Huskies come up short at Wilton

By Molly Roberts
Posted 9/14/21

The Highland Huskies fell to the undefeated Wilton Beavers, 39-14, on Friday, Sept. 10. 

Wilton struck early, scoring on a long 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aidan Walker on their …

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Huskies come up short at Wilton

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The Highland Huskies fell to the undefeated Wilton Beavers, 39-14, on Friday, Sept. 10. 

Wilton struck early, scoring on a long 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aidan Walker on their first snap of the game. 

Highland answered with a score of its own near the end of the first quarter, with quarterback Conner Grinstead finding junior Logan Bonebrake in the endzone with a 23-yard pass on fourth down. 

Highland scored again in the second quarter after a pair of carries from Grinstead and senior Brenton Bonebrake put the Huskies on first-and-goal at the two-yard line and Grinstead was able to push in for a touchdown. 

At halftime the score was 25-14 with Wilton leading. Neither team scored during the third quarter; the Huskie defense forced the Beavers to punt twice on fourth down but with Brenton Bonebrake out of the game due to a shoulder injury, Highland’s offence also struggled, going four-and-out twice. 

The momentum briefly swung in Highland’s favor when Logan Bonebrake intercepted a Wilton pass in the endzone, but then Grinstead fumbled the ball in the endzone and Wilton recovered it for a touchdown, extending the Beaver lead to 32-14.

Wilton’s tight end Caden Kirkman, standing 6-foot-8, led the Beavers in receptions with 6 catches for 78 yards. Head coach Scott Morel said Kirkman’s height posed a significant challenge, especially since Brenton Bonebrake was originally slated to guard Kirkman, but Brenton had to leave the game midway through the second quarter. 

“[Defending Kirkman] is something we worked on this past week,” Morel said. “Brenton got hurt, and Brenton was supposed to be on him, then from there Logan did a really nice job with him.” 

Brenton Bonebrake managed to rack up 76 yards on 12 carries before his injury caused him to exit the game.

Wilton’s quarterback Walker completed 20 of 24 passing attempts for 208 yards and two touchdowns, compared to Grinstead’s two completions off eight attempts and one touchdown.

Seniors Luke Miller, Jaden Schmid and Carson Netser led the Huskie defense with 9, 6.5 and 6 tackles respectively. Senior Yahir Jimenez also performed very well defensively, said Morel, with several big pass breakups. 

“He does a really good job for us and always has done,” Morel said. “He knows where to be and he’s gotten a lot better this past year and I’m really proud of him for that.” 

Highland will next face North Cedar at home on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.