Young Highland football team recovers from slow start, sets foundation for 2022
A year after having no football due to the pandemic, the Highland Bulldogs hit the field in 2021 and posted a season of highs and lows that ultimately culminated with a trip to the playoffs and a first-round playoff exit.
In between August and November of the season, HHS went from a young and inexperienced team to being a hardened and battle-tested club that competed snap after snap and game after game.
“I was really proud of the way the boys competed throughout the season and worked hard and never quit,” Highland coach Jimmy Warnecke said. “The boys battled and gave everything they had.”
The season started with a grueling three-game nonconference schedule that produced losses to Washington (30-23), Edwardsville (41-33), and Marion (48-28).
“Traditionally, we’ve had very good starts to the season, so it was definitely something for our kids that caused confidence issues. I think that anyone goes through that unless you’re a seasoned vet and understand the (team-building) process,” Warnecke said. “It was tough, but I think in the end it just showed its way through conference play with the exception of the Triad game. It really created a stepping stone for these kids to understand as a team what it took to win football games.”
In week four, Highland broke into the win column with a 54-12 home victory against Jerseyville. The Bulldogs rolled up 528 yards of offense in dispatching the Panthers.
A week later, Highland dropped a critical game at Mississippi Valley conference rival Triad 31-26 and the Bulldogs realized their season was at a major crossroad.
“I think some of the guys on the team felt that feeling collectively as a team ... our progress thereafter shows that (loss) really struck a chord because (at that point) we’re in jeopardy of not making the playoffs and we’re fighting for our lives and hoping to get a little help (getting into the playoffs),” Warnecke said.
Highland rebounded the next week with a huge conference road win against Civic Memorial (34-14) in part thanks to a clutch blocked punt by Cam Willis that was recovered for a touchdown.
“Our special teams really started playing good football from that point and the job Riley Litzenberg does as our (special teams) coordinator I thought really started paying off. They started creating something on that side of the ball and we started becoming known for it,” Warnecke said.
Key turning point
HHS returned home Oct. 8 and hammered Waterloo 48-14 to set up a big matchup at unbeaten Mascoutah.
Highland trekked to Mascoutah on Oct. 15 and, in what was arguably the Bulldogs best game of the season, took down a potent Indians squad 29-27.
“I think going into the Mascoutah game we felt like this is a game we could really accomplish two of our team goals that we’ve been working for,” Warnecke said. “You win that Mascoutah game and that really gives our confidence back where I thought it should be with the type of team that we were so I would definitely say the Mascoutah game was the turning point (for us).”
Finishing strong, playoff disappointment
Week nine saw the Bulldogs finish out their second half turnaround with their fourth straight win as they rolled past host Effingham 42-21 to secure an IHSA Class 5A playoffs spot.
A trip to Morton was the Bulldogs playoff reward. While Highland competed from start to end, the seventh-seeded Potters ultimately cruised to a 56-33 win, ending the Bulldogs season at 5-5.
“The last game was really sour,” Warnecke. “We’re traditionally not a team to bow out in the first round of the playoffs and I just feel like we didn’t compete the way we needed to. I felt like our seniors deserved more and that our program deserved more after what we went through.”
Bright future for program
Highland has nine seniors graduating with players such as James Beard, Skye Freeman, Connor Hormann, Bryce Iberg departing. However, the Bulldogs will have a strong returning group for next fall with 19 seniors including quarterback Brent Wuebbles, running back Travis Porter, Willis, wide receivers Brode Lewis and Cade Altadonna, and linebacker Brendan Gelly.
That group will be leaned on to help smooth the rough edges out of the team before next season.
“We’re going to sharpen things up in the offseason as far as things we need to improve upon. I’m excited for that to come and there’s certainly a lot of things to get excited about next year,” Warnecke said.