Highlands overcomes another slow start, beats Blackhawk

By: William Whalen
Friday, September 2, 2022 | 10:26 PM

After two weeks of football, a pattern is beginning to develop with Highlands: A slow first half leads to a dominant second half.

Highlands took control of a tight game by scoring 16 points in the third quarter to put away nonconference rival Blackhawk, 23-0, on Friday at Golden Rams Stadium.

“They were blitzing and doing some stunts and stuff (in the first half), and we had to get into the locker room at halftime and figure it out,” Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski said. “Once we figured it out, we were able to move the ball.”

Highlands (2-0) put together a five-play, 41-yard drive on its first possession of the second half, which was capped when Chandler Thimons found Semaj Miller for a 23-yard touchdown pass to extend the Rams lead to 14-0 with 7 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The touchdown was Miller’s first career reception.

The drive was crucial in that it proved the Highlands offense was able to move the ball against a stout Blackhawk (0-2) defense that put pressure on Thimons nearly every time he dropped back to pass.

Penalties were a problem for Blackhawk in the second half, too. Presnap penalties continually put the Cougars in unfavorable down-and-distance situations.

“We shot ourselves in the foot for the second week in a row,” Blackhawk coach Zack Hayward said.

The Cougars were able to keep Highlands running back Luke Bombalski in check for most of the night, limiting him to 73 yards on 19 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to put the Rams up 7-0 after the Burton Babinsack extra point.

The game came down to the battle in the trenches. Whichever team was able to consistently dominate the line of scrimmage would come out on top.

“In the trenches, whoever No. 31 is, he’s a player,” Hayward said. “He played really well and caused issues up front all game.

“Whoever won that first yard at the snap (had the advantage), and, unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it done.”

No. 31 is Daniel Long. With the Blackhawk offense backed up to its own 13-yard line, Long stepped in front of Cougars quarterback Stephan Knally’s pass and pulled in a one-handed interception before running 3 yards for the score. The touchdown was the final nail in the coffin, giving the Rams a 23-0 lead with 3:02 on the third-quarter clock.

“They were throwing screen (passes) all game,” Long said. “I told my teammates that next screen they throw, I’m getting a pick-6. I looked right at (Knally’s) eyes, he went right to the right and bam, I was there.”

For the second week in a row, Highlands came out a little sluggish and started slow. One particular delay-of-game penalty in the first quarter forced Bonislawski to call a timeout and walk onto the field to address his offense.

Both teams traded turnovers in the second quarter. Thimons was chased down from behind and strip-sacked by a Cougars linebacker near the Rams 30-yard line. A few plays later, Brayden White stepped in front of a Knally pass at the Highlands 2-yard line to put an end to the Cougars scoring threat and keep Blackhawk off the scoreboard.

“When we do what we’re supposed to do and play as a team, we can be pretty good,” Bonislawski said. “But when we don’t, things can go bad.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Blackhawk, Highlands