By Chris Cox

At Heritage Hall the goals rarely change.

“We always tell the guys starting on the first day of spring football that our goals are to win a district championship,” head coach Brett Bogert says. “This year we move from 3A-1 to 3A-2, so we have a lot of new faces and a different style of football than we saw in 3A-1. It will be fun, and we want to go down south and win the district title. Obviously, we then want to win a state championship.”

Heritage Hall’s last state title came in 2018, meaning no one on this year’s squad has won a championship. That is something that Heritage Hall hasn’t had in a while and it’s something Bogert says is driving this 2022 Charger team.

“You can feel that extra bit of hunger,” he says. “It’s obviously early but they’re doing everything they need to do to put themselves in the right position to go after one.”

Heritage Hall will have a good blend of returning players and new talent in the mix this year. Leading the way for the Chargers offense is VYPE Top 100 running back River Faulkner (5-10, 205, Sr.). Faulkner ran for 1,146 yards and 22 touchdowns last year and Bogert thinks he can be even better this year.

“River was probably at about 60 percent late in the season but battled through,” Bogert says. “He set a goal of somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 yards rushing and we want to give him a chance to do that. I do expect him to reach high numbers because he’s just dangerous with the football.”

The Charger offense is replacing their starting quarterback, but Bogert says Andy Bass (6-0, 200, Jr.) has stepped into that role well.

“He’s done really well,” Bogert says. “He’s gotten tons of reps and gotten really comfortable with our group of receivers.” 

Defensively, the Chargers will continue to run a 30 Stack, as they have for the better part of two decades. 

“Our linebacking corps is going to be really good,” Bogert says. “We have Liam (Burton) and Orie (Walker) in the secondary and Jordyn Harris (6-0, 174, Jr.) is a lockdown corner who’s only gotten better. We are going to be aggressive. That’s coach (Mark) Adams M.O. He says he wants to make the offense play defense and dictate what they’re doing. We are going to bring the heat and try to put as much pressure on the quarterback as we can.”

After falling in the state semifinals last season, Heritage Hall is hoping to make another run 3A again and ultimately add another gold ball to their collection.