Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg scores 4 TDs as Highlands runs away from Deer Lakes
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Friday, September 26, 2025 | 10:42 PM
Highlands’ Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg cruises into the end zone past Deer Lakes defenders for a third-quarter touchdown Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Roman Smith gets past Highlands’ Cayden Dadowski on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Roman Smith tries to break free against Highlands on Friday.
Highlands’ Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg gets away from Deer Lakes’ Joey Ashi on Friday.
Highlands’ Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg stretches for a touchdown against Deer Lakes in the first quarter Friday.
Highlands’ Jamarkus Prager get around Deer Lakes’ Brennan McGowan with a block from Logan Theis on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Ryan Love cuts back on Highlands’ Achilles Anger Youngblood on Friday.
Highlands’ Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg beats Deer Lakes’ Dom Sciubba to the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown Friday.
Highlands’ Darai Carter pulls in a pass past Deer Lakes’ Colby Borowski on Friday.
Highlands’ Christian Pearson breaks up a pass intended for Deer Lakes’ Daniel Bichler on Friday.
Highlands’ Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg leaps over Deer Lakes’ Dom Sciubba on the way to a first-quarter touchdown Friday.
Highlands’ Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg recovers a fumble from Deer Lakes’ Dante Mangieri on Friday.
Highlands’ Taiyvon Partlow gets past Deer Lakes’ Larry Rommes on Friday.
Highlands’ Bryce Tavarez hits Deer Lakes punter Larry Rommes after a snap over his head Friday.
Last year, Highlands led Deer Lakes by two touchdowns at halftime before the Lancers rallied for a one-point win.
There was no dramatic Deer Lakes comeback victory this season.
The Golden Rams led by three scores at halftime Friday in an Allegheny 7 Conference clash with the Lancers at Golden Rams Stadium.
Highlands then put two more TDs on the board in the second half and finished off a 35-0 victory.
“I thought we came out and played fast and physical,” Golden Rams coach Matt Bonislawski said. “We set the tone early. There’s great team chemistry, and there’s always full team effort. I am proud of the guys for that.”
Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg had a career night running the football. The Highlands sophomore tailback carried the ball 18 times for 188 yards and four touchdowns.
“I came in tonight with a strong mindset and planned to do this,” said Owen-Cratsenberg, who praised the work of the offensive line for helping him and junior Taiyvon Partlow run the ball.
Partlow added 80 yards on 11 carries as the Golden Rams rushed 35 times for 327 yards.
“We’ve all been working hard so much, and that hard work really paid off tonight,” Owen-Cratsenberg said.
Highlands bounced back from last week’s conference loss to Imani Christian and improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
The Golden Rams visit undefeated Freeport next week.
“Freeport is a really good team, so we have to handle our business in practice this week and come into that game with the same energy we did tonight,” Owen-Cratsenberg said.
Deer Lakes lost its fifth straight after a season-opening win over Keystone Oaks. The Lancers, who finished the game with minus-7 yards rushing and 32 yards total offense, have scored only 14 points over the last three games.
“At the end of the day, we just made too many mistakes,” said Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk, whose team steps out of conference against Beaver Area next week.
“Dropped passes, fumbles in key moments, picks when we’re at their 20. Those are things good football teams don’t do. It’s the same song and dance, and it is frustrating. We’ve got to find a way to make a play at key moments, and we’re just not there right now. The wheels are spinning a little bit. We have to get some traction somewhere. Offensively, we needed to get some rhythm going. It was tough to put the defense in the spots we were putting them in. They were on the field too long.”
It wasn’t all positive for Highlands.
The Golden Rams were whistled for 16 penalties totaling 115 yards.
“That was just too many,” Bonislawski said. “That pushed us back a lot and took a couple of scores off the board. But at the same time, we didn’t punt. We just have to clean those up and take care of the football a little bit better.”
Highlands quarterback Jamarkus Prager finished 10 of 14 for 112 yards. He was intercepted three times.
Owen-Cratsenberg, who also recovered a Deer Lakes fumble, scored on a 17-yard run with six minutes left in the third quarter as Highlands extended its lead to 28-0.
He struck for the fourth and final time with 7:27 left in the fourth as he took a pitch and rambled 61 yards to the end zone. Jackson Babinsack added his fifth extra point to put the mercy rule running clock into effect.
“We were able to set the tone running the ball,” Bonislawski said. “We’ve played some really good, physical teams up front, which really helped us tonight and hopefully helps us the rest of the way.”
Highlands took the opening kickoff and drove 78 yards in 10 plays. Owen-Cratsenberg finished off the drive with 6:42 left in the quarter with a 13-yard scoring run.
A fumble recovery by the Golden Rams at their 30 early in the second quarter set up Owen-Cratsenberg’s second TD. Highlands drove 70 yards this time, and Owen-Cratsenberg ran the final 11 with 10:38 left in the half.
Jahmar Wright extended Highlands’ lead to three touchdowns less than a minute later when he stepped in front of a Dante Mangieri pass and took it down the visiting sideline 50 yards for a score.
Wright picked off Mangieri again with 5:27 left in the third. Deer Lakes turned the ball over five times.
Highlands was on the doorstep of another score late in the half.
An interception by Christian Pearson and a block in the back on the return set the Golden Rams up at its 6 with 4:50 left in the half.
Highlands moved the ball 84 yards to the Deer Lakes 10. On third-and-1 Prager threw complete to Bryce Tavarez for a first down at the 3.
However, the Golden Rams were out of timeouts, and when the clock was restarted with 2 seconds left, they were not able to get a play off before time ran out.
“We called a play where we should’ve thrown the ball into the end zone, but we threw it short,” Bonislawski said. “We have to have a better awareness of the clock in that situation.”
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: Deer Lakes, Highlands
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