. 

Colby Cooper’s two touchdowns for Kelso — a 42-yard interception return and a 98-yard kickoff return — helped the Hilanders to that 10-point advantage at halftime. 

Momentum quickly went into Heritage’s favor behind a steady run game with Andre Cowley and several underclassmen on each side of the ball. One of those is Kedyn Bolds, who had most of his yards on the final two offensive drives, including a 60-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 35 seconds left in the game to seal the come-from-behind win. 

Coowley had a game-high 143 yards on 17 carries, including touchdown runs of 53 and 35 as part of a 14-point third quarter when Heritage (2-1 overall) took the lead for good. Heritage held Kelso to just 104 total yards, and the defense had two safeties. 

Parker credited the team’s offensive line and the defense for lighting a spark. The defense also had an interception and a fumble recovery. 

“We just kept our heads up high,” he said, “and kept the energy going. We knew what we had to do.”

HERITAGE 30, KELSO 17

Kelso 7 10 0 0—17

Heritage 0 7 14 9—30

First quarter

K — Colby Cooper 42 interception return (Mason Smith kick)

Second quarter

K — Smith 27 FG

H — Alex Anderson 39 pass from Khalil Osbin (Hunter Letteer kick)

K — Cooper 98 kickoff return (Smith kick)

Third quarter

H — Andre Crowley 53 run (kick failed)

H — Crowley 35 run (kick failed)

H — Safety (snap over punter’s head)

Fourth quarter

H — Safety (snap over punter’s head)

H — Kaedyn Bolds 60 run (Pablo Barbosa-Sanchez kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Kelso: Conner Noah 12-36, Kyle Spaulding 4-27, Hunter Letteer 8-8, Michael Hause 1-2; Heritage: Andre Crowley 17-143, Kaedyn Bolds 10-117, Bodee parker 7-30, Isaac Washington 3-8, Wyatt Scott 1-3, JS Louis 1-2, Kaleb Lamere 2-(minus-2).

PASSING — Kelso: Hunter Letteer 7-21-1-49; Heritage: Isaac Washington 1-3-2-0; Khalil Osbin 3-8-1-52.

RECEIVING — Kelso: Colby Cooper 4-25; Ethan Moyer 1-11; Jaden Kay 1-7, Teagan Connors 1-8; Heritage: Alex Anderson 2-48, Andre Crowley 1-6, Kaedyn Bolds 1-2.