Missed opportunities cost HLT

The Highland-Lone Tree football team struck first Friday night, marching down the field on its opening drive to take a 6-0 lead on district foe Pekin, but HLT struggled with red zone execution on critical drives as the Panthers took the district win 33-6.

After connecting for 181 yards through the air in HLT’s win over Wapello, quarterback Caleb Wheeler and receiver Hunter Seibel were on the same page early again, as Wheeler hit Seibel on a slant, at which point Seibel broke a tackle and outran the Panthers to the goal line for the opening touchdown. That touchdown marked the last time HLT would score, though, as the ensuing PAT was blocked and the team’s red zone issues began to reveal themselves.

HLT reached the red zone three more times throughout the game, but each time the offense was turned away- twice by turnovers on downs and once by an end-zone interception.

“It’s disappointing, because I think we can hang with those guys,” head coach Thayne McElhinney said. “We have to fix the red zone. We get down there and everything gets harder, but I think finding ways to execute and do our jobs a little bit better is what we really need to focus on.”

Wheeler, who had heavy responsibilities for HLT on both sides of the ball, either running or passing it on 50 of the team’s 57 plays from scrimmage while tying Will Daufeldt for the team high of nine total tackles defensively, was visibly frustrated with the pressure he faced throughout the game, at one point saying “I have no time” to the coaching staff following a rushed throw.

While Wheeler was never officially sacked, he was consistently throwing around rushing defensive linemen in his face and was forced into an intentional grounding early in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, HLT struggled to answer Pekin’s run game, particularly jet sweeps to wide receiver Alijah Brock. Brock’s sweeps accounted for 3 of the Panthers’ 5 touchdowns, and he accounted for 160 total yards on the night.

Running back Ryann Hammes provided a counter to Brock up the middle, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown while preventing HLT from selling out on the outside run.

The defense struggled to bring both backs down, allowing a high quantity of yards after contact.

“There were times where we had them wrapped up and we just couldn’t finish the play,” McElhinney said. “Focusing on the basic fundamentals of tackling and finishing the first time, you swing the momentum your way.”

With three narrow misses offensively that could have kept HLT in the game and the broken tackles being a major factor in allowing Pekin to march down the field consistently, McElhinney says that the team is just a few stray details away from reaching its goals and winning its remaining district games.

“We talk about details all the time. I told the guys tonight, when we do our job, we are a top 10 team in the state, but when we have mental mishaps, we look like, well, not a top ten team.”

Highland-Lone Tree is set to take on Danville on the road on Friday.

Scouting Danville

The Bears are on a three-game win streak since losing to 2A foe West Burlington-Notre Dame in week one, including a 2-0 start to district play with victories over Columbus and Van Buren County.

Danville is led by sophomore quarterback Hayden Russell, who has passed for 879 yards and 7 touchdowns while running for 234 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first season as a starter.

Senior running back Tate Sherwood is also off to a strong start, averaging 9.5 yards per carry on 24 touches, generating 4 touchdowns in the process.

Senior Ty Frazier, sophomore Jaxon Johnson and junior Lane Lambert represent a three-headed monster in the receiving game that will force the HLT secondary to constantly account for multiple threats.

Defensively, the Bears have been explosive to start the year. Through four games, they’ve generated 36.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and 11 turnovers. Sophomore Zaylan Wenig has been a standout with 2 interceptions, 3 TFLs and 2 sacks.

HLT and Danville will kickoff in Danville at 7 p.m.