Highland football team prepares to parlay balance on offense into strong 2021 season

Count Highland football coach Jimmy Warnecke among the many elated to see football being played in the fall again in Illinois after grinding through a COVID-19 truncated spring season.

Moreover, normal is a good thing these days for Warnecke and the Bulldogs, who went 3-3 last spring while finishing third in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

“Back to normal,” Warnecke said. “It feels great (to be back out here).”

Warnecke said the players have been in great spirits so far, but he expressed concern about what the quick turnaround from fall to spring will mean for his team later in the season.

“I think we’re all fired up now, but I’m curious how it’s going to be come week seven, eight, nine when we’ve been at it for so long. So, with only a month off between spring and fall ball, it’s been a quick turnaround to say the least,” Warnecke said.

On offense, the Bulldogs return six starters, including Brent Wuebbles, Cade Altadonna, Brodie Lewis, Gabe Marti, Travis Gieseking, and Connor Hormann.

The Bulldogs are blessed to have Wuebbles back at quarterback as he begins his junior season under center.

“It’s very valuable (to have him at quarterback),” Warnecke said. “We wouldn’t have Washington and Edwardsville on our week one, week two schedule if that wasn’t the case so that gives you a lot of confidence as the game’s starting to slow down for the guy and he’s got the ball in his hands every play, so that’s a bonus.”

Juniors Travis Porter and Paul Graham will handle the running back spots.

“They’re juniors and both talented and we expect them to hit the ground running,” Warnecke said. “You don’t just replace a guy like LC (Logan Chandler) or some of the guys we’ve had in the past, but these guys are stepping up to do a fine job for us.”

At wide receiver, Altadonna and junior Brodie Lewis lead the group followed by senior James Beard, junior Brendan Gelly, senior Jarrett Kruse, and Marti. Beard, returning from a torn ACL injury in the spring, is back and rounding into form.

“He looks good,” Warnecke said.

Offensive line, defense

Along the offensive line, Gieseking and Hormann will anchor the Bulldogs on the left side.

“Our offensive line, we’re getting there,” Warnecke said. “We don’t have the size collectively across the board and we’re relatively thin, but I like the guys that we’ve got and they’re locked in. It’s a young group and they’ll get better each week.”

The Bulldogs defense will also be young as top tacklers Liam Gallagher and Chandler have graduated, but Warnecke has some pieces that should be able to make some plays.

In the linebacker group, Warnecke will look toward Gelly, Vance Brindley and Graham. Senior Cameron Willis, who racked up 45 tackles in the spring, will lead the secondary from his strong safety spot. Marti will work at one of the cornerback slots while senior Toby Allen and Beard will split time at the other cornerback spot.

“I think we’ve got to get more physical defensively and just learn more unit play across the board,” Warnecke said.

Balance on offense, season opener

One strength the Bulldogs will lean on early this season is their offensive balance, able to run and pass the ball with equal effectiveness.

“These last two years, we’ve been heavy on the run because we’ve been young at the quarterback spot and skill position spots. I think we may not have up front at first what we’ve had in the couple of years past, but I think the balance will win for us in the end,” Warnecke said.

Highland opens the 2021 season at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at home in a non-conference game against Washington.