By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
LEXINGTON –
A shoot-out was expected and the teams did not disappoint.
But the
Highlands Bluebirds (2-0) made a few more plays in the end to escape with a
47-41 victory over the host Lexington Bryan Station Defenders (1-2) on Friday.
They play three straight at David Cecil Memorial Stadium after opening with two
on the road.
“We talked all week about last week,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “It was an ugly win, but we pulled it out. It was a great week of practice. It poured down rain on us and it was hot (88 degrees at game time). We just kept coming back and did what we had to do.”
“We talked all week about last week,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “It was an ugly win, but we pulled it out. It was a great week of practice. It poured down rain on us and it was hot (88 degrees at game time). We just kept coming back and did what we had to do.”
Bryan
Station struggled against the run in its 3-4 defense against Harlan County and
Louisville St. Xavier. Highlands keyed on that and ran for 352 yards on 63
carries for an average of just less than 5.8 a touch.
The
Bluebirds had success all night running many different directions behind their
offensive line. Highlands saw four different backs rush for at least 50 yards.
Quarterback Beau Hoge and senior running back Griffin Urlage rushed for more
than 100 each. Urlage had 23 carries for 111 yards and Hoge rushed for 105 on
10 carries and three touchdown.
“We didn’t know what we were going to do,” Weinrich said. “We
had to adjust some. They got out in front of us. We were trying to do some
things and got off the field quickly. We had to give our defense some breaks. The
offensive linemen stepped up and the receivers blocked well. It was a great
team effort to have 300 yards rushing.”
Senior Josh
Watson followed with 86 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown and junior Nick
Kendall had eight carries for 50 yards. Watson returned this year after missing
his junior year with a torn anterior cruciated ligament.
“It is a trio dominating (in the backfield),” Watson said. “We
have so many weapons in the backfield. Teams can’t stop us. We have to keep our
feet running and never stop.”
The
Highlands offensive line broke in many new faces after graduating 12 from last
year’s team. The only offensive lineman that had any experience was senior Kyler
Dalton. Dalton has been out with a foot injury, but he’s expected to return in
a few weeks.
“In the beginning, we weren’t in sync,” said Manny Venegas, Highlands senior offensive
lineman. “We had a lot of false starts
and holds. But (Friday), we had two penalties. We’re just getting better as the
season goes.”
The
Bluebirds mixed in numerous passes in their 88 total plays on offense and 26
first downs. They displayed the balanced attack that fans have come to know in
previous seasons. Hoge completed 13-of-25 for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Alex Veneman recorded four catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns with
Mitch Cain hauling in four catches for 66 yards. Watson added two catches for
41 yards.
The
Defenders put up 495 yards in total offense. Junior quarterback Andre Davis
completed 25-of-47 passes for 325 yards. Bryan Station burned Highlands deep a
couple times and converted some 3rd-and-longs. But the Bluebirds also held on
some key fourth downs as well.
“Not many teams are as athletic as them,” said Kyle Martin, Highlands senior defensive back. “Blown coverages got us a few times. We
were trying to do too much. It was fun playing a passing team like that.”
Highlands
used discipline in its 3-4 rush, especially without senior defensive lineman
D.J. Mills. The Bluebirds did not want Davis to escape for long runs. Davis
finished with 73 yards rushing on six carries and a touchdown. D’Andre Mack had
13 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns for the Defenders. Bryan Station ran
79 plays and garnered 19 first downs.
“We really focused on making them play more plays and
then we’re going to get a stop,” said
Shelby Jones, Highlands Defensive Coordinator. “We knew they were going to get a lot of first downs. They have a lot
of athletic guys. (Davis) is really hard to get a hold on.”
Bryan
Station used four athletic wide receivers and made Highlands defend the entire
field with its speed. Tequan Claitt led the Defenders with five receptions for
85 yards and a touchdown with Carl Walker going for 24 yards on five catches
and a touchdown.
“We worked as a team and made sure (Davis) didn’t get outside
of us,” said Trent Webster, Highlands
sophomore defensive lineman. “We don’t
just use our linemen. We use our linebackers and we make sure they’re all
coordinated together so (Davis) didn’t get a big game. Our defensive backs
worked to make sure the receivers didn’t get open.”
The
Bluebirds scored first with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Hoge rolled to his
left and found no open receivers. But he did find a hole in the Defender
defense rushing right for a 19-yard touchdown. Highlands failed on the two-point
conversion run leaving it 6-0.
Bryan
Station took the lead with 3:39 left in the quarter. Davis found Mack in the
left flat. Mack broke a few tackles for the 25-yard score. Anthony Lopez’
extra-point kick put the Defenders up 7-6.
But
Highlands marched down the field with its running attack. Watson scored from a
yard out with 1:10 left in the quarter to go up 13-7 after Jared Daugherty’s
extra-point attempt.
The
Defenders took advantage of some Highlands miscues and built a 28-13 lead in
the second quarter. Walker scored on a short comeback route on the left side
with 11:26 left in the second quarter to put Bryan Station up 14-13.
“On the times we did what we were supposed to do, we
were in good shape,” Jones said. “Every once in a while, an end would get
nosy and he would get outside. We knew that’s the way they could make plays
watching them on film. The (offensive) tackles were inviting ends upfield and
creating lanes for (Davis) to go. We were covering so well. But he was
obviously going to have time back there.”
Highlands
lost a fumble at its own 32, but the defense held Bryan Station. But Mack
scored from a yard out with 6:32 remaining and Davis scored from two out with
4:47 left. One score came after Bryan Station blocked a Highlands punt.
But the
Bluebirds responded with 2:55 left. Kendall scored from four yards out with
2:55 left.
Highlands
received the ball back just 50 seconds later. Hoge drove the Bluebirds down the
field and scored when Hoge ran a quarterback sweep right and found the end zone
for the 7-yard score with 25.7 seconds left. The Bluebirds did not convert the
run and trailed 28-26 at halftime.
Bryan
Station converted a 3rd-and-35 with 10:36 left following a Luke Lindeman sack.
Claitt ran a hard route from right to left, found an opening in the Highlands
defense and scored on a 72-yard play to put the Defenders up 35-26.
But the
Bluebirds came back and scored with 8:38 left. Veneman had one-on-one coverage
on the left side of the end zone. He outmuscled his defender for a 20-yard
score to cut the lead to 35-33.
The
Bluebirds recorded a key stop on defense then took the lead with four minutes
left in the third. Hoge ran left and scored on a pretty 60-yard run. That put
Highlands up 40-35.
After both
defenses came through on fourth down, Bryan Station took its final lead. The
Defenders faked the bubble screen right then Davis found Devin Key down the
right side for a 45-yard score. The two-point conversion pass failed and Bryan
Station led 41-40.
Highlands
received the ball back with 5:28 following a Bryan Station missed field goal.
The Bluebird offense marched down the field with the help of a 15-yard facemask
penalty on the Defenders.
Hoge rolled
to his right with 1:45 remaining and found Veneman on the right side. He
escaped his defender for a 45-yard score to give the Bluebirds the lead for
good.
The
Defenders did convert another 3rd-and-30 with 31 seconds left. But Davis tried
to throw a home run pass in the waning seconds. Highlands senior defensive back
Andrew Abner played it perfectly for the game-clinching interception at the
Bluebird 7. He ran it back to the 11 with 11.9 seconds remaning.
Highlands
takes on 0-3 John Hardin on Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
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