Football:

Pictured L-R: RHP football coach Mark Carson & 2003 Rio Hondo Prep grad, Matt Heersema.

By Brian Reed-Baiotto

Matt Heersema lives, breathes and sleeps Rio Hondo Prep football.

And Mark Carson, his coaches and their players and parents love him for it.

The 39-year-old Heersema toyed with putting a podcast together during the COVID-19 lockdown.

It was originally called “Get Home Safe.”

When 2021 rolled around, though, he continued to receive feedback from the Rio Hondo Prep family that people really enjoyed and appreciated what he was doing.

He branded it “A Charge to Keep,” and it serves a myriad of purposes.

But far and away, Heersema’s primary focus is twofold

He’s all about shining a light on a tiny, but great school and its football program.

And just as important, through his hard work, Matt has successfully been able to unite members of the Kare Nation from all eras.

In 25 years of covering local high school and JC sports for different entities, I can say without equivocation that I’ve never witnessed a school that cares more about its students, past and present, like I’ve seen at RHP.

Considering the fact that Rio Hondo Prep has an enrollment of 139 students or so from grades 7-12, they shouldn’t be relevant in CIF-SS sports.

But they are, and in some cases, the Kares are elite.

Who is Matt Heersema?

Heersema, as mentioned, is a 2003 RHP graduate, and he was a significant part of the football program transitioning into what it is today.

Back in 2001, the junior quarterback/linebacker led the Kares to a CIF-SS eight-man football championship.

RHP defeated a 12-0 Joshua Springs team, 34-28, in overtime.

To make it even more special, Heersema secured the championship with a walk-off 1-yard TD run in overtime.

Fast forward to 2002, and Heersema led the program into its first season of 11-man football.

They probably struggled mightily while they made the adjustment in that first year, right?

Nope.

RHP actually went 8-3 that year, and their signature victory was a regular season win over the eventual CIF champions from Pasadena Poly.

Heersema, like almost every male athlete for the Kares, played football, basketball and baseball.

To his credit, Heersema is brutally honest in saying he was 5-foot-7 so basketball wasn’t really going to be his thing, and he couldn’t hit in baseball, so football was the love of his life.

After graduation, he went on to earn a degree in communication from Cal State Fullerton in 2008.

Ironically enough, RHP head coach Mark Carson went to the same school, and he earned the exact degree as did Matt Heersema.

Sadly, 2008 would be a devastating year for the 23-year-old.

His mother, Diane Heersema, had a heart attack, and while in the hospital, Matt’s hero had a fatal stroke, and on July 27th of that year, she died at the age of 53.

It was a shock to the system for everyone, including his father Dave, and younger brother, Sam, who was only 20 at the time.

Instead of allowing himself to fully grieve, Heersema focused on making sure his father and brother were OK, and they were headed in the right direction.

Diane Heersema was Vice President of Bank of America in Pasadena as well as another stint in Glendale.

Back then, being a female boss wasn’t accepted nearly as well as they might today, especially by her male counterparts.

But Diane worked her butt off, proved herself, and earned the respect of everyone around her.

She was also the biggest fan of her two sons, and Mrs. Heersema set an example that he still uses to this day.

While attending CSUF, his mom happened to work in the area, and often times, Matt would meet up with Diane for lunch.

He was considering a career as a sports official, and he wanted a job as a professional umpire.

Heersema told his mom that over lunch one day, and he expected her to shoot the idea down, and that he’d likely consider another career path.

But his mom, who died 16 years ago yesterday, told Matt to chase his dreams, and he did.

Heersema has a lot of experience as a high school official in most sports, and he’d eventually become a minor league baseball umpire.

Heersema attended the Jim Evans Academy, and then he worked four years in four different leagues, including the Gulf Coast League in Florida.

He followed that up with a year in the Northwest League, which meant he was working in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Canada.

In 2011, Matt worked a Midwest League that totaled 16 cities in eight states.

And his final campaign was more local in the California League, including Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino and Lake Elsinore.

Some of the better known athletes that he shared a field with included Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, George Springer, Billy Hamilton, Nick Castellanos and Kike Hernandez.

Matt experienced a lot over those four years, and he was called every pejorative and profanity that one could imagine.

Out of respect for the Christian focus at RHP, I’ll leave the insults out of this story, but suffice to say, it was both graphic and the type of rhetoric that was meant to challenge one’s manhood.

Heersema eventually got out of umping, and while this man is all about bringing people together, he did say the reason for leaving was not wanting to deal with the type of person that just happened to step down recently from his perch as the head football coach at a prestigious high school in La Verne.

Ironically enough, Matt said his now 69-year-old father Dave was brutal on officials when he played at RHP, but after hearing what his son endured, Dave Heersema completely changed his view on those in the striped shirts.

Although he loves RHP, Heersema became detached after being away from the school.

But in Week Zero in 2012, Matt’s passion for Kares’ football was lit and burning bright after checking an RHP score on his phone.

RHP defeated Arcadia, 29-7, in their first game, and he thought to himself, “this is bigger than some random win.”

Along with the great memories at RHP, Heersema has enormous affection for Mark Carson.

He told a story about meeting Carson in 1999 when he was a freshman.

It happened to be Carson’s first year as well, and he was the JV special teams’ coach.

It’s safe to say that isn’t very high billing.

But Heersema talked about Mark’s attention to detail, and how Carson would try to present real-game, game-on-the-line type scenarios for those on the field during the extra-point and field goal kicking parts of special teams play.

On some occasions, if they completed the task flawlessly, Carson would actually take them to a local 7/11 and get the special teamers a soda and candy bar for their diligent work at practice.

Carson even told them, this is going to prepare you to win a CIF title, and Carson’s words ended up ringing true.

Heersema did some coaching for the Kares Youth Program, and that gets us to 2020 and the shutdown.

Wanting to be part of a school, program and coach that he loves, Heersema needed a way to give back, so he came up with the podcast idea.

A Charge to Keep is arguably the most consistent area podcast.

And it’s without a doubt the most professional in terms of looks and sound, the way it’s run and the diversity of the guests and opinions.

As a man with character and dignity, and led by his faith, Matt doesn’t try to hide his bias for RHP, but he always gives every Rio Hondo Prep football opponent a great deal of respect during his interviews leading up to and after games.

A Charge to Keep in growing in numbers, and it has the loyal viewership of those past and present from that tiny school in Arcadia.

Admirably, on every Fourth of July, Matt uploads a conversation with an RHP alum, who spent time serving our country in the military.

Heersema currently serves as a courier for FedEx Express in Industry, and it’s the only reason that he doesn’t have the time to cover other RHP sports with the same vigor he does for the football program.

I asked Matt a few questions about RHP history.

He considers the 37-30 victory at Charter Oak in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs in 2021 to be the biggest win in school history, because of the talent-rich players and coaches that make up the COHS football program.

In that game, the undersized Kares had a 20-minute advantage in the time of possession battle.

Heersema’s favorite win of late has to be last year’s 29-27 victory in the CIF-SS D-9 title game at Santa Monica.

It pitted a school with 2,678 members of the student body against another with less than 150.

And the win couldn’t have been more dramatic.

With less than two minutes to play, and the game tied at 21-21, the Kares looked to take the lead on a Nate Curtis run.

Instead of scoring and leaving far too much time for Santa Monica to answer, Curtis slid on his butt near the goal line so RHP could eat some of the game clock.

Noah Penunuri scored on a 2-yard TD run with 1:09 to play, and while the Kares were all set to attempt the point after, SMHS jumped offside.

Carson decided to call the kicking team off the field.

He had Alex Mustain hand the ball off to Penunuri, and the star sophomore easily converted on the two-point rushing attempt.

No one could have forecasted how big Carson’s decision would turn out to be.

Santa Monica drove all the way to the 11-yard line, and on the last play of regulation, they scored on a TD pass from Wyatt Brown to Charles Cravings.

Thanks to Carson’s gutsy call, however, it forced SMHS to go for two.

Nathaniel Shine wasn’t going to let the Vikings ruin their path to history, so he knocked down Brown’s 2-point pass attempt to secure the Division 9 championship.

The celebration in the stands, on the field, and on the RHP sideline was immediate and spirited.

And the first hug that Carson got was from his buddy, Matt Heersema.

Heersema considers current Cal football player Ryan McCulloch, and former UTEP stud, Landon Goodwell, to be the most elite RHP athletes over the last 25 years.

When it comes to a guy that best represented the toughness that is the RHP football program, Heersema lauded Jason Ramos, who won CIF titles for the Kares in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

He said Ramos was undersized and overlooked, and that seems to be the story every Friday night during football season for Rio Hondo Prep opponents.

That is, of course, until the 48 minutes are up, and one looks to the scoreboard.

Perhaps the best example of frustration among victims of the cerebral RHP game plan took place during the 2023 title run.

After defeating a certain program from the OC, and while taking in the time of possession discrepancy, a coach had the nerve to tell Coach Carson that it was bulls*** the way they played the game.

Lastly, I asked Heersema to touch on the following: How did your mom’s death affect you? Why did you start this podcast? What would you want to tell people outside of RHP as to why you love the school so much?

Said Matt Heersema: “It was the most devastating moment of my life. I had just graduated from CSUF, and not having that female influence in my life was so difficult for my brother and me. She taught us to be respectful to everyone. I could talk to her about any subject on the planet. I only had 23 years with her, and I feel like I didn’t take advantage of those years, so it left me with some emptiness. I know she’d be very enthusiastic and proud about what I’m doing, because my passion is all about bringing people together. I think RHP football is the most unique high school program in the country, and I’m so proud of the way the coaches and players represent our school with such dignity, hard work and class. I hope my podcast inspires more people to attend our football games. I’ve had a rough year, so being able to focus on something I love to do and connecting with the players and coaches has been a blessing for me. I think Rio Hondo is best kept secret in SGV or California, and it does great things. If you send your child to RHP, they are going to be prepared to lead a happy and successful life.”

To view a photo gallery of Heersema through the years, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook

You can watch @ChargetoKeep on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Quotable:

CIF champion RHP football coach, Mark Carson: “Matt’s a great friend. It’s hard to quantify what he and his Charge to Keep podcast do for our program, but it’s significant. Our players, their parents, alumni and fans love everything he produces, and it helps create a ‘big time’ vibe around our program. I don’t think there are many other high schools in our area that have a weekly podcast. It’s special. Matt has taken it from a hobby to a professional level production. His sports knowledge and appreciation for the history of Rio football gives those who are looking for it an insiders look at our program. However, he’s also careful to not give up any vital info on the weekly game plan or anything like that – which I appreciate. He’s a one-man sports information department for Rio, and we can’t thank him enough for what he does.”

RHP vice principal, Edwin Ixta: “We don’t know yet how big of an impact Matt has made to RHP football, it’s coaches, players, former players, families, and the community, but it is certainly huge. He’s connected so many alumni back to the program and it’s great hearing from them on the podcast, and seeing them at games supporting our coaches and student athletes. Our current families greatly appreciate the coverage, and his chronicling the season which they can enjoy for future years. RHP football has a rich tradition and is unlike any other program, but Matt does an outstanding job encapsulating what we’re all about. We can’t thank him enough for his contributions to Rio Hondo Prep.”

RHP parent, Allison Curtis: “I have had the privilege of watching Matt Heersema’s podcast and coverage of Rio Hondo Prep football grow in height and depth over my twin boys’ high school careers. Starting as a casual idea and now morphing into a full-blown platform. My sons are now seniors and have been recipients of Matt’s comprehensive football coverage. The excitement of watching live game coverage and updates and then looking forward to watching the post-game show on the weekend is something most high school parents do not get to experience. Hearing your son’s name on the podcast is pure joy. I have also been impressed with Matt’s coverage of alumni, RHP history, and connecting the past to the future. My family and I are grateful for your time and commitment to RHP Football, Matt – thank you!”

RHP parent, David Guerrero: “Matt Heersema loves Rio Hondo Prep and has done an amazing job of bringing the Rio Hondo Prep community (alumni, parents and friends) together from all eras and all parts of the world with his A Charge to Keep podcast. I don’t know if there’s any other podcast like his that covers high school football in such a positive and entertaining way. I know everyone looks forward to watching Matt’s pregame during-the-game, and postgame coverage of Rio Hondo Prep football. Matt is a great example of what a Kare is, and what makes Rio Hondo Prep a unique school and as an alumnus of Rio Hondo Prep and a father of a son Matt covered in high school, I appreciate all that he does.”

RHP senior, Josh Curtis: “Mr. Heersema’s coverage of Rio Hondo Football is unparalleled. It’s great as a player to see Matt on the sideline and to watch the footage he captures at the games. His support and the way he documented our CIF run to the championship will be something I can always look back on and smile.”

RHP senior, Nate Curtis: “Mr. Heersema is the GOAT of podcasting. Most high school programs would be fortunate to have a third of the content that Matt produces on a weekly basis. Matt looks fully dialed in on the sideline, especially in his playoff garb. I appreciate his positive words and great coverage; it means a lot coming from a former player. Also, the way he was able to rally the alumni to our CIF games was truly special.”

RHP senior, Caeden Holcomb: “Matt Heersema and The Charge to Keep Podcast is sort of the heartbeat of our team. His podcast along with all of his frequent posts and updates about everything Rio football really gives us some exposure and puts us on the radar. It’s also serves as a behind the scenes look of our whole program and lets parents or other loved ones see what’s going on when maybe they’re not fortunate enough to see everything or go to every game.”

Former RHP player, Jonathan Guerrero: “Matt Heersema is an awesome dude. I remember my first time he asked me to be on the podcast. I was excited but also nervous. It was really fun to be on the podcast with Matt and to talk about football and life. He has always been a big supporter of me even when I was playing at Citrus College. His podcast is amazing and fun to watch. It’s cool that he asks a lot of different people to be on his podcast and that he covers all the Rio sports.”