Branson Newsome returns a kick for Highland in their thrilling 24-21 win over visiting Galion Friday night.
Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
A huge defensive effort combined with some well-timed offense made Highland’s Homecoming a happy one for the Scots Friday night.
In claiming a 24-21 decision, Highland forced four turnovers and made visiting Galion turn it over four more times on downs, with one of those turnovers and two turnovers on downs occurring in the fourth quarter when the Scots were trying to hold off a late Tiger charge.
“The whole program played their butts off tonight,” said head coach Ty Stover. “I can’t complain about anything about effort or attitude. We’ve got to find this medium somehow of ‘This is how hard we want to play between the whistles’ and then eliminate the mental mistakes right now. This is the kids’ Homecoming and they came out and got a win for the program. They got a win for the school and the community and it’s great.”
It didn’t take long for the defense to assert itself against the Tigers. After Highland’s game-opening drive stalled in Galion territory, Kolton Stover recorded a quick interception of Galion quarter Braxton Prosser and ran it back for points. After an offside against Galion during the extra point attempt, the Scots decided to go for two and Stover was able to connect with Kadyn Reichenbach in the end zone for a successful conversion.
Holding an 8-0 lead, the Scots quickly got the ball back when Gavin Wiggand recovered a Prosser fumble at midfield. After a pass from Stover to Church netted six yards, those two players ran the ball the remaining 44 yards with a 14-yard sprint by Church netting the team’s second touchdown of the game. Highland’s two-point attempt failed, but the team led 14-0 with 5:16 to go in the opening period.
Coach Stover noted that he loved his team’s fast start against Galion.
“We have to start early, so we can continue the momentum and we did it tonight,” he said. “We did it at Marion Harding; Coschocton, we didn’t do it as well as I wanted to. That’s just the key with these guys. Can we get them off to a good start? Can we protect them during the week in practice and still produce the energy and passion that we need to on Friday nights.”
Galion would respond after falling behind by 14, though. A 64-yard scramble by Prosser moved the ball inside the Scot five and the senior Tiger quarterback would then score on a three-yard run to cut Highland’s lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter.
The Scots looked to be on their way to another touchdown on the ensuing drive after a pass from Stover to Branson Newsome netted 31 yards and moved the ball to the Galion 15. Unfortunately, that drive would end in an interception; however, the Scots would force another fumble to get the ball back on the Tiger 49.
For much of the second quarter, the game became stagnant due to the combination of penalties and a lengthy conference between the referees after one play that eventually resulted in a total of four flags between the two teams. However, the Scots would get a big momentum boost going into the half when Stover zipped a pass over the middle to Reichenbach, who sprinted all the way to the end zone for an 82-yard scoring play to give Highland a 21-7 lead they were able to take into the intermission.
Galion would keep the game close, though, opening the third quarter with a 13-play drive that ate the first six minutes of the period. The Tigers converted a third-and-17 and two fourth downs on the drive, including a 13-yard touchdown run from Braxton Stuckman on fourth-and-three.
With their lead cut to a 21-14 count, the Scots were able to respond with their own scoring drive, going 48 yards on 11 plays — including a 21-yard reception by Kort Sears that moved the ball to the Tiger eight — before getting a 25-yard field goal by Malin Fichtner to lead 24-14 with 2:31 left in the third.
The defense played through adversity throughout the entire fourth quarter to preserve the win. Highland opened the period with the ball on their own 21 and quickly fumbled the ball back to Galion. The Tigers wouldn’t be able to take advantage of that field position, though, as the Scots forced a turnover on downs after four plays.
The Scots then moved the ball from their 20 to the 42, but their punt attempt was partially blocked and Galion’s Trevor Shifley returned it to the Highland 32. The defense rose up again, though, forcing another turnover on downs.
The third time would be the charm for the Tigers, though. Highland went three-and-out and their punt was blocked again — this time giving Galion the ball on the Scot 11. They wouldn’t be denied this time, as Prosser ran the ball in on the first play to make it 24-21 with 3:59 to play.
Highland would go three-and-out again, but were able to get the punt off this time to put Galion on their 36. This time, the defense would finish off the game, as Wiggand secured an interception to allow Highland to take a few knees to run out the clock.
Kolton Stover passed for 243 yards on 18-of-29 passing and also ran for 65, while Reichenbach added 122 yards on six catches. After the game, Ty Stover couldn’t say enough about his team’s heart.
“This team has been through a lot of adversity,” he said. “When they figure out how to completely handle it all the time and eliminate mental errors as far as those penalties, they’re a hell of a football team. It’s just we’ve had those errors at the wrong moments throughout these first seven games and it’s really put us in a hole. Tonight, it was great to see the kids battle through it. Even though we had two blocked punts, they battled through and they got the job done and that’s what it’s all about.”
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
