Highland football team tunes up for postseason with solid home win against Effingham

Highland’s football team received a stern test Friday night against visiting Effingham.

In the end, however, the Bulldogs posted a solid 34-20 victory ahead of the postseason, an outcome that pleased Highland coach Jimmy Warnecke, who also noted his team could have played better.

“It wasn’t our best first half of football all year — and that’s putting it kindly,” he said. “We were a little off from the start. But a lot of that had to do with our opponent. They’re well-coached. Their QB played lights out. He played a hell of a game. They kept us off balance with the run and the pass. But we got the win.

“I thought we battled.”

Highland improved to 8-1 and won its seventh-straight game. While Warnecke knows his team could have played better, he further praised a solid Effingham club whose only other losses are to Mahomet Seymour (ranked No. 3 in Class 5A by the AP), Decatur St. Theresa and Mount Zion in double overtime. Effingham finished the regular season at 5-4.

“Our offense was too inefficient in the passing game. We had a few plays that we left out there that we haven’t done all year,” Warnecke said. “We got the win, but it just doesn’t have the feeling it usually has. However, a lot of that has to do with the quality of opponent we faced. They’re a good football team. I’ve always felt that about Effingham.”

Warnecke noted the importance of playing a quality opponent and having a tough challenge heading into the playoffs.

“I think sometimes we’ve been a little too spoiled in on how well we’ve executed on both sides of the ball and the lopsided scores in (the Mississippi Valley) conference,” he said. “Having a game like this is a really good thing for our team and staff ... it was a dogfight at times. Even though we were up several scores, we had to deal with some adversity. There were some things we were good at and some things we were not good at.

“End of the day, we got a win ... and we’ll fix those things.”

Warnecke now looks forward to a spirited week of practice.

“I feel we were an extremely confident group coming into this game,” he said. “Our confidence took a bit of a hit. We’re looking forward to having a good week this week and gaining that confidence back. If we do what we can do, we’re not concerned with who they put in front of us (in the playoffs).”

Altadonna makes huge reception

Highland quarterback Brent Wuebbels had two touchdown runs and threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Brode Lewis and a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brenden Gelly.

Additonally, Cade Altadonna’s big reception in the fourth quarter helped Highland secure the victory. Facing a 4th and 14 from the Effingham 40, Altadonna made a nifty catch inside the 5-yard-line and the Bulldogs score a couple players later on Travis Porter’s touchdown run.

“We ran a deep corner post, the quarterback was hit and Cade came back and made an unbelievable catch insided the 5. That was big. That really cemented things at the end. We were able to punch it in after that,” Warnecke said.

Warnecke also noted, “Brode Lewis had a very big night for us.”

Highland, seeded No. 2, will face 15th-seeded Dunlap (5-4) in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28.

This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 10:00 AM.