Photo Courtesy of Highland Football Social Media
After a must-win game last Friday to keep their season alive, the Highland football team goes on the road tonight to officially open the playoffs when they meet No. 9 Lynnville-Sully on the Hawks home turf. Highland comes into the game with an overall record of 3-5. They finished 3-3 in class A district five, to grab the fourth and final spot in the playoffs. The Huskies claimed fourth with a 49-14 pounding of Pekin last week. For the year, Highland is averaging 297 yards per game, 225 of that on the ground and putting up 25 points per game while giving up 27 points per contest. They have a +9 turnover margin on the year. Individually, Highland is led by Connor Grinstead at 26 of 71 through the air for 578 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. On the ground, he has combined with Brenton Bonebrake for 221 carries 1,581 yards and 17 touchdowns. Logan Bonebreake has 15 catches for 362 yards and five touchdowns. Grinstead has 52 and a half tackles.
Lynnville-Sully is 7-1 on the season, they were 6-0 undefeated champions of class A district six. They are ranked No. 9 this week in class A according to the latest poll from the Iowa Associated Press. A week ago they closed out an unbeaten district schedule with a 25-8 win at top 10 Belle Plaine. The Hawks average 328 yards per game, 290 of that on the ground. This year they have scored 37 points per outing while giving up just 12. They have a +6 turnover margin. On the year, the Hawks are led by Conner Maston through the air at 18 of 40 for 282 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. On the ground Corder Noun Harder has 1,090 yards and 13 touchdowns on 97 carries. Bryce Richards has three catches for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, Kyle Squires has 56 tackles. This week, Highland head coach Scott Morel talked about the keys for the Huskies. “I think the biggest thing is our execution. We have to limit penalties. We need to keep pushing forward in our progress. We said we wanted to be peaking at the right time. Hopefully we are starting to play some of our best football.”
Highland has won the two previous meetings between the teams, beating Lynnville in 2018 and 2019. Action starts tonight at 7p.m. at Lynnville-Sully High School.