It was a game of rush vs. pass. The Highland Huskies fell 34-21 to Wapello on homecoming night in a game where quarterback Connor Grinstead racked up 222 of Highland’s 287 rushing yards. 

But Grinstead completed only three of ten attempted passes for a total of 21 yards. By contrast, Wapello quarterback Tade Parsons completed 15 of 25 passes for 305 yards, but the Indians only rushed for 168 yards with Parsons taking only nine carries for 20 yards himself. 

Highland started strong, holding Wapello to a short kick return, then, on the Indians’ twelfth snap of the drive, seniors Jaden Schmid and Brenton Bonebrake sacked Parsons on 4th-and-goal at the 6-yard line and Wapello turned the ball over on downs. 

The Huskies were forced to punt after five snaps, during which Brenton Bonebrake was taken down twice in the backfield for a total loss of five yards.

Wapello made short work of their next drive, first entering Huskie territory with a 33-yard pass, then marching forward due to a pass interference call against the Huskies and another long pass for 21 yards to put them in the red zone. Wapello senior Macuen West punched the ball through for the Indians’ first touchdown. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, but Wapello had the lead, 6-0.

Momentum started to shift in Highland’s favor at the end of the first quarter, when Parsons was sacked in the Wapello endzone and Highland senior Trevor McFarland recovered the fumble. The Huskies took over from the 8-yard line and needed only two snaps for Grinstead to find McFarland in the endzone, putting Highland up 7-6 to start the second quarter. 

Wapello started to pull away, however, scoring three times in the second quarter to command a 27-7 lead by halftime. 

Highland scored on its opening drive of the second half, even after back-to-back holding and false start penalties put the Huskies at second-and-fifteen. But then, Grinstead broke away with a 39-yard touchdown run. 

Wapello quickly answered, picking up five first downs before Parsons completed a 22-yard touchdown pass. Highland’s next drive was interrupted when Indian junior Casey Short intercepted Grinstead’s pass. Wapello’s drive was then cut short when Highland junior Peyton Yeggy nabbed an interception around midfield. 

Highland scored its final touchdown of the game near the end of the fourth quarter after converting a fourth-and-ten thanks to 16, 27 and 1-yard runs from Grinstead. 

The loss brings the Huskies’ record to 2-4 going into their next game at No. 4 Lisbon (5-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 8.