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The statistics favored the opposition but not by much.
But what counts is the score and that favored the Highland Cardinals who won their Homecoming game with a 21-0 shutout over Wonewoc/Weston Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals scored in each of the three quarters with two big plays and a plunge. That offset a 216-189 yard difference in total yards by W/W.
Owyn Halverson outraced W/W as he traveled 73 yards for the first score to make it 6-0 in the first quarter. His efforts all day drew praise from head coach Mike Aide.
"Owyn Halverson came to play on Saturday," the Highland coach said. "Owyn took advantage of his speed and ran away from defenders. Owyn helped us find the end zone with his effort Saturday."
Justin Miller played a big role in the other two Highland scores. He finished off a second quarter drive with a one yard plunge and ran for the conversion.
In the third frame he completed his only pass of the day on seven attempts as he nailed Jadyn Halverson for a 46 yard touchdown romp. Lucas Welsh added the conversion via a kick.
"Justin Miller did a good job leading the offense Saturday," Aide said. "Unfortunately we had some dropped passes. We couldn't make those connections to help sustain drives. With Owyn and Cal Dorota running the ball effectively. Justin was able to hook up with Jadyn Halverson for a big pas play for a score."
"We played a good enough game to win," Aide commented. "We had some mental mistakes that caused our defense to have to stay on the field for extensive amounts of time. Offensively we were able to move the ball but not consistently. With it be a homecoming week. I feel our players were not as sharp as the they should have been."
With the defense kept busy there were several Cardinals who made big contributions. Gabe Benish had 15 tackles, Iassac Kutzke 14, Cal Dorota and Josiah Greene 10, Owyn Halverson and Josh Bowen nine with Bowen adding a sack. Weston Frost had a tackle for loss and Max Oleson came up with a pick.
Aide said Max Oleson's kicking helped the Cardinals get the win.
"He had some terrific punts which put Wonewoc/Weston with a long field to drive on offense," said Aide.
The win helps the Cardinals stay in the hunt for a post season berth.
"This win get us one step closer to playoffs," Aide said. "The Ridge a Valley is a very balanced conference this year. We are getting closer to earning a playoff spot but have tough Riverdale team to play next week."
Aide feels the Cardinals will be prepared for the Chieftains Friday but will have their work cut out for them.
"We have had a chance to see Riverdale play and they have some very good athletes," Aide said. "They want to control the ball on the ground but they also do a nice job passing the ball as well. It will be their homecoming so I know they will be ready to play us. We need to stay focused compete all four quarters."
Aide had some special words for the Homecoming that was just completed.
Homecoming is special day for our community," Aide said. "No matter if the weather is good or bad our alumni always shows up to support our homecoming activities. From the Hall of Fame banquet to the parade it's one heck of a three day event. The Hall of Fame committee does a great job creating the ceremony which kicks off our big weekend."