Photo Courtesy of Highland Football Social Media

The Highland football team put on a show for the home crowd in Riverside Friday, beating visiting North Cedar 33-13 to collect their second win of 2021. Highland led 13-7 after one quarter on the strength of a pair of first period touchdowns, but the Knights would find the equalizer in the second frame, sending the game to the locker room tied at 13. The second half belonged to the Huskies as they outscored the Knights 20-0 to pull away for the win.

Highland outgained the Knights 458-199 including 350-97 on the ground. Connor Grinstead and Brenton Bonebrake combined for 45 carries, 339 yards and three touchdowns in the ground game. Grinstead was five of eight through the air for 108 yards and two more scores, connecting for touchdowns once each with Logan Bonebrake and Trevor McFarland. Carson Netser and Kolton Miller each had five and a half tackles to lead the defense. The Huskies forced four North Cedar turnovers with Luke Miller picking off a pass and Yahir Jimenez, Netser and Kolton Miller each recovering a fumble. Highland head coach Scott Morel talked about the win with KCII Sports on the Saturday KCII Radio Coaches Corner. “We talked with our guys about playing fast, especially on the defensive side. We forced four turnovers and that was a key part of the win. We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We had an important drive out of halftime, we took the ball down and scored right away and that set the tone for the rest of the night. Brenton and Logan Bonebrake and Connor Grinstead in our rushing attack getting to the outside was important. It was great to have the three headed monster back there again. Our line did a great job sustaining blocks for them.”

With the victory, Highland is now 2-2 on the year and 2-1 in district play as they get ready for Alburnett on the road Friday.