Highlands overcomes penalties to beat Chartiers Valley

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, September 8, 2023 | 10:36 PM

When Chartiers Valley and Highlands met for the first time last year, they played a tight contest with the Golden Rams prevailing by eight points.

Friday night was not as close as last year’s contest but had all the excitement and tenacity a Class 4A showdown brings.

Highlands (3-0) remained in first place in the Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference with a 35-15 defeat of Chartiers Valley (0-3) at Nick J. Staresinic Stadium in Natrona Heights in a nonconference game.

“We’ve been pretty inconsistent in our two wins,” Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski said. “When we put things together, we’re pretty good. When we don’t, we’re not very good. If we don’t, anybody could beat us.”

The Golden Rams were extremely consistent with their two-headed run game as quarterback Aaran Randolph and running back Luke Bombalski each rushed for more than 100 yards.

Randolph opened the scoring with an 80-yard rushing touchdown on the Golden Rams’ first drive of the second quarter. He finished with 110 yards rushing on 10 carries and two touchdowns, one passing.

“We worked as a team and kept moving. Our line was great, but I don’t want to forget the receivers, who were also landing pretty good blocks to keep us moving offensively,” Randolph said.

Bombalski capped the Golden Rams second drive of the second quarter with a 2-yard run after he rolled down the field on a 77-yard gain. He finished with 18 carries for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns.

“Our line blocked amazing tonight. I could see a change from last week. Holes were open all night,” Bombalski said.

His coach heaped more praise after the game, knowing the line is something he has stressed since early-season conditioning.

“O-line played well tonight. I’ve been hard on them since camp. They’ve had good moments and bad, but they were very good tonight,” Bonislawski said. “They dominated the line of scrimmage all night.”

What became a problem for Highlands was the high number of penalties. The Golden Rams (10 for 115) and Colts (9 for 105) finished the night with more than 100 yards in penalties, most through personal fouls, which showed how physical the game was.

“Penalties are what they are. We got to fight through them. But we can’t put ourselves in the position for the refs to make those calls,” Bonislawski said.

Chartiers Valley coach Aaron Fitzgerald had his own perspective.

“Our penalties were just based of selfishness. We would get stops, and then a penalty wipes out our good play. It’s something we need to work on moving forward,” Fitzgerald said.

Chartiers Valley’s penalties definitely did not mesh with the mindset Fitzgerald said his team needed to hang with Highlands.

“They have good athletes, as do we. Our job tonight is to stay mentally focused, no brain fog. Stay clear. Execute our assignments,” he said.

The only unknown was whether the Colts would be able to slow Highlands on the ground.

The Colts did their job early, bending but not breaking and keeping the Highlands out of the end zone in the first quarter after a lengthy drive.

Chartiers Valley produced a long drive of its own in to burn out the first quarter clock but missed a field goal as the second quarter started.

Colts standout running back Zach Efthimiades put his team on the board late in the second quarter with an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

“He’s a great runner. He sniffs the end zone, and that’s his only goal,” Fitzgerald said.

Efthimiades added another touchdown with a 6-yard run to start the fourth quarter.

That was only the second touchdown Highlands has allowed this season in the second half. The Golden Rams have outscored opponents 85-7 after halftime, pitching a shutout in the third quarter.

Highlands answered on the next drive with a 2-yard run by Bombalski to put the game out of reach.

The Golden Rams travel to North Catholic, and Chartiers Valley will host Central Valley next Friday to open conference play.

Tags: Chartiers Valley, Highlands