No. 12 Highland (6-5, 2-5) traveled to No. 5 Liberty-Benton (9-2, 7-0) and came away with an upset come-from-behind 21-17 victory in the opening round of the Region 18 playoffs, led by a 156 yard effort by Dane Nauman.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Eagles took a 7-0 lead on a four-yard touchdown by Mason Modd, but Nauman responded with a 63-yard touchdown run. Malin Fichtner tied the game with an extra point and it was a 7-7 game at the half.
In the third quarter Liberty Benton went up 14-7 with Modd running one on from two yards out for his second score of the day. Conner Hiss then drilled a 34-yard field goal to go up 17-7. The Fighting Scots were ready to play in the fourth quarter, with Kolton Stover scoring twice, once from four yards out and another on an 82-yard touchdown pass to Nauman which proved to be the game winner.
Highland had 318 yards of total offense with 205 yards coming in the ground attack. Nauman had 21 carries for 156 yards and a touchdown, while Stover had 10 attempts for 49 yards and a score. Stover was 6-for-18 for 113 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Nauman caught two passes, one for a score, for 88 yards while Kort Sears caught the other four passes for 25 yards. Michtner was 3-for-3 on extra points.
On defense, Sam Hernandez had 14 tackles to lead the charge. Ladon Hayes tallied four tackles and a sack. Kane Stover had three tackles and a sack. Nauman recorded a sack to go with four tackles. Gavin Wiggand had a solid day with 10 tackles and a half-sack, while Aron West also had a half-sack.
Mudd had 20 carries for 210 yards in the losing effort.
Highland faces the undefeated No. 4 Oak Harbor (11-0, 7-0) Rockets on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Regional quarterfinal game. Oak Harbor is coming off a 49-20 win over No. 13 Otsego.
