Highland football team looking for big season in 2022 from senior-laden roster
Brent Wuebbles and his Highland teammates can hardly believe it, but another football season is upon them.
And they are stoked to get started.
“We’re definitely all ready to get after it,” Wuebbles said. “We’ve been hitting each other all summer and we’re ready to hit someone else and go out on the field and compete at the highest level.”
Wuebbles, the Bulldogs’ standout senior dual-threat quarterback, will lead a talented and battle-tested group that features 20 seniors. The combination will give HHS a great opportunity to be one of the metro-east’s top teams this fall.
“Our big senior class and their experience ... we’ve learned a lot of lessons and some of those were hard over the past couple of years. I just think just the experience (we have) is a big strength for us,” Highland coach Jimmy Warnecke said.
Highland returns eight players on offense and seven on defense.
Top returners on offense include Wuebbles at quarterback, senior wideouts Cade Altadonna and Brodie Lewis, senior Cameron Willis at tight end, senior running back Travis Porter, senior fullback/tight end Brendan Gelly, and senior running back Paul Graham.
“We’re returning a lot of experience so we’re counting on the fact that those guys are not going to be deer in the headlights and that the game is gonna be slowed down for them and that they’ll be able to process a lot more out there (on the field),” Warnecke said. “So, you’ve got some talent mixed in with experience and some guys who wanna compete — that’s generally a pretty good combination.”
Newcomers who figure to help the Bulldogs’ cause include junior Dylan Beadle on offense and junior Bo Starwalt on defense at outside linebacker.
Along the line of scrimmage, junior Chase Pacatte and senior Travis Gieseking will provide solid run blocking and then work to stop the run when on defense.
In the linebacker corps, Ethan Greenwald, Lewis, Gelly, and Beadle will lend run support and look to disrupt opposing passing games.
“I really like our linebacking crew,” Warnecke said. “That’s the biggest thing we’re looking forward to (defensively) is that first test stopping the run.”
The defensive backfield will be headed by senior Rory Gallagher and junior Hunter Frey at cornerbacks, Willis at strong safety, and Wuebbles along with Altadonna rotating in and out at the free safety spot.
Wuebbles said the offense has been very crisp thus far and likes their potential this fall.
“I feel like our offense is in a really good position this year. We have a lot of returning starters and a lot of people we’ve been playing with since we were little and a lot of guys going through the offense that has just been getting better,” Wuebbles said. “We have four returning starters on the line, we have two returning wide receivers, our backfield’s returning — it’s just a really good position we’re in right now.”
Ready for a special season
Highland finished the 2021 season at 5-5 after a disappointing first-round IHSA playoff loss to Morton.
Now Wuebbles enters his last first game as a senior and is more than ready to help his team have a special campaign this fall. It will come down to one thing for the Bulldogs to make this season special in the Mississippi Valley Conference race and the playoffs: Synergy.
“Eleven as one. As long as we’re all doing our jobs and as long as we’re all focusing on what we need to do in order to win, then we’re in a great position (to win),” he said.
Season opener
The Bulldogs, who this summer switched to an artificial turf field for the first time in program history, will open the season at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, at Washington, located approximately three hours north of Highland.
Highland lost 30-20 to the Panthers in 2021.
