Big plays give Althoff an early boost in win over Highland

By Jonathan Duncan For the News-Democrat

Updated September 6, 2025 1:16 AM

BELLEVILLE

The Althoff Crusaders are proving to be a tough team to rally against these days — especially when they jump out to an early lead.

Visiting Highland found that out the hard way Friday night.

An 80-yard kickoff return by Eli Bolden and two touchdown runs by Steven Brown helped the Crusaders race to a 21-7 first-quarter lead en route to a 42-26 victory in the first-ever regular-season meeting between the schools at Althoff Catholic High School.

Althoff coach Austin Frazier said he was pleased with his team’s steady and effective performance against a young but talented Highland squad.

“I didn’t expect we were going to have some shutout deal when we came out here,” Frazier said. “That’s a good program — good team, good coaches, good kids — and we knew we were coming into a dogfight. These are the kinds of games we hope prepare us for later in the season.”

Special teams got Althoff (2-0) going right away when Bolden took the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, giving the Crusaders a 7-0 lead just 46 seconds into the game.

Highland's Chase Wilson wraps up Althoff’s Jayden Ellington during Friday night’s non conference game in Belleville. Chris Johns Stlsportsphoto

“It imposed a certain kind of fear, with the speed and physicality coming out of the gate,” Frazier said. “That was huge, and that’s a great tone-setter for us.”

The Crusaders added to their lead on their first offensive drive, as Brown scored on a 10-yard run to make it 14-0.

Highland (1-1) answered on its second series when sophomore Carter Harris caught a 45-yard, fourth-down, over-the-shoulder fade pass from quarterback Blake Gelly for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 14-7 with 6:11 left in the first quarter.

Althoff responded with an 11-play drive capped by a 1-yard Brown touchdown run, closing the quarter with a 21-7 advantage.

Highland's Carter Harris carries the ball during Friday night’s non conference matchup against Althoff in Belleville. Chris Johns Stlsportsphoto

Highland responded in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 21-13 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Gelly to Josias Hampsch with 6:36 left before halftime. The point-after attempt failed.

Althoff’s big-play offense got going again in the third quarter as quarterback Jayden Ellington scored on a 2-yard run. Later in the quarter, Brown scored his third touchdown on another 2-yard run to cap his big night.

Brown, who also ran for three touchdowns in the Crusaders’ week one win over Alton, credited offseason work for his strong start this season.

“I think it’s the work I put in this summer,” Brown said. “Going to camps and coming out early even when we’re not practicing, I’m out here on the field. I’m starting to trust in what I did in the summertime, and I’m starting to let it show.”

Althoff's Drew McGee celebrates after his pass interception to set up a touchdown. Chris Johns Stlsportsphoto

Gelly cut the lead to 35-20 with a 3-yard scoring run to end the third quarter.

Althoff put the game out of reach when Ellington connected with Logan for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 7:26 left.

While Highland continued to battle, the three-score deficit was too much for coach Jimmy Warnecke’s Bulldogs to overcome.

“We’re young, and you just can’t start that slow out of the gate,” Warnecke said. “Our number-one key to victory tonight was to be fast out of the gate, and we struggled. We were chasing the game all night long. We didn’t play really good complementary football with special teams. Regardless of the outcome, we’ve got to get better. We’re a young team, and we played a good football team here, so that’s going to make us better.”