Coming into Friday’s mid day game, the reigning 3A champs, Bishop Chatard, sat at a flawless 14-0 record with impressive wins over Cathedral and Cincinatti Elder. Heritage Hills came into Friday’s contest at 13-1 with their lone loss to Gibson Southern who they beat in a Semi-State rematch 31-28. 

Bishop Chatard received the opening kickoff and made quick work to get on the board, going on a 12 play 74 yard drive capped off with a Riley Kinnett 24 yard run to go up 7-0 early. 

On the following drive, Heritage Hills started the game off hot with a 17 yard run from running back Braydon Durham to move the sticks, but three rushing yards from quarterback Jett Goldsberry would ultimately result in a punt to open up the game for the Patriots. 

On their second drive, the Trojans picked up right where they left off and continued to pound the rock. Kinnett continued to lead the way with 12 carries for 76 yards in the opening quarter while quarterback Aiden Arteaga was an efficient 8-9. As the Trojans entered the second quarter, facing a 4th and 4 following a holding call on a successful third down conversion, Arteaga would sail a corner pass to wide receiver Colin Guy to give the ball back to Heritage Hills. 

Driving with the ball, Goldsberry was able to get the offense moving with a 10 yard scamper before Guy was able to track his pass across the middle and intercept the ball. 

The Colin Guy interception gave the ball back to the Trojan offense, which they once again made quick work of. Kinnett powered his way into the endzone once more from a yard out to go up 14-0. 

On the ensuing drive, Goldsberry and Durham were able to get the Patriot offense going after a pair of lackluster drives. Goldsberry found wide receiver Tyler Ruxer for a 23 yard gain and Durham was able to break free for an 18 yard sprint before they faced a 4th and 1 and came up just short to hand the ball back to the Trojans. 

The Trojans would continue to flex their muscles offensively as Arteaga would lead an eight play, 67 yard drive that saw an incredible completion to Guy before Kinnett would cap things off with his third score of the game. 

As the team’s headed into the locker room, Kinnett was leading the way with 103 yards rushing as Durham and Goldsberry tried their best to keep the Patriots afloat, but each drive would start promising before things went sideways. 

Heritage Hills got the ball to start the second half, and immediately got things going as Goldsberry was able to find Ruxer for his second completion of the game. However, following the 16 yard gain, a big time sack by linebacker Luke Purichia would force another Patriot punt. 

The Heritage Hills defense would begin to tighten up a little bit, though. On the following Trojan drive, Kinnett was able to break through for one first down before a loss of yards on a Daniel Shaw run led to the Trojans first punt of the day. 

As Heritage was starting to put together their best drive of the day with a couple big Goldsberry runs, he would end up finding Colin Guy for his second interception of the game. 

Back on offense, Chatard kept running Kinnett and kept working in passes to Guy and Shaw. Shaw was able to get loose on 4th down to get the Trojans inside the 10 yard line. From there, Kinnett was able to burst through the middle of the offensive line for his fourth rushing touchdown of the game- which ties the 3A State Championship record. 

On the brink of being mercy ruled, Jasper Chapman was able to return the kickoff 53 yards to get some energy into the Heritage team. 

Trying to throw to the endzone to get a quick score, Goldsberry is once again met with the hands of Guy who snagged his third interception of the game- which ties the overall state championship record. 

On the ensuing drive, Chatard continued to just pound the rock with Kinnett. As he amassed over 150 yards by the first drive in the fourth quarter. Searching for their 35th point to activate the mercy rule, Arteaga was able to find receiver Jack Weybright for his first passing touchdown of the day. 

Both teams would exchange possession of the ball before Heritage would get the ball back as they played for pride in the waning minutes of the game. 

Behind the legs of Durham, the Patriots would continue to pick up some first downs as the season ultimately ticked away in front of their eyes. 

Working their way down to the red zone before Goldsberry was able to find Ruxer in the end zone to make it a 35-7 game with just over a minute left. 

A couple of runs with the freshman later and Chatard was able to seal the game away to repeat as 3A Champions. 

Game Awards 

Impact Play of The Game: Heritage turnover on downs with 3:50 left in the first half- this game has a lot of scoring from Chatard, but with 3:50 left in the half it was a 14-0 game with Heritage Hills able to make it a one score game on the attacking side of the field. But, a turnover on downs ruined the drive which led to a Kinnett touchdown run and the rest is history. 

Unit of The Game: Bishop Chatard offensive line- Chatard was able to run the ball at will and throw it under a clean pocket when necessary. Arteaga was an efficient 18-26 for 241 yards and a touchdown while the ball carriers led by Kinnett had 38 attempts for 207 yards and four touchdowns. 

“Our offensive line was lights out,” said running back Riley Kinnett. “They all did their jobs and I could not do it without them, I love my bros and I am really going to miss them.”  

Player(s) of The Game: Riley Kinnett and Colin Guy- it is not often I declare multiple people the player of the game, but it is not often two state records are tied in the same game. Guy had six receptions for 66 yards on offense to pair with his three interceptions on defense, which is the most in any championship game since Wes Kendall in 1996. For Kinnett, he finished with 25 attempts for 158 yards and four touchdowns while playing in a cast on his arm, which is the most rushing touchdowns in a 3A championship game since Dray Mason in 2003. 

“Just being here alone means so much to me, but being in the record books is just incredible,” said Kinnett. “A lot of the game of football is finding ways to adapt, [injuries] happen in sports and you need to find a way around it.” 

Fellow record holder wide receiver and defensive back Colin Guy adds to the feeling of being in the record books now. 

“[Being in the record books] is a great feeling,” said Guy. “I just wish I could have broke it, we call a lot of Cover 3 where we roll down [Jack Steadham] and I read the quarterback and take advantage of it.” Guy, who also led the team in receiving yards, acknowledges the two-way grind. “Playing both ways is a struggle, but playing both ways for Bishop Chatard is truly amazing.”