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Some players need a few games to get rolling at top efficency but that appears not to be the case for Highland senior quarterback JR Linscheid.
Linscheid led the Cardinals to a 44-20 win over River Ridge in a Six Rivers Jamboree game at UW-Platteville Saturday. Linscheid turned in his performance on both sides of the line.
Linscheid got the scoring for the Cards underway with a 41 yard TD strike to sophomore Drew Hennessey then added two points on a conversion run. Still in the first quarter Linscheid rolled in from the four then took off for the conversion and a 16-0 lead.
In quarter number two Linscheid continued his onslaught, first with a three yard run and the second on a 25 yard pass to Carson Bryant. Hennessey kicked the conversions.
Halftime did not cool off Linscheid or the Cardinals. He opened the second half with a 27 yard scoring aerial to Hennessey and Hennessey added the conversion via a kick. Before the period ended Hennessey carried 62 yards for another score and a 44-6 lead.
With the game close to being out of reach River Ridge put up a third quarter score and got into the end zone twice in the fourth frame.
Highland coach Mike Aide said Linscheid has put in the time to become a complete player.
"JR really worked hard in the off season and was ready to play Saturday," said Aide. "He made some great decisions on his reads on the offensive side and set up some big plays. He kept River Ridge on their heels with a great job balancing plays on offense."
Linscheid ended up with 129 yards passing and 99 yards rushing. Hennessey was the reception leader with 90 receiving yards.
"Drew played well with some big pass and run plays," Aide said. "Adam Wolfe showed he will grind out those hard to get yards too."
On defense Linscheid caused a fumble and accounted for several impressive tackles. He also broke up a pass in the end zone before halftime.
"He is a real ball hawk," Aide said.
Some switches in the defense paid off for the Cardinals as they held the Timberwolves to 271 total yards.
"We changed our defense and this was the first test for us," Aide said. "We need to make some adjustments but I was happy with the outcome."
In the new set Hennessey moved from defensive end to middle linebacker and Carson Bryant was installed a cornerback.
"Drew did a great job and Carson came up with some nice tackles," Aide said. "Whatever kinks we encountered we will work to correct for Friday against Belmont."
Aide said attention is being given this week to coverage and downfield blocking during plays.
"Overall I was satisfied with our performance," Aide said. "We need to focus on making sure we clean up our mistakes and get better as the season goes on. We also need to stay healthy."
Another plus was that Aide was able to get all the players suited up into the action.
"I'm glad we got to do that," he said. "I am very happy with the job done by the team and our coaches."
Friday's match-up against the Braves will be one where the Cardinals hope to avenge a loss last season.
"We need to be ready for them," Aide said. "They have a great team with some playmakers and it should be an exciting game."