Highlands football logs 1st win by rolling over Beaver

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 22, 2018 | 12:57 AM

There was plenty to like for Highlands as it broke into the win column with a 40-19 Class 4A Northwest Conference victory over Beaver on Friday night at Golden Rams Stadium.

For starters, The Golden Rams (1-4, 1-2) forced six turnovers and held Beaver (4-2, 2-2) to six second-half points. They had two 100-yard rushers with bruising running back Cam Taylor, going for 161 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries and quarterback Seth Cohen, who had 126 yards and two scores.

Cohen also threw for 171 yards and three touchdowns, and Johnny Crise returned after sitting out the second half last week at Knoch due to injury to record 133 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

All of it added up to a convincing performance the Golden Rams needed to get their season going in the right direction.

“It was a real tough start to the season, but this is a good feeling and it’s a good way to start our six-game season to finish the year, as coach would say,” Cohen said.

Highlands outscored Beaver, 20-6, in the second half, and that surge started with a momentum-changing drive to end the second quarter.

After an interception by Dashawn Holley deep in Highlands territory, Cohen orchestrated a nine-play drive in the two-minute drill as heavy rains and strong wind fell at the Golden Rams’ back.

Cohen found D.J. Loveland with a pass near the goal line, and Loveland fought his way into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining until halftime.

“That was very important in terms of momentum,” Highlands coach Dom Girardi said. “With our offense, two minutes is not a long time for us, so I figured we’d give it a whirl even with the weather. Seth threw it great, and the receivers did a good job catching the ball. That was a big moment for us.”

The late touchdown in the first half was one of several instances where Highlands made a big play. The Golden Rams forced a fumble on the opening possession of the second half and recovered at Beaver’s 22-yard line. Cohen turned the fumble into points four plays later with a 4-yard touchdown run to put Highlands up 26-13.

“We were pressed into some of those turnovers, whether it was third-and-long or fourth down, so not all them were meaningful, but you can’t win turning the ball over that much,” Beaver coach Jeff Beltz said. “They made plays off of some of them, which hurt. We had penalties at critical times and we missed tackles, so there were a lot of things that went wrong tonight.”

After Gino Mavero scored on a 24 yard run to cut the lead to 26-19, Beaver recovered a fumble and drove inside the Highlands 25, but a fourth-down pass by Brodie List was intercepted at the goal line by Brandon Jochim and returned to midfield, ending the threat.

“There was a point where they got the momentum in the second half, but I love how we responded.” Girardi said. “We responded like winners. We took the ball and put a couple more scores on the board.”

Taylor busted his way into the end zone on a 23-yard run that put Highlands back up two scores midway through fourth quarter, but he made a pivotal play on the previous possession.

With Highlands clinging to a seven-point lead and forced to punt, Taylor boomed a punt down inside the Beaver 5-yard line, which flipped field position.

It was another example of Highlands making a key play.

“Coach was talking to me in the locker room at halftime and said on the next punt, I have to kick it as far as possible,” Taylor said. “The whole time I was thinking get it inside the 5 or at least to the 10, and I did.”

Crise made a juggling catch in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter and had a 4-yard catch to close the scoring in the fourth. Cohen made several defenders miss after retreating from the 3-yard line to the 10 and somehow maneuvered his way into the end zone for a score in the second quarter.

Highlands tackle/defensive end Daniel Thimons was ejected after he was called for a second personal foul penalty after a punt with 6 minutes, 18 seconds left in the first quarter.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Beaver, Highlands