RIVERSIDE

Getting to play at home for their next district matchup, the Huskies hoped to end their losing streak in their battle with the Panthers, but once Pekin got going on offense it became a challenge for Highland to put a stop to it. 

Scoring 20 or more points in every quarter except for the fourth, Pekin flexed its offensive might with a 61-13 win over Highland on Oct. 4. 

Averaging 51.3 points per game this season, this was Pekin’s second highest scoring game this year with their season high being 76. 

This was Pekin’s third straight victory over the Huskies with Highland’s last win against the Panthers coming in 2021. 

For Pekin the game couldn’t have started any better, three touchdowns on three straight offensive drives while forcing Highland to punt three times. Going into the second quarter with a 20-0 lead, the Panthers once again scored on three straight drives. 

With their offense firing on all cylinders, Pekin put up another 20 on the board to go into the half with a 40-0 lead.

Coming out of the half Pekin had their first drive of the night not end in a score when Highland sophomore Tyler Pierson nabbed his second interception of the year. The Huskies were not able to capitalize off the INT as they ended up committing their own turnover, a fumble. 

The Highland fumble was followed by a Pekin rushing TD and then the Panthers pushed their score over 50 with a pick-six on Highland’s next offensive drive. With less than a minute left in the third, Pekin scored their last TD of the game to arrive at its final score of 61. 

Leading the Panthers through the air was senior Will Adam who threw for a team high 152 yards with two TDs. On the ground, Adam went for 84 yards on 11 carries along with one TD. 

Leading the Panthers on the ground was junior Nolan Glick. The junior ran for 102 yards on 11 carries to go along with a team high three TD. Senior Robert Brown led the team in receiving yards with 61 on three catches. 

In the final quarter, Highland put its first points on the board when Garrett Beeson scored on a rushing TD. After the TD, a botched punt by Pekin gave Highland great field position and they cashed in when freshman Caleb Wheeler scored his first rushing TD of the season. 

Highland’s final score of 13 was the second most points allowed by Pekin this season, who averaged giving up 8.5 points per game. 

Up next for Highland (2-4) is a homecoming game against Louisa-Muscatine (0-6) on Oct. 11.