Highland trips North Crawford, remains unbeaten on season

By John Dalton

Highland went on the road Friday night with first place on the line against unbeaten North Crawford and in a hard-hitting defensive battle, the Cardinals held on to win 16-6 and remain undefeated in the Ridge and Valley 8-man conference.  

In a Field of Dreams-type setting off of County X in Crawford County, it was a perfect night for two undefeated teams on a 61-degree, clear sky evening. The Trojans of North Crawford received the opening kickoff but on its third play from scrimmage, John Dreischmeier intercepted the ball to give the Cardinals early momentum.

But the Trojan defense held forcing a Highland punt. Highland’s defense did the same forcing North Crawford to punt. The Cardinals started to move the ball on its next possession but with 2:50 left in the first half Highland Quarterback Bennett Smith threw an interception to end the drive.  

Again, after Highland’s defense held and forced North Crawford to punt, Smith aired it out on a deep ball to Kaden Washa for a 51-yard gain in the Trojan red zone.  Defensively, the Trojans stepped it up.  On second and goal at the two, their defense stuffed the run for a one-yard loss. On third and goal at the three, Highland fumbled but recovered the ball. And on fourth and goal, North Crawford intercepted Smith’s pass in the end zone ending the threat.

Both teams were flagged for several infractions that stalled drives in the first half, and at halftime, it was scoreless.  

Early in the third quarter, Smith found Wes Kraisinger who caught the pass, then made a move to avoid a tackle and scored, and after Landis Newberry kicked the extra point, Highland had a 7-0 lead with 9:01 left in the third quarter.  

Again, penalties almost hurt Highland as they were penalized for roughing on the kickoff giving North Crawford excellent field position on the Cardinal 36-yard line  Two plays later, the Trojans fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Cardinal Jackson McGuire. But on second and 10, Smith threw another interception. He had three on the night, this one \stalling that drive.

But the Cardinal defense hung tough stopping the Trojans forcing them to punt the ball again.  On first and 10 from their 33-yard line, it was Washa who got the ball and he ran 44 yards to the North Crawford 24-yard line to put the Cardinals in scoring position. Three plays later, Washa was handed the ball again and he ran it in from 14 yards. The extra point was blocked and at the end of three quarters, Highland held a 13-0 lead.

Neither team could move the ball against each other for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, but on second and 10 from its 30-yard line, the only time Highland was beaten all night on a deep pass, Trojan Quarterback Andrew Munson threw a bomb down the right side and Anthony Fradette hauled in the pass and he raced 70 yards for a touchdown to put the Trojans right back into the game.  

But it was Highland’s defense on the two-point conversion try that didn’t allow North Crawford into the end zone on a huge stop making the score 13-6 with 5:26 left in the game.  “A key play in the game was our defense on the 2-point conversion play after their only touchdown.  We talk to our players often about moving on to the next play after the other team scores or has a big play.  By stopping their conversion we kept our lead at 7 points, and stalled their momentum,” said Highland Head Coach Jasen Scanlan following the game.  

But the momentum was almost lost on its next possession as Highland threw another interception giving the Trojans another chance. Again, it was the Cardinal's defense that stopped the Trojans in four plays giving it back to Highland on downs.  But on first down, Highland’s Newberry would fumble the ball giving the ball right back to North Crawford with 3:43 left on the clock.  

The Trojans could not move the ball and on fourth down Munson was sacked looking for a receiver and Highland would take over again on downs deep in North Crawford territory.  

They would drive the ball down to the Trojan seven-yard line and facing fourth down, elected to try a field goal attempt with 1:48 left on the clock, and from 24 yards out, Newberry delivered the knock-out blow by splitting the uprights making the score 16-6, and your final score.  

“Although we always push for touchdowns, we are confident in our extra point/field goal team to execute when needed. On 4th down we decided to attempt the field goal, and Landis Newberry delivered a clutch kick to clinch the win. To be successful in future big games we will need to be better at finishing drives with touchdowns, but on Friday night we did just enough to win the game,” said Scanlan.

Scanlan went on to say, “North Crawford has a very good football team, with a big, strong, physical defense. We knew that it would be a challenge to generate offense on them. We were confident that our defense would keep us in the game.  Defensive Coordinator Clint Havlik and defensive assistants Gary Allen, Josh Stanton, and Colton Frost put together a strong game plan, and with the exception of one long pass play, the players executed the plan to perfection. Our pass coverage was outstanding. We matched up John Dreischmeier on their best receiver, and he was a non-factor in the game.  Cooper Oleson and Michael Esser also made big plays in coverage.  Our defensive line and linebackers did a good job against their running game, led by Jackson McGuire, Tucker Degenhardt, and Davis Dorota. We rallied to the football and tackled well  It was an impressive team effort against a dangerous offensive team.” 

Both teams are used to scoring points.  Highland averages 44 points per game while North Crawford averages 34 points per game. Highland’s defense held the Trojans to only 71 total yards rushing the ball.  The Trojans passed the ball for 200 yards, 70 of those came on their lone touchdown.

Highland, despite turning the ball over five times, had a balanced offense rushing the ball 174 yards and 162 yards through the air.  Smith was 12 of 23 passing with a touchdown and three interceptions. Newberry led Highland with 58 yards on the ground on 13 attempts, McGuire had 57 yards on 14 attempts and Washa added 53 yards on 4 attempts.  

Receiving Kraisinger had 6 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, John Dreischmeier had three catches for 12 yards.

Dreischmeier led the team with seven tackles, Cooper Oleson and McGuire each had five, and Tucker Degenhardt had four.  

Coach Scanlan, “Offensively we moved the ball successfully both on the ground and through the air, but were slowed by untimely penalties and turnovers. I can't think of too many games in my coaching career where we turned the ball over 5 times and still won, but our players stayed positive, didn't point fingers, and just kept pushing for those final points to put the game away. We eventually put together another drive late in the game.”

Highland is now 5-0 and sits alone on top of the Ridge and Valley-8 Conference. North Crawford dropped to 4-1. Highland will host 3-2 DeSoto this Thursday night with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. 

“To reach our team goals we will need to cut down on our turnovers and penalties, and score touchdowns when the opportunities arise. Things will not get any easier this week, as we face a strong DeSoto team in our final home game of the season.  How well we re-focus after a big win and prepare for another tough, physical game will help determine our likelihood of success this week,” said Scanlan.