Brady Nankey brings down a Trojans ball carrier. Jonelle Degenhardt photo.
By John Dalton
Highland Head Coach Jasen Scanlan expected North Crawford’s running game to pose a challenge, and it did. The Trojans rushed for more than 300 yards and dominated their Homecoming game, winning 46-12. North Crawford improved to 5-1 in the Ridge & Valley-8 Conference, one game behind 6-0 Belmont, Highland’s next opponent. The Cardinals fell to 3-3.
“We did not do a good job of executing our fundamentals and tackling some tough Trojan running backs,” Scanlan said. “We did not do a good job of matching their physical play at the line of scrimmage, and that led to a lot of room for the running backs to run through.”
On North Crawford’s first play from scrimmage after a Cardinal punt, Landry Stluka broke two tackles and raced 51 yards for a touchdown. On the Trojans’ next two first-quarter possessions, Zack Bender scored on a four-yard run, and Stluka added a 50-yard touchdown run to quickly build a 24-0 lead.
Highland answered before the first quarter ended when Tanner Degenhardt threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Collin Gibson, making the score 24-6.
The Trojan defense limited Highland in the second quarter while North Crawford’s running game remained strong. Bender scored on runs of four and nine yards, and Owan Blaha added a 19-yard touchdown run to give the Trojans a 46-6 halftime lead.
Degenhardt, Highland’s leading rusher with 76 yards on 13 carries, closed the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
“Offensively, we struggled to consistently move the ball against their aggressive defense for similar reasons. They were the more physical team, and we made just enough mistakes in our blocking assignments or by committing penalties to stop the momentum of our offensive drives. Senior running back Tanner Degenhardt did all he could to carry the load on offense, with a rushing touchdown and his first passing touchdown. Sophomore receiver Collin Gibson also caught his first touchdown pass of his career, with a 45-yard reception,” said Link.
It won’t get any easier for Highland as they host the #2 ranked team in the state in 8-player football as Belmont will visit Tyler Field Friday in the last regular season game. “For our last game of the season, we welcome the Belmont Braves for our Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Night game. They bring a powerful offense to Highland, and we are excited for the challenge of preparing for one last home game in the 2026 season,” Scanlan said.
Kick off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
