STANWOOD

Football is back in session and last Friday the Huskies accomplished a feat the program hasn’t seen since 2019.

Hitting the road to start their season, Highland won a season opener for the first time in five years by securing a convincing 26-0 victory over the North Cedar Knights on Aug. 30.

Highland ended last season with a shutout win and they picked up where they left off by once again surrendering zero points, a testament to a Highland defense that has a point of emphasis in the offseason. 

“It’s something we’ve been working on, harping on all summer. We’ve been harping on it since last year. We knew defense needed to get better. We were in the last rankings in the state and everything,” Highland coach Cory Quail said about his team’s defense. 

 “I’ve been a defensive guy my whole life. That’s embarrassing for me as a coach and it’s my fault as a coach. I’m really excited how our guys fought, what they’ve done in the weight room to make themselves better on defense. That is our identity and they showed up with it tonight.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Highland quarterback Sage Hartley-Norman gave his team the lead with a rushing touchdown. Hartley-Norman, a senior, led the Huskies with 91 rushing yards on 15 carries.  

It wasn’t long before Highland scored again after a North Cedar punt. Finding the endzone on back-to-back drives, sophomore Jose Ramirez rushed for a TD to give the Huskies a 13-0 lead. Ramirez ended the night with 82 rush yards in 11 carries. 

Highland had 285 rushing yards against the Knights and such hard nose running is something the Huskies have prepared for. 

“Those guys have put time in the weight room,” coach Quail said about the work the offensive line has done. “That right there is what we’ve been preaching. You’ve heard it from me for two, now starting three years. They put that time in. We put the weight on. We put the strength on.”

Defense leading to offense, excellent pressure on a North Cedar QB forced an errant throw which was intercepted by Colten Sypherd, giving Highland the ball with less than two minutes left to add to their lead before the half. 

With ten seconds left on the clock, Sypherd caught a five-yard TD pass from Hartley-Norman, bringing the score to 20-0 in Highland’s favor. 

Sypherd, a senior, shined against the Knights. In addition to his receiving TD on offense he also rushed for 43 yards on five carries and in addition his INT on defense he also accounted for 6.5 total tackles and recovered a fumble. 

“Sypherd is one of those guys that’s not a big talker out there or anything like that. He just wants to show up and play, and he’s put in a lot of work. He’s not one of those guys that’s looking for the limelight,” coach Quail said. “He just wants to go play some ball and you absolutely love kids like that. Love the kid. Love his work ethic. Love his attitude. Love having him as a senior on this football team. He’s been with us the whole time.”

In the second half, Highland scored once more in the third quarter (another rushing TD by Hartley-Norman) and then both teams went scoreless in the fourth. 

Leading the Huskies in receiving yards was freshman Liam Roberts. Roberts had one catch (snatching a deep ball that ricocheted off a North Cedar defender) for 51 yards. 

Highland’s leader on defense, senior Logan McFarland, had a team high nine total tackles. Fellow senior Isaac Kleese had a team high two QB sacks. Also making a big play on defense was senior Jared Diaz, who made a leaping INT in the second quarter.  

Looking ahead to the next game, Highland will play in their first home contest of the season against Danville, a team they fell to last year, 33-12.  

“Next week it’s going to be a different battle. We know Danville is going to bring some stuff at us that’s going to be way different. We got to be ready for it because it’s going to be a little bit more of an equal battle,” coach Quail said. “But I love our guys for the time and effort that they put in to make themselves better, it’s on them. They’ve done a great job.”

Highland (1-0) will host the Danville Bears (0-1) on Sept. 6.