October 17, 2025 at 10:45 a.m.

Despite loss, Cardinals qualify for WIAA 8-player football tourney


By John Dalton

The banged-up Highland Cardinals have lost their last two games, but their overall 5-3 record was enough to make the WIAA State Tournament Bracket where they will play at North Crawford this Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. game.

The Cardinals played at ‘The Pit’ Friday in DeSoto and found it not to be very friendly as the Pirates scored early and often racing to a 44-0 halftime lead.  The last four games DeSoto is averaging 49.5 points per game.  

The Cardinals were able to shut down the Pirates in the second half defensively, and offensively Brady Nankey was a bright spot rushing for two touchdowns, the first one a 76-yard TD run in the third quarter, and a 28-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.  Ben Ford rushed for a two-point conversion as well.  The result was a Pirates victory 44-14.  

“DeSoto did a good job of being the more aggressive team at the start of the game. We have struggled to get off to fast starts in our road games this season, and unfortunately, that happened again on Friday night.  Once we warmed up, we competed well and showed a lot of improvement from last week's game.  The players we are asking to play in different positions are adapting well and getting better each week,” said Highland Head Coach Jasen Scanlan.  

But penalties and turnovers cost the Cardinals in the first half.  “Offensively, we did a good job establishing a running game, but a few drives were derailed by pre-snap penalties or blocking assignment breakdowns.  At this point of the season, we must be more assignment-sure and eliminate our unforced errors so that we can finish our drives and score more points,” Scanlan said.  

“Defensively, we tackled better this week but still struggled with run support for the outside running game. We also allowed too many receivers to run behind us in the passing game, which, combined with an ineffective pass rush, led to some big plays for DeSoto's receivers,” he said.  

Now, Highland travels to North Crawford Saturday, a team that is undefeated at 8-0, won the Ridge & Valley-8 conference, who beat Highland two weeks ago 50-8, and is a two seed in the state bracket. Highland is a seven seed.  

“We are excited to have earned another playoff berth and look forward to a great week of practice as we prepare for the challenge of traveling to North Crawford for a rematch with our conference champions,” said Coach Scanlan.   

DODGEVILLE

WEATHER SPONSORED BY