Offensive sputters continue for HLT

The Highland-Lone Tree football team’s defense stood strong on Friday, but five turnovers for the HLT offense allowed Van Buren county to claim a 14-0 victory as the Warriors celebrated homecoming.

The entire first quarter and most of the second quarter went by following a rhythm of stop after stop, including interceptions from Wheeler and Tyler Pierson. The defensive effort was bolstered by the best night of the season for HLT’s pass rush, which was constantly in quarterback Will Cocherel’s face.

“Our d-line, we really made that an emphasis this week,” head coach Thayne McElhinney said. “We needed to be able to control the line of scrimmage better, and I thought they came out and they were ready to get there.”

Jarrett Brackin was a standout on that line, generating 2 sacks and a tackle for loss in his first game back from an injury.

“He’s a spark plug, he is a force,” McElhinney said of Brackin. “Jarrett does a great job. He loves football. He’s the guy that you want on your team because he’s going to give you everything he has.”

As the second quarter came to a close, though, Van Buren finally broke through.

With the ball deep in Warrior territory, Cocherel fired a pass toward the left sideline to a wide receiver, who flipped the ball to a tight end on a perfectly-executed hook and ladder that went 86 yards for the first score of the game, giving Van Buren a 7-0 lead at the half.

That play gave the Warriors all the momentum headed into halftime, and they maintained it when play resumed, marching down the field on a methodical 55-yard touchdown drive, giving VBC a 14-0 lead. That drive was partially enabled by an HLT encroachment penalty on a 4th-down attempt. Such penalties have been a pain point throughout the year for HLT.

“That’s pretty pee-wee football to me,” McElhinney said. “We don’t do what we’re supposed to do. We have to hold them to a standard.”

Offensively, accuracy issues for Wheeler and dropped passes, including two on what seemed to be sure touchdowns, for the team’s receivers prevented HLT from building momentum. Their best opportunity came early in the fourth quarter, when the offense had driven the ball inside the Van Buren 10. Wheeler was flushed from the pocket and attempted to shovel pass the ball into the end zone, but he was picked off at the Warrior five yard line.

“If we capitalize on situations like that, it’s a win,” McElhinney said. Still, he praised Wheeler after the game, saying the rest of the team needs to do more to pick him up. “I told Wheeler at the start of the game, ‘We think you’re a darn good ball player, and I just want you to show it.’ I know he takes a lot of pressure on himself to be a good leader and a good teammate, and I think it’s just reiterating that we have to pick him up on the other side, too.”

Of Wheeler’s four interceptions, his red zone pick was the worst, as two came on difficult long fourth down attempts late in the half while one bounced off his receiver’s hands, but the one he was most at fault for was also the most important, as from that point on the HLT offense lost any and all momentum, struggling to string plays together as the clock wound down.

The team’s defense settled back in after the two scoring drives on either side of the halftime break, but the two scores proved to be enough in HLT’s shutout loss.

McElhinney was visibly emotional on the sideline following the game.

“It’s frustrating, because we’re a better team than what we put out every week,” McElhinney said. “We have so much potential, but we miss little things here and there, and really good football teams don’t miss those little things.”

With no guarantees on the future of the program, as the sharing agreement between the Highland and Lone Tree school districts only being approved for the 2026 season, McElhinney says it would be “silly” to break the team up considering how well the players have meshed. He went on to describe where the program needs to go to build momentum into the offseason.

“Going into these last two weeks, we have to learn to play for something bigger than ourselves and learn how to win going into the offseason. That’s really hard to do. Winning is not easy, and nobody can win easily.”

HLT will return to action on Friday in Columbus against the Wildcats.

Scouting Columbus

The Wildcats run a run-heavy double-wing offense that leans heavily on junior quarterback Lando Garza. Garza has thrown for 181 yards, 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions on the year while rushing for a team-high 260 yards.

Senior wide receiver Lemar Ceant is far and away the Wildcats’ best athlete, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry on 25 carries this year. A star on the track, Ceant was a finalist in the 2A 200 meter dash in last May’s state meet in Des Moines. Finding an answer for his speed will be critical for HLT on Friday.

Columbus has struggled defensively this year, generating little pressure at the point of attack with just 10 tackles for loss and 2 sacks on the season while generating only 3 turnovers.

The game will be HLT’s final in district play before closing the season with a home game against Midland on October 16.

Kickoff in Columbus Junction is scheduled for 7 p.m.