A cold and blustery night in Letts was the perfect setting for an old-school, ground-and-pound Highland offense, as the Huskies downed Louisa-Muscatine Friday 20-18.

Two teams that have struggled to find the endzone in 2023 looked to flip the script early, as the Falcons marched down the field on the game’s first possession. The five-play, 52-yard drive culminated with a Finnegan Cline touchdown to put L-M up 6-0 before the Huskies touched the ball. Highland’s offense was definitively unfazed. A methodical drive spanning eight plays and 64 yards answered the Falcon score, as Jose Ramirez found a seam and took the carry 14 yards to the house. Sage Hartley-Norman ran in the two-point conversion, which would prove critical for the Huskies.

With a narrow lead, it was the Highland defense that stepped up, holding the Falcons scoreless for the rest of the half. Despite giving the offense terrific field position, the Huskies came up empty as well, with two drives stalling in the redzone. When it looked like L-M was primed for a touchdown at the buzzer, the Highland defense dialed up a goal line stand in the half’s final seconds to preserve the lead into halftime.

Highland’s game plan out of the break was simple: run the ball behind an offensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage. In their first possession of the third quarter, the Huskies strung together 11 consecutive run plays, ending in a Hartley-Norman 9-yard touchdown, his first rushing score of the season. More importantly, the opening drive of the half wiped six minutes off the clock, a theme that would continue for the Huskies down the stretch.

Now it was the Falcons turn to respond, and nine plays later they did just that when running back Jesse Reinier capped off the drive with his first of two scores on the night. Reinier finished with a game-high 193 yards on the ground, adding one reception for 37 yards. Both offenses were humming into the fourth quarter, as Highland and Louisa-Muscatine traded another touchdown each.

With a two-point lead and six minutes left in regulation, the Huskies executed a flawless drive that spanned 12 plays, and picked up four first downs. Any comeback hopes for the Falcons were dashed, as Highland never gave it back.

The Huskies ran 59 plays to L-M’s 38, and rushed for 286 of the team’s 303 yards. A strong second half from Hartley-Norman saw him finish with 139 of those yards and two touchdowns. Logan McFarland had 75 yards on 14 carries. Highland’s running game saw additional production from Colten Sypherd and Garrett Beeson, who also completed four passes on six attempts.

Not only was this the first Husky victory since 2021, but it is also the first in Head Coach Cory Quail’s tenure. Highland rides the Week 7 victory to their season finale against Wapello.