ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Down 21-0 after one quarter and 34-8 in the third quarter against the top-seeded team in the Division IV, Region 15 and the top-ranked team in the state, it would have been understandable … almost expected that the Highland football team would pack it in and get ready for the final two weeks of the season.
But the Scots didn’t do that. Instead, they went down fighting in a 47-30 second-round loss at St. Clairsville.
“We made some mistakes early,” Highland coach Matt Jones said. “But it’s like I told the kids after – we fought, we never quit and I love them. It takes a lot to do to come back against a quality opponent like (St. Clairsville). Their hearts are there, we just fell short.
Down 34-8 in the third quarter, Gavin Hankins gave Highland a momentum-turning 54-yard pick-six that cut the deficit to 34-16 after a Kadin Johnson two-point conversion.
Johnson ran for a touchdown and threw for another – an 11-yard toss to Landyn Albanese in the flat to help the Scots (4-4) whittle down the deficit to 40-30 in the fourth quarter.
“(Johnson) is a special young man and I love that kid to death,” Jones said. “He took over that game. I’m proud of him and I’m proud of everybody. It was a great effort on our part.”
Johnson finished with 91 yards on 19 carries and went 15 of 32 for 110 with an interception to lead 17th-seeded Highland. Dane Nauman added 62 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Wyatt Hornsby had 8.5 tackles, Jon Jenson had 7.5 tackles and Chandler Stevens and Cody Matthews had 6.5 tackles apiece to lead the Scots on defense.
The problem was the 21 points Highland spotted St. Clairsville in the first quarter. Drew Sefsick intercepted Johnson on the third play of the game.
Five plays later, the Red Devils (7-0) were in the end zone on a Jacob Jordan 7-yard run to go up 7-0.
Highland went three-and-out on the next series and an Eli Grandstaff 14-yard punt set up the Devils in plus territory again.
Tyler Tonkovich hit Austin DaRe in stride on a skinny post over the middle that went 33 yards for a touchdown and the Devils were up 14-0 midway through the first.
After another Highland three-and-out, Tonkovich guided an 11-play, 63-yard drive and capped it with a 6-yard touchdown run untouched on a fourth-and-1 bootleg play to push the lead to 21-0 with 44 seconds left in the frame.
“I want to give Highland a ton of credit,” St. Clairsville coach Brett McLean said. “They have a quality football team. We knew that watching the film. I know Highland is kind of new to our region, so I don’t think they garnered the kind of respect they should have from other coaches (seeding-wise) outside this area. We knew we were going to be in for a ballgame tonight.”
The Scots' offense finally got going in the second quarter. But it wasn’t until late in the frame that they saw the fruits of that labor. Dane Nauman ran through the St. Clairsville defense for a 6-yard touchdown to get Highland on the board. Johnson completed a jump-pass to Wyatt Hornsby over the middle to convert the two-point conversion and the score was 21-8 with 19 seconds left in the half.
Momentum changed.
Momentum changed back on the ensuing kickoff. Colin Oberdick picked up a bouncing ball at the 30 and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown and the Devils led 28-8 at the break.
“You get to this point of the year and those mistakes can’t happen,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, they did.”
“This’ll sting, but we were going to take a knee and go to the half,” McLean said. “(Oberdick) made a great play and those guys up front did such a great job to execute on a short kick like that. (Oberdick) found a block and he sprung it. That was an exciting play.”
St. Clairsville opened the second half with possession and took advantage. Tonkovich hit Oberdick in stride on a fly route down the right sideline for a 47-yard touchdown three plays into the second half to push the lead to 34-8 after failed two-point conversion pass.
The two would hook up on a similar play midway through the fourth quarter that went for 36 yards after Highland closed within 10.
Tonkovich finished 12 of 20 for 226 yards with the three scores and an interception, Oberdick caught six passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns to go with the kickoff return for a touchdown and Jordan ended up with 24 carries for 73 yards to lead the Red Devils.
Will Balgo led St. Clairsville with seven tackles and Domenic Panepucci added seven.
St. Clairsville hosts eighth-seeded Vincent Warren in a regional quarterfinal next Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Highland returns to regular-season play, but its opponent on Friday night is still to be determined.
