On Aug. 25 at 7 p.m., the Heritage Eagles took to their home field to play their season opener against the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles at LPS Stadium in Littleton. 

The game started off rainy but the clouds soon parted and left the rest of the evening clear and cool for Heritage's first game and Mountain Vista's second game of this season.

Heritage lost a hard back and forth battle to Mountain Vista with a final score of 35-34. The match was tirelessly fought in the middle of the field with many turnover-on-downs from both teams.

Mountain Vista's coach, Garrett Looney said, "We did some good stuff and bad stuff on offense. A win is a win. Be proud of the win. It’s a win. We got to get better."

Key plays occured during the match, including:

• A fumble by Heritage quarterback Kurt Rossner, recovered by Mountain Vistan defender Colton Bowers, that gave an excellent field advantage for a Golden Eagles' touchdown early in the game.
• An interception by Mountain Vista defender Jakhai Mack from a pass to Heritage's WR in the endzone denying a touchdown for Heritage.
• A nail-biting attempt at a 2-point conversation by Heritage's offense in order to take the lead in the game's closing minute that only just failed because of the outstretched reaching block from Mountain Vista's defender Jakhai Mack. Mack tipped the ball, knocking the pass out of reach of Heritage receiver Tanner Terch in the endzone. 

Both teams fought hard by answering touchdowns with touchdowns that ultimately ended with a tough loss for the Heritage Eagles, but a win to remember for the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles.

Mountain Vista is currently 1-1 on the season. Coming off of a 7-4 winning season the previous year and ranking 3rd in 5A League 5 Football, they are likely to stack some wins as the year goes on. 

Heritage's coach, Tyler Knoblock, consoled his team after their close defeat tonight with these words, "Chase that win feeling you saw right there. I’m proud of you guys".

He was referring to the touchdown and attempt for a 2-point conversion near the final seconds of the match. Hertitage fell to 0-1.

But they know how to chase, and catch, that win feeling coming off of a previous season's winning record of 8-4 and placing 2nd in CO Class 4A. This loss was an exemplary improvement from last year's 35-7 loss against Mountain Vista.

Keep your eye on Vista as the season unfolds.