Sammy Khalaf is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Heritage Academy Laveen High School Football for AZPreps365.com

The Heritage Academy Laveen Heroes suffered their first season loss at the hands of the Guardians of American Leadership Academy - West Foothills Friday night, 49-0. 

This was a multi-classification game as both teams came into this game undefeated in in different levels of play. The 2A Heroes were looking to redeem themselves following last year’s loss to the 3A Guardians, 62-0. Didn't happen.

 The Heroes are now 3-1, while the Guardians extend their record to 5-0.

The Guardians did not waste any time as quarterback Hudson Mitton and the Guardians found the end zone early. It didn’t stop there as the Guardians finished with two passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns, including a blocked punt by Angel Mendoza, which led to a touchdown. The Guardians scored on almost every possession. 

    The Heroes’ offense, however, kept them together during the game. Despite turning the ball over three times, the Heroes had some big moments such as an onside kick recovery by Zahk Lovelace to start the second half. Star quarterback Kaleb (Bubba) Burras threw for 96 yards while rushing for 89 yards. Throwing a huge pass down the field when the clock almost expired felt good for the senior. 

“It felt great,” Burras said. “A great play from the lack of offense we had during the game, but it felt good.”

Burras said that going up against a team that is not in their classification is always difficult. 

“It’s tough,” Burras said. “Really just got to play through the game.”

The fast-running senior added Friday’s game to his distinctive resume as he looks to end his high school career on a high note. 

Heritage coach Nick Offenberger said that despite the loss, the team needed to tackle adversity head-on, and the Heroes did just that on Friday night.

“We were definitely outmatched tonight,” Offenberger said. “Obviously, going against one of the top teams in the state, being down seven starters.” 

Offenberger added that the team needs to be healthy going into region play.

“We look forward to having a healthy team next week and go to battle,” Offenberger said.

The Heroes also had support from Freddy Rios, Gabriel Terrell Jr., and Shar Malik said that the team showed everyone what it is capable of.

“Other teams have done worse against them,” Malik said. “It just shows what we’re made of.”

Malik added that the Heroes did not go down without a fight on Friday night.

“The fact that we even held our ground against them, that just shows that we could go get anybody at any time,” Malik said. 

The Heroes will look to rebound next week against the Trivium Prep Crimson Knights at Arizona Lutheran Academy. The last time these two teams met in the regular season was last year when the Heroes held on to beat the Knights 50-40.

As for the Guardians, they will look to extend their undefeated streak when they welcome the Paradise Honors Panthers on Oct. 4. The Heroes will return to region play in two weeks when they face Santa Cruz Valley.