After a month without a win, the Highland-Lone Tree football team broke through Friday night, shutting out Columbus 12-0 for the second victory of the season and first on the road.
HLT played spoiler on Columbus’ homecoming night, getting off to a strong start and holding on for the win.
On the opening drive, junior quarterback Caleb Wheeler connected with senior wide receiver Hunter Seibel for a touchdown.
Wheeler emphasized the importance of the opening score.
“We’ve been struggling to score when we are in the red zone, so that was a huge touchdown for us.”
HLT head coach Thayne McElhinney also discussed the team’s red zone struggles this season.
“We've been in the red zone so many times, and we just can't seem to find a way to punch it in. So I think we really focused on it this week of finishing, especially with a condensed field. We try to put our guys in a situation this week and work on finishing those plays when it's tight and there's not as much room to operate, so they did a good job and we executed the play that we needed to do.”
HLT threatened again on its next drive, but Columbus junior Lando Garza intercepted Wheeler’s pass on fourth down. Still, the play flipped field position in favor of HLT, as it set the Wildcats up deep in their own territory.
HLT nearly added another touchdown late in the second quarter, when Wheeler just missed Seibel in the end zone. McElhinney said the team has sometimes tried to force too much this season.
“When it gets smaller, we try to force things that we don’t need to, and I think that leads to where we kind of set ourselves back. We just kind of have to continue to take what’s given to us by the defense.”
HLT took a 6-0 lead into halftime as its defense continued to stifle the Wildcats’ offense.
McElhinney described the defense as having a “bend don’t break” style, overcoming adversity even after allowing a big play.
“We might give up a play here or there, but we rally behind that and just try to find a way to fix it for the next play. We kind of try to talk about overcoming adversity, and that’s just what we did tonight.”
HLT threatened again on the opening possession of the second half. Several strong runs by senior running back Tyler Pierson put the team within striking distance. However, for the second consecutive red zone trip, HLT could not finish and turned the ball over on downs.
After another defensive stop, a short Columbus punt gave HLT favorable field position. HLT again failed to capitalize, though, as Pierson fumbled and the Wildcats recovered.
The teams continued trading possessions before Highland-Lone Tree’s defense delivered what might have been the play of the game late in the third quarter. A Columbus receiver caught a pass but collided with multiple HLT defenders, knocking the ball loose and into Wheeler’s hands.
A few plays later, Wheeler threw his second touchdown pass of the game, connecting with senior wide receiver Presten Smith to extend the lead to 12-0.
Smith said he was determined to reach the end zone after coming up short the previous week.
“Last week at Van Buren, I had a slant route and went for 60 yards and got caught at the 10-yard line. That really made me mad, and I was really wanting a touchdown. So I saw him throw that ball up, and I knew I had to go get that. He threw a jump ball, and I came down with it.”
Columbus’ next three possessions ended with two punts and a turnover on downs. HLT’s defense continued to stand firm in the fourth quarter, preventing the Wildcats from getting anything done on offense.
Another great defensive performance came from Jarrett Brackin, who recorded 2 sacks on the night.
McElhinney explained how the defense was able to secure the shutout.
“I think our angles and our pursuit was pretty good. Three and 15 are good athletes, good ball players, and they're quick. So I think a lot of it was our pursuits, but we have to find a way to wrap those guys up the first time, we missed them a lot early. So I think finding ways to tackle better is what we really need to focus on.”
After the game, McElhinney praised Wheeler’s performance and the team’s efforts to put him in positions to succeed.
“Caleb’s a good ball player, we try to find ways to get him the ball because he’s a good leader for us. We’re happy that he can compete. He was a little banged up there towards the end, but he does a great job for us. He’s a good kid.”
HLT improved to 2-5 on the season. Next week, the team will return home for the first time in more than a month to host Midland on senior night before closing the year against North Mahaska in a recently added extra game.
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