Laser focused Highland stuns Mascoutah, captures piece of MVC championship
Mississippi Valley Conference football fans had wondered all season if the Highland football team was ready for a big game.
On Friday, Oct. 15, at Mascoutah High School, the suddenly resurgent Bulldogs answered that question with a resounding yes.
Highland harnessed its balanced offense, solid special teams, and resourceful defense into a playoff-caliber performance, shocking previously unbeaten Mascoutah 29-27.
Winners of three straight games, Highland (4-4, 4-1) defeated Mascoutah for the first time since 2018 and kept its 2021 playoff hopes alive another week. The outcome also helped the Bulldogs secure a piece of the league crown with the Indians and Triad.
Overall, the win was a sweet reward for a Bulldogs club that struggled through a grueling 0-3 start against a rigorous non-conference schedule.
“I felt like the moment wasn’t too big for us,” Highland coach Jimmy Warnecke said. “When you compete you just don’t compete when things go well ... you get knocked in the mouth, you get back up and you compete the next play and I think more than anything else that’s what I was proud of about our boys this evening.”
HHS won the coin toss and scored on its opening possession as quarterback Brent Wuebbles hit Cameron Willis with a 22-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead.
Mascoutah (7-1, 4-1) answered on its second series as Chase Hanson connected with Quincy Hall on a 25-yard slant pass to tie the score at 7-7 with 2:40 left in the first quarter.
Highland went back on top early in the second quarter as Travis Porter scored on a 2-yard touchdown run. The Indians, however, answered on their next drive as Hanson heaved a 39-yard scoring pass to Allen Middleton to knot the score at 14-14 with 9:32 left in the first half.
Less than a minute before intermission, Mascoutah threatened to take its first lead of the night but the Bulldogs intercepted a second-down pass from Hanson inside the Highland 10-yard line.
Undeterred, Hanson’s 2-yard keeper on Mascoutah’s opening drive of the third quarter put the Indians in front 20-14. The point-after kick failed.
After Highland turned the ball over on downs, Mascoutah had a chance to seize control. However, after driving deep into Bulldogs territory, Wuebbles picked Hanson off in the end zone for a momentum-killing turnover.
“I saw the ball in the air and I was thinking ‘let’s try and get to the best place where I can make a play,’” Wuebbles said. “I just saw a ball in the air and grabbed (the) ball.”
Highland, powered by its physical offensive line led by 6-foot-4, 330-pound junior offensive tackle Travis Gieseking, pounded the ball back downfield and finished the ensuing drive with Porter’s 3-yard touchdown plunge for a 21-20 lead with 1:06 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs offensive line repeatedly banged on the Mascoutah defensive front and gave Porter and Wuebbles plenty of room to run.
“All week during meetings we were pounding it in our head that we needed to get off the ball and be physical,” Gieseking said. “Get off the ball and finish and we want to be a physical group ... that’s our identity. That’s all.”
Highland’s defense — which picked off Hanson three times — came up big again in the fourth quarter when Toby Allen intercepted Hanson at the Mascoutah 47 with about 8 minutes to go.
Six plays later, HHS was back in the end zone as Cade Altadonna broke loose on a crossing route and scored on a 13-yard pass from Wuebbels.
“That’s just a route that Brent and I have been working (on) year in and year out. It was just a huge boost (to get that) and you could hear the crowd going crazy and all my teammates backed me up and you could really tell the momentum shift right after that,” Altadonna said.
Porter ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 29-20 with 5:19 left.
Indians draw closer, but Bulldogs stand strong
Mascoutah was not done yet, though, as Phoenix Mendiola scored on 38-yard run with 3:56 remaining, cutting the lead to 29-27.
However, the Bulldogs made sure Mascoutah would not have another possession after that.
Highland got the ball back at its 47 and ground out a pair of first downs with the run game powered by the offensive line and Porter to close out the Indians and earn a share of the MVC title.
“We’re just playing as a team, man,” Gieseking said. “There’s a lot of synergy and everyone’s just doing their jobs and just making plays.”
Next up for Highland
Highland heads east to Effingham on Friday, Oct. 22, to close out the regular season in a non-conference game.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Warnecke said. “We’re going to enjoy this win tonight and not think too much of Effingham tonight. We’ve got to be humble through this (win) and we’ve got to win next week and that’s all that matters.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 9:00 AM.