Leesburg, Va. — Two decades ago, Heritage High School opened its doors for the first time. Fast forward 20 years and the Pride came together to celebrate their 20-year anniversary during their Homecoming football game against Broad Run High School in front of a home crowd in Leesburg on October 21.

Led by senior running back Peyton Arcuri and a strong defensive effort, the Pride thwarted the Spartans, 31-14, celebrating Homecoming and 20 years of tradition—and moving one game closer to securing a playoff berth.

“Everyone did their jobs, so everything went to plan,” Arcuri said. “It feels great to get the job done and be able to celebrate with my teammates.”

The game did not start according to plan as the Spartans got on the board late in the first quarter when junior defensive back Kory Smoot scooped up a fumble in Pride territory and returned it 9 yards for a touchdown.

Trailing 7-0, Heritage moved deep into Broad Run territory early in the second quarter, but Smoot once again rose to the occasion, this time making a highlight-reel, one-handed interception on the goal line before returning it 86 yards down to the Heritage 14 yard line.

Needing a big stop so the game didn’t slip away from them early, Heritage junior defensive back Colin Smith stepped up and picked off the Broad Run quarterback near the goal line, returning it to near midfield to curtail the Spartan threat.

“We always tell the guys ‘no matter where they have the ball from the 1 yard line to the opposite 1, you have to be able to show up and shut them down,’” Heritage head coach Travis Huff said. “We showed that we could do that tonight.”

On the ensuing drive, Arcuri started to shine as he slipped through the Broad Run defense for a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game up at 7-7.

With less than a minute to play in the first half, Heritage got the ball back and then after a pass interference call late, ran an untimed play to end the half as sophomore kicker Williams Lees drilled a 31-yard field goal to give the Pride a 10-7 lead.

Midway through the third quarter, Arcuri again busted free for another 14-yard touchdown run to extend the Heritage lead to 17-7. Then, early in the fourth quarter—on a series that included a 3rd-and-59 for the Pride—Arcuri added to his epic night with a 6-yard touchdown run to make it a 3-score lead for the Pride.

“We told the guys to just pick up a few yards here and there, then we can punt,” Huff said. “But we were able to pick up some extra yards, and Arcuri got a touchdown out of it. “

After Arcuri’s third touchdown run, Broad Run junior quarterback Gavin Sidhu found junior receiver Victor Young for an 81-yard quick-strike touchdown to cut the lead to 24-14, but following that score, the Spartans’ offense ran out of steam.

Late in the fourth quarter, Arcuri added another 14-yard rushing touchdown for good measure to cap off his 28-carry, 224-yard, 4-touchdown night as the Pride celebrated Homecoming by knocking off the Spartans for the first time in exactly 17 years when Heritage defeated Broad Run 49-13 on October 21, 2005.

“Peyton doesn’t stop moving his legs, and he truly is a workhorse,” Huff said. “He’s come a long way, so it’s exciting to see how much he’s grown over the last couple years, and it’s nice to be able to lean on him in games like this.”

With the win, Heritage improves to 3-2 in the Dulles District, moving one step closer to securing a VHSL Region 4C playoff berth. If the Pride knock off rival Loudoun County on November 4 or the Spartans fall to either Loudoun County on October 28 or Tuscarora on November 4, Heritage will earn a berth into the VHSL Region 4C playoffs.

“We’ve been working really hard to get to this point, and we’re hitting our strides at just the right time,” Huff said. “We needed to win this game in order to have a chance to make the playoffs, so it’s a big relief.”

Mike Ferrara captured 300+ photos at the game!

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