Highlands defense shines in conference win over rival Knoch

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 15, 2017 | 11:30 PM

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Jermaine Jett made a bold proclamation about Highlands’ defense after a 24-16 victory over Knoch on Friday night.

“No. 1 in the conference — I don’t care what nobody says,” the senior said.

With the way things are going for Highlands, why not? One week after the Golden Rams’ offense made headlines with quarterback Seth Cohen’s school-record passing performance, the defense took its own star turn Friday night, forcing three second-half turnovers and shutting the Knights out after halftime to earn a hard-fought Class 4A Northwest Nine victory at Golden Rams Stadium.

Highlands (2-1, 2-1) snapped a six-game losing streak to Knoch, its local rival, beating the Knights for the first time since 2008. It was the Golden Rams’ first home victory in the series since 2006.

“Because coach (Dom) Girardi’s from Knoch, we were saying if we can’t beat Knoch, we may as well get them on our side,” senior Logan Crise said. “It feels amazing.”

The Golden Rams did it by winning the battle of the line of scrimmage, holding Knoch’s run-heavy offense to 62 yards rushing in the second half after the Knights had 202 at halftime. Nick Cichello and Luke Cochran recovered fumbles, Romello Freeman intercepted a pass and Jett came up with the clinching sack on Knoch’s final offensive play.

“That type of offense is tough to prepare for,” Girardi said of Knoch, which uses option concepts. “Sometimes, you have to get out there and play a quarter or two at that speed to really get a handle on it, and I thought once we did that, our guys came through.

“It was not an easy win by any means, as you can tell. It took a lot of grit, a lot of tenacity on our part. I’m proud of them.”

Girardi said earlier in the week he thought the defense played better than advertised in Highlands’ 48-47, double-overtime loss to New Castle in Week 2, and his players repaid his confidence against Knoch (1-2, 1-1).

Cohen, who set Highlands school records with 412 passing yards and seven touchdowns against New Castle, threw for 260 yards and three scores Friday. His first pass of the night went for an 88-yard score to Crise.

“He’s a slinger; I love it,” said Crise, who caught seven passes for 149 yards and that score. “I’m a receiver, so obviously I like a high-tempo passing offense. We have great communication between all four of us (receivers). It’s really nice to have a guy that can really get us the ball in space and let us do what we do best.”

Conducting the Golden Rams’ spread offense, Cohen distributed the ball around to his four receivers: Logan Crise (149 yards), Johnny Crise (51), Freeman (51) and Gabe Booker (nine). Logan Crise, Freeman and Johnny Crise all caught touchdowns in the first half.

Knoch’s offense had its own first-half success. With quarterback Jake Herrit, an Army baseball recruit, making the decision to give the ball to Ivan Stapchuck on a dive or keep it himself, the Knights piled up their rushing yards in the first half. Herrit finished with 132 yards and a touchdown and passed for 54 yards and a score. Stapchuck ran for 102 yards.

But penalties and turnovers cost the Knights. Stapchuck fumbled the ball twice inside Knoch territory in the second half, one leading to a field goal, and Herrit threw an interception near midfield.

Then there were the penalties: 16 of them, including four on Knoch’s final offensive drive. Calls for a false start, holding and clipping — the last one coming as Herrit scrambled for a first down — left the Knights with a desperation fourth-and-36, and Jett sacked Herrit to end the threat.

“We turned the ball over several times,” Knoch coach Frank Whalen said. “Offense, it seemed like every time we got a first down, somebody took a different turn having a penalty. We have to see the film, we have to see if these are legit penalties or not; I have no idea, but it just seemed every time we got a first down, there was a flag on the ground. And you can’t have that. Defensively, I thought we played very, very well in the second half.”

Highlands wasted no time heating up, scoring on its second play from scrimmage. After a Knoch punt, Cohen hit Logan Crise on a short crossing route, and the senior did the rest himself by bursting down the left sideline for an 88-yard touchdown.

Knoch tied it when Herrit faked a handoff and ran for an untouched, 28-yard touchdown up the middle, but Highlands retook the lead when Cohen hit Freeman on a 21-yard corner route.

After Herrit hit A.J. Karenbauer for a 30-yard touchdown to tie the score, Knoch took its first lead when Jim Johnston dropped Cohen in the end zone for a safety midway through the second quarter. But Highlands regained the lead in the final minute of the half on Cohen’s 26-yard dart to Johnny Crise.

Jaci Bowser kicked a 28-yard field goal for the only second-half scoring, giving Highlands its final margin. The Golden Rams face another test next week at Mars.

“We’re going to work hard this week, come back strong, stay focused all week, same intensity,” Jett said. “We’re 0-0.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Highlands, Knoch