Kicker Jackson Babinsack provides reliable weapon for Highlands in visit to No. 3 Central Valley

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 | 4:36 PM

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Jackson Babinsack has been a well-known special teams name among Highlands football faithful since his freshman year in 2023.

The Golden Rams junior, the team’s punter and kickoff specialist who also handles extra points and field goals, has delivered the goods in some big games the past three years and has become a reliable leg in the eyes of the coaching staff.

“Jackson has really been an asset and weapon for us,” said coach Matt Bonislawski, who will lead his team into a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal battle Friday at No. 3 Central Valley.

“It’s a good feeling to know we’re making all of the extra points and are confident setting up for a field goal. He has the ability to add points for us when we need them. Even punting; I know we haven’t punted in some games as much as others, but it’s great to have his three years of experience.”

Babinsack, also a key member of the Highlands boys soccer team that earned a WPIAL playoff spot this fall for the first time in 21 years, earned first-team All-Allegheny 7 Conference kicking honors in football last season.

He made an impact right away in the Week Zero game this fall against Armstrong, an eventual playoff qualifier in Class 5A. His season-long 39-yard field goal was the difference in a 31-28 Golden Rams win.

Babinsack started kicking in eighth grade after seeing older brother Burton kick for the Golden Rams.

“Burton told me about it and got me into it,” Jackson said.

He beat out big brother for some of the kicking duties his freshman year.

“Burton understood and was happy for me, and it kind of just went from there,” Jackson said. “I was pretty excited to be in the position I was in where I could help the team.”

Babinsack started a successful extra-point streak last season that has surpassed 50 in a row.

“I just like going out there and doing what I am supposed to do and doing it well,” he said.

No kick was more crucial than the one made in overtime Oct. 3 at Freeport. Highlands scored first, and Babinsack booted the extra point for a seven-point Golden Rams lead.

Freeport then scored, but its extra point was blocked, sending Highlands to a one-point win that went a long way in helping the Golden Rams secure outright second place in the conference behind Imani Christian and a No. 6 seed for the WPIAL playoffs.

“Honestly, it felt regular. It felt normal,” Jackson said about the OT kick. “I came on and did it without feeling the pressure. The snap (from sophomore Thomas Naviglia) and hold (from brother and senior defensive back Keegan Babinsack) were as good as they always have been.”

Babinsack said his balance between football and soccer this fall was fun. Playing positions all over the field, he scored eight goals for the soccer team that finished fourth in Section 1 and battled WPIAL power Quaker Valley in the Class 2A first round.

“It felt great,” he said. “We put in a lot of work in the offseason and just came together as a team. We had a goal to make the playoffs and worked hard each week to make that happen.”

Babinsack didn’t come out of the soccer playoff game unscathed, however, as he suffered an injury to the knee of his plant leg. While wearing a brace, he said he has been able to continue kicking with little issue.

He hopes to make an impact and provide points when needed Friday as the Golden Rams face a Central Valley team seeking its sixth WPIAL title since forming with the merger of the Center and Monaca school districts in 2009.

“It’s a great feeling to be out here preparing to play some November football,” said Bonislawski, whose sixth-seeded Golden Rams (8-3) won their second straight first-round game last Friday with a 14-0 home victory over No. 11 Derry.

It was Highlands’ sixth win in a row since a Week 4 loss to Imani on Sept. 19.

“There’s only eight teams left, and every team we face from here on out is pretty good,” Bonislawski said. “It’s a challenge we look forward to.”

Sophomore tailback Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown against the Trojans, and senior Marquis Johnson returned an interception 10 yards for a score.

“We came out of Derry looking to shore up some mistakes we made, and I think we will do that,” Bonislawski said.

“We had a lot of missed opportunities. We averaged almost 9 yards a play. We didn’t punt. There’s not too many games where you average 9 yards over 38 plays and don’t punt and score just 14. But we also played with the flow of the game, controlled the ball, played sound defense and got the win, which is the biggest thing at this time of the year.”

Central Valley enters Friday’s game with a 6-4 record, but the Warriors’ losses came in an early-season Class 4A gauntlet of Montour, Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon as well as conference rival and Class 3A top seed Avonworth.

Central Valley capped its regular season with a 35-31 win over Class 5A playoff qualifier North Hills. The Warriors, who finished second to Avonworth in the Western Hills Conference at 5-1, are led by the passing of junior Braddock Ambrose (1,371 yards, eight touchdowns) and the running of senior Ethan Shearer (976 yards, 17 total TDs). Senior Aaron Lawson had 30 catches for 524 yards.

“Central Valley is just a solid, all-around team,” Bonislawski said.

“They are big and have some guys who are pretty quick. They’ve competed in every game of a brutal schedule, similar to us in the beginning of the year. We played them two years ago. It didn’t go our way, but we remember enough to know what they want to do, and it’s probably the same for them towards us.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Central Valley, Highlands