Highlands easily dispatches rival Burrell

By: William Whalen
Friday, September 10, 2021 | 10:27 PM

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During pregame walk-throughs, Highlands coach Dom Girardi had a worried look about him. His Golden Rams were about to face a bruised and battered Burrell team. But that’s not what he was worried about. What concerned Girardi the most was the rivalry between the schools.

Girardi’s worries quickly were put to rest as his Golden Rams stampeded out of the gate and put up 28 first-quarter points to roll past the Bucs, 56-7, on Friday night at Golden Rams Stadium.

“You never stop worrying,” Girardi said. “Hats off to them. I know they were a little bit banged up coming in, but their kids fought and they did a nice job.”

Highlands starts the season 3-0 for the first time since 2015.

“Our kids took the game serious and came out ready to play,” Girardi said.

Burrell (0-3) went with an onside kick to start the game but to no avail. The Golden Rams recovered the ball at their 42-yard line. Four plays later, sophomore running back Luke Bombalski scored from 1 yard to begin the rout.

“My line blocked pretty good tonight,” Bombalski said. “I think I’m pretty decent downhill runner, and I get what I can.”

Bombalski finished with 107 yards and two touchdowns.

On Burrell’s next possession, Golden Rams safety Aaran Randolph stepped in front of quarterback Chase Fenner’s pass and returned it 45 yards for the score to put Highlands up 14-0 with 8 minutes, 54 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

“You saw us executing in all three phases, which is what we talk about and what we want to do,” Girardi said.

Highlands dialed up the passing attack on its next possession. The Golden Rams put together a five-play, 61-yard drive that was capped off when junior quarterback Chandler Thimons spotted a wide-open Landan Signorella for a 25-yard touchdown pass to extend the Golden Rams’ lead to 21-0 with 4:40 on the first-quarter clock.

“I’m proud of the way our kids played for two quarters tonight,” Burrell coach Shawn Liotta said. “The first quarter was a little rough with some mistakes and particularly the interception gave them an easy (score).”

Thimons found senior Jrake Burford for a 25-yard strike to bring the score to 28-0.

In a little more than two quarters of work, Thimons finished 8 of 9 for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Girardi pulled his starters late in the third quarter.

“They did a nice job loading up the box, and there were some times where the yards were a little tough on the ground so we were able to get some yards through the air,” Girardi said.

Signorella pulled in a Thimons pass for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Golden Rams a 35-0 lead going into halftime.

Bombalski added a 25-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

The Burrell offense caught a spark going against the Highlands backups. The Bucs managed to avoid the shutout when Fenner scored on a 1-yard run.

Highlands’ Ashton Hatajik and Menage Lucas scored on runs of 7 and 2 yards, respectively, to complete the scoring.

“This is a win for the entire team. Everybody was involved,” Girardi said. “Our guys, rightfully so, are happy about tonight. We just want to take the momentum into conference (play). It’s gonna be a grind.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Burrell, Highlands