Leesburg, Va. — It had been almost 1500 days since the Heritage High School football team bested their Leesburg-rival Tuscarora, and after falling to the Huskies 42-7 in their 2024 meeting, the Pride were looking to avenge the last three seasons of losses when they travelled across town to King Street for their 2025 matchup.
A pick-six on just the fifth play of the game put Heritage in a deficit early, the Pride responded by rushing for 358 yards while scoring five unanswered touchdowns over the next 30 minutes to cruise past the Huskies, 34-14, on October 24 in Leesburg.
“Last year, we got our butts kicked by them,” Heritage junior running back/linebacker Luke Olszewski said. “So coming back this year, playing together as a team, minimizing mistakes, we just played a great football game.”
While it turned into a great football game for the Pride, it didn’t start out as they planned when Tuscarora senior lineman Lucas Allen intercepted a pop pass on just the fifth play of the game, returning it 44 yards for a touchdown to put the Huskies up 7-0 less than three minutes in.
On the second play of the next series, Tuscarora senior linebacker Andrew Teames recovered a fumble as the Huskies offense took the field for the first time.
“You just have to go out there and play each play and not think about the past,” Heritage head coach Travis Huff said.
Tuscarora took some gambles early, as senior quarterback Peter Laiti scrambled for a first down on 4th-and-2 from the Heritage 36. The Huskies didn’t have the same luck with the fresh set of downs as Laiti’s fourth down pass fell incomplete, allowing the Pride to take over on their own 25.
On his first touch of the game, Olszewski bounced to the outside for a 6-yard gain. Then, on the very next play, Heritage sophomore quarterback Jonathan Heckman threw a screen pass to Olszewski, who broke free down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown, evening the score 7-7.
After trading punts, Tuscarora took over at their own 26 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Heritage senior defensive back Elijah Woods picked off Laiti and returned the interception 35 yards for a touchdown to put the Pride up 13-7, following a failed two-point conversion.
Neither offense found much rhythm again until midway through the second quarter when Heritage senior running back Reed Alexander found a hole and rumbled 36 yards for a touchdown to increase the Pride lead to 20-7.
Heritage senior defensive back Cam McManus and senior lineman Eray Uzan both dropped Tuscarora for losses on the ensuing drive, forcing a punt on 4th-and-25, setting the Pride up in plus territory to start their next drive.
Allen returned the favor, dropping Alexander for a 4-yard loss before sacking the Heritage quarterback, leading to another Heritage punt.
The Pride would get one more chance late in the first half after senior linebacker Jonathan Jorge recovered a fumble, but their 40-yard field goal attempt fell short as the first half came to a close.
Tuscarora orchestrated a meticulous drive to open the third quarter, but came up empty when they missed a 33-yard field goal attempt of their own.
Two plays later, however, Tuscarora junior defensive back Anthony Rosa scooped up a fumble and the Huskies were back in business.
With a short field to defend, the Heritage defense stepped up once again as Uzan and Olszewski got to Laiti for a 4-yard sack, before back-to-back incompletions gave the Pride the ball back at their own 36.
Following a Heckman keeper, the Pride handed the ball off to Olszewski, who made a cut through the middle and disappeared for a 66-yard touchdown run, adding to the Heritage lead 27-7.
“We have a two running back system, because we run the ball a lot,” Huff said. “[Alexander] runs more downhill and [Olszewski] is more shifty, so it’s about calling the right play at the right time for the right guy to get the ball.”
Another Tuscarora punt set the Pride up at the far 20 yard line with less than 90 seconds to play in the third. Olszewski wouldn’t need much time at all as exploded through the line on the first play of the drive for an 80-yard touchdown run, capping off his night with 14 carries for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground and 1 reception for 69 yards and a touchdown through the air.
“I love my big boys up front. They protect me and always do their job,” Olszewski said. “It was just detailed football: they blocked who they needed to block and I just ran through the holes.”
Having been outscored 83-7 over their last three matchups with their rival Huskies, the Pride responded in a big way with a 34-14 win, but they know the battle is far from over. Heritage (2-1, 5-3) hosts district foe Rock Ridge on October 30 before traveling to a daunting Loudoun County team on November 7. Tuscarora (2-1, 4-4) will look to bounce back when they travel to Loudoun Valley on October 31 before hosting Broad Run on November 7.
“We just focus on trying to go 1-0 each week,” Huff said. “It doesn’t matter who our opponent is, we have the same level of focus each week at practice.”
Derrick Jerry captured 75+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 9:45 | Tuscarora | Lucas Allen 44-yard interception return TD (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 0-7 |
| 1Q | 6:07 | Heritage | Jonathan Heckman to Luke Olszewski 69-yard TD pass (Jason Alvarado PAT) | 7-7 |
| 1Q | 2:40 | Heritage | Elijah Woods 35-yard interception return TD (2pt failed) | 13-7 |
| 2Q | 7:55 | Heritage | Reed Alexander 36-yard TD run (Jason Alvarado PAT) | 20-7 |
| 3Q | 4:25 | Heritage | Luke Olszewski 66-yard TD run (Jason Alvarado PAT) | 27-7 |
| 3Q | 1:11 | Heritage | Luke Olszewski 80-yard TD run (Jason Alvarado PAT) | 34-7 |
| 4Q | 2:27 | Tuscarora | Peter Laiti 2-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 34-14 |