Tanner Degeghardt tries to wrap up an Orangeville player as Samuel Biba (59) moves in to help. Jonelle Degenhardt photo.
Highland hosted Orangeville (Illinois) in a competitive nonconference 8-player football game Friday night at Tyler Field, but the Cardinals could not overcome Orangeville’s rushing attack in a 29-14 loss.
The game was tied 8-8 after the first quarter, with both teams scoring on big plays. Orangeville struck first on Nathan Briggs’ 51- yard run. On its next possession, Orangeville fumbled, and Brady Nankey recovered the ball and returned it for a touchdown to tie the game.
Orangeville’s rushing attack took control in the second quarter, aided by a costly Highland fumble. Brock Komprood scored on runs of 12 and 6 yards, and Briggs added both two-point conversions to give the Broncos a 22- 8 halftime lead.
“The second quarter was probably the turning point of the game,” said Highland Head Coach Jason Scanlan. “We had a costly turnover on offense that seemed to deflate our spirits a little, and we got a little tired near the end of the half. Orangeville’s running game is pretty relentless, and we missed some tackles in some big spots, and they converted those into two big touchdowns to spread out their lead to two scores after a pretty evenly played first quarter.
Highland cut the lead to eight in the third quarter on Tanner Degenhardt’s 3-yard touchdown run, though the failed conversion left the Cardinals one score behind. They did not score again, and Orangeville’s Oskar Bissell capped the scoring with a 36-yard touchdown run.
Orangeville rushed for 333 yards, led by Briggs with 153, Bissell with 101 and Komprood with 60. Highland’s defense did not allow a pass completion. Degenhardt led the Cardinals with 87 rushing yards, while Nankey added 54. Nankey also completed 8 of 11 passes for 54 yards, with Griffin Wineski catching all eight.
“The Broncos brought a strong running game with them from Illinois. They hit us with a few big plays early in the game, but after some good in-game adjustments from our defensive staff, we held up much better against their run game and made them earn their points,” said coach Scanlan. “We had some young defensive linemen, AJ Poppe and Alfred Music show great improvement in the game, making several plays to slow down the Orangeville offense. The defense also completely shut down their passing game, allowing no completions, as Bryce Bedward had two pass breakups, and Brady Nankey had an interception, as well as a fumble return for a touchdown. Our defense continues to compete at a high level almost every week, giving us a chance to compete in nearly every game. They are always well-prepared and execute the game plan at a high level, which is a tribute to Defensive Coordinator Clint Havlik and his assistants, Gary Allen and John Linscheid.”
“Offensively, we showed some areas of improvement as well, especially in the passing game. Quarterback Brady Nankey had his best passing game of the season, completing 8 of 11 passes for 54 yards. He is getting a little more comfortable each week as he continues to make the transition from running back to quarterback. Griffin Wineski also had a strong game at receiver, with a career-high 8 receptions. As a team, we struggled to move the ball consistently, mostly as a result of some costly penalties that stopped some drives. On a few occasions when we did get a drive going, we had some untimely turnovers that cost us some momentum in the game. Offensively, I am confident that we are improving, but until we can reduce the penalties and turnovers, we will continue to struggle to find the consistency we are seeking to balance with our defense and play complementary football,” Scanlan said.
Because of a forfeit by Monticello, the Cardinals are now 2-1 (2-3 overall) in the Ridge and Valley-8 Conference. Highland’s next game is at home Thursday night against conference foe De- Soto 2-1 (4-1). That game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:00 p.m. and coach Scanlan expects a tough test for his team.
“They have an excellent, young team, which will be a strong test for our young team, but we are excited to play them. It is always a challenge to prepare for what we know will be a physical game on a short week, but it will be a short week for them too. We started the week on Sunday and will do our best to manage our kids with short, efficient practices.”
