Redmond finished its string of nonleague games on a high with a 17-14 victory over Heritage on Sept. 23.

And now it’s 3A KingCo time as the Mustangs (1-3) will play at Lake Washington (2-2) in the teams’ opening league game at 7 p.m. this Friday.

At Redmond High against Heritage — a previously undefeated 4A squad — the Mustangs’ Joel Hargin scored twice on runs of 7 and 1 yards for Redmond and Pedro Menchaca added a 37-yard field goal and two PATs. Hargin ran 27 times for 169 yards and Ryan Mossman had five catches for 62 yards.

“It felt good. That was my first rushing touchdown since sophomore year. I was pumped to get that going,” said senior Hargin about his initial romp into the end zone. “The offensive line has some fire I’d never seen before. The offensive line carried our offense and established our run game.”

Redmond scored first on Menchaca’s field goal and Heritage scored a touchdown to lead 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Redmond went up 10-7 at halftime, and led 17-7 in the third quarter before Heritage scored again.

Defensively for Redmond, Ben Nachmanson had an interception and Caden Pratt recovered a fumble. Hayden Poore had eight total tackles.

“It justifies the win, knowing how well they can play and how tough they are,” said head coach Jason Rimkus, adding that the team’s confidence level is high and the Mustangs are ramped up for the LW game.

Added Hargin: “It wasn’t just any win. They were 3-0 and they had some big dudes. We found out that size doesn’t matter.”

Hargin noted that a lot of the younger Mustangs are picking up steam each week and the win provides motivation for all players heading into Friday’s game.

At quarterback, junior starter Teryn Berry — who began playing football as a freshman — has been getting better each week, especially his demeanor and composure, according to Rimkus. Against Seattle Prep, Berry was 16-for-32 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, one to Hargin and one to Devon La Pierre.