Big plays pace Highland in Friday night win

Big plays had a big impact for Highland Friday night when the Scots topped visiting Ashland Crestview by a 50-26 margin.

The Scots returned both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, got a 52-yard scoring pass from Kolton Stover to Kadyn Reichenbach and four scores on the ground by Dane Nauman — all over 20 yards — in winning their final non-league contest of the year.

Head coach Ty Stover was especially proud of his two special teams scores.

“I told them before the game; I said, ‘Men, I would really like to see big plays on special teams,’ because we work our butts off in practice on special teams. We take a third of the time in practice and it’s special teams and we finally got something tonight and I hope we can build on it.”

After turning the ball over on their game-opening possession, Highland controlled the action for the duration of the first half. The Scots put an end to Crestview’s first drive by forcing a fumble from Cougar quarterback Liam Kuhn and taking over on their opponents’ 42, setting up a 27-yard scoring run by Nauman.

Leading 7-0, Highland would force turnovers on each of Crestview’s next two possessions, but couldn’t capitalize. However, after forcing a punt early in the second quarter, the Scots were able to drive for a 23-yard field goal by Malin Fichtner, who also converted five of his seven extra point attempts.

The Scots would add two more touchdowns in the second. Hayden Kline returned a punt 70 yards for points after the team’s defense forced a quick three-and-out. After another three-and-out by Crestview, Stover hit Reichenbach to make it a 24-0 game going into the intermission.

Ty Stover noted that some extra practice time got his squad mentally prepared for Friday’s challenges.

“Yesterday at practice, we practiced and we finished and I said I’m not happy and we practiced again,” he said. “We started practice over because I didn’t think the focus of the Boys in Royal over there was where it needed to be and they did not complain one bit. We went through a whole nother practice. They came out today at 1 p.m. and practiced again and got ready to go. Whatever I ask of them, they do. They’re just great kids, we’ve got some momentum going and we’re getting ready for the league now.”

Both teams traded scores throughout the second half. Taking the ball first, Crestview drove 81 yards, getting a four-yard pass from Kuhn to Karter Goon to make it a 24-6 count. Highland would immediately respond with a 70-yard touchdown return of the ensuing kick by Sam Hernandez.

Trailing 30-6, the Cougars would have to punt. However, Brice Perkins would then pick off a Highland pass and return it for points. A two-point conversion trimmed the Highland lead to 30-14 with less than a minute in the third quarter.

The legs of Nauman would ensure Crestview wouldn’t be able to pose a threat over the rest of the game. Highland’s senior star opened the fourth quarter with a 22-yard touchdown to make it 36-14. Despite Kuhn hitting Goon for a 42-yard touchdown pass and running one in from 10 yards out, the Cougars would not be able to get any closer than a 16-point margin in the fourth.

Nauman would add touchdowns of 42 and 79 yards down the stretch to clinch the win for Highland.

“We have changed our style to try to be more balanced, but with that being said, we also try to make big plays at the same time,” said Stover. “We know that we’re going to make some big plays and we’re going to give up some big plays when we do that because it’s a new avenue for us. We’re just going to try to keep cleaning up and making progress and I thought we made progress this week.”

Nauman finished with 309 yards in the win on only 16 carries. Stover added six completions in 15 tries for 108 yards, with Reichenbach earning 97 of that total on a trio of receptions.

While Ty Stover is happy to be 3-o after non-conference play, he said that more important goals lie ahead.

“I don’t know the last time Highland was 3-0, but that’s not what we’re focused on,” he said. “We’ve got to focus on just getting better every week. We’ve got a big Pleasant game coming up this Friday at Pleasant, so we’ll have to gear up and get ready to go again.”

Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS