Photo Courtesy of Highland Social Media
The Highland football team looks to make it back to back wins Friday when they travel to Alburnett to meet the Pirates. The Huskies have alternated wins and losses through the first four weeks to build a 2-2 record with wins over Columbus and North Cedar and losses to East Buchanan and Wilton. Against the Knights a week ago, it was a 33-13 victory for the Huskies on the strength of a 20-0 run in the second half and 458 total yards of offense, 350 of that on the ground. Connor Grinstead and Brenton Bonebrake had 45 carries 339 yards and three touchdowns. Grinstead threw for 108 yards and two more scores. The Highland defense forced four turnovers with Luke Miller grabbing an INT and Yahir Jimenez, Carson Netser and Kolton Miller each recovering a fumble. On the year, the Huskies are led by Grinstead through the air at 15 of 33 for 377 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. His favorite target is Logan Bonebrake with 11 catches for 283 yards and four touchdowns. On the ground, Grinstead and Brenton Bonebrake have each carried the ball 61 times, accounting for 952 yards and nine touchdowns. Netser leads the Highland defense with 27 tackles.
Alburnett is 1-3 this year. Their lone win came week two over Pekin 30-14. They have dropped games against North Linn, Lisbon and East Buchanan. In their last game against the Buccanneers they fell 28-14. Connor Rock led the Pirates at 18 of 27 for 145 yards and an interception through the air. Grayson Carolan had eight catches for 83 yards. On the ground, Carson Klostermann had 18 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. Hayden Baker made seven tackles for the Pirate defense. On the year, Alburnett is led by Rock in the passing game at 42 of 75 for 464 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. His favorite target is Gavin Soukup with 14 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground it’s Klostermann with 74 carries for 202 yards and a score. Defensively, Brody Neighbor has 33 tackles, four of them for loss. This week, Highland head coach Scott Morel talked about what he sees from the Pirates on film. “They have a nice quarterback, he throws a good ball and can hurt you with his legs. Right now what’s most important is to be 2-0 in the district with where we are sitting and if we are talking about possible seeding for playoffs.”
These teams have met five times since 2010 with the Pirates holding a slim 3-2 advantage in the series including a 40-19 win a season ago. Highland’s last victory over the Priates was a 32-21 win in 2019. Action starts Friday at 7p.m. at the Alburnett Martin Complex.