The Highland Huskies took to the field Friday against East Buchanan and suffered a 56-0 loss. The youthful Huskies had their hands full with the No. 1 team in the Des Moines Register’s Class A preseason rankings. 

The Buccaneers brought pressure from the opening whistle, forcing a fumble on the opening drive and taking advantage of the short field position two plays later for the first score of the game. 

“As a young team, it’s easy to get out there and not realize how big and fast a team like this can be,” said Huskies head coach Cory Quail after the game, “It almost puts you in survival mode.” 

The Huskies took over on their second possession and were starting to put together a compelling drive. Momentum turned quickly as a halfback pass went wrong and the ball ended up in the hands of a Buccaneer defender who returned the ball deep into Husky territory.

East Buchanan punched the ball into the endzone two plays later to take a 16-0 advantage in the first five minutes of the contest. It took the Huskies a couple more possessions to regain momentum and find forward progress. Following a shanked Buccaneers kick, the Huskies took over at their opponents’ 47-yard line. Highland finally picked up a first down before being forced to punt the ball away trailing 24-0.

The Buccaneers continued to create separation in the second quarter, scoring 16 more points before heading into halftime. The writing was on the wall for the contest as the Buccaneers led 40-0 in the contest, but the Huskies weren’t going to tuck their tails and run. 

“I was really proud of how our guys stuck together, it’s easy to get down on yourself as a team when you play a game like this that can be crippling,” said Quail. 

Three seniors led the Husky defense in tackles. Tyler Thompson made six stops. Peyton Yeggy had five tackles and a sack, and Ethan Simpson had  three, including two tackles for loss. 

Logan McFarland, Nicolas Oriano and Aarson Schaedler each had three tackles. 

The Buccaneers were held to just six points in the third quarter, coming on a 20-yard pass from Trystin Russel to Hunter Bowers. East Buchanan scored again in the fourth to bring us to our final score of 56-0, but that wasn’t the end of the night. 

After the final kickoff, the Huskies were able to put together a good possession, which saw them drive the ball 50 yards down the field before time expired in the contest. A promising sign of what’s to come for the rest of the Huskies season.

Looking ahead, Highland will matchup against Columbus Junction next week on their home field. The Wildcats just knocked off Louisa-Muscatine 55-14 in their opening contest. 

“It’s going to be about returning to the fundamentals” said Quail as Highland looks forward toward a week of practices. Last season’s matchup between the two teams saw Highland take a lopsided 48-20 victory. The varsity only contest will kick off at 7:00 at Highland High School.