Highlands sophomore standout jumps into border battle with Valley

By: George Guido
Wednesday, September 1, 2021 | 5:30 PM

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With running back Brock White on the shelf with a knee injury, Highlands was looking for someone to fill the backfield void.

Enter Luke Bombalski.

The sophomore ran for 133 yards and all four Highlands touchdowns as the Golden Rams opened their 54th football season with a 27-0 victory over the City League’s University Prep last week.

He didn’t get the starting nod by accident.

“Here’s a kid who worked hard all spring and summer,” coach Dom Girardi said. “You kind of saw that coming down the road, but you really don’t know until the Friday night lights come on. But he had a terrific game. Things don’t just happen on Friday night. You’ve got to work for them beforehand, and he did that, and he did it on both sides of the ball.”

Bombalski also recorded five tackles and two sacks on defense for Highlands as an inside linebacker.

“I worked hard in the offseason,” Bombalski said. “I saw a hole the first play, and I hit it. Everything came together for me, and my line blocked well. I didn’t carry the ball much last year. This is new to me.”

It was the first time Highlands pitched a shutout on opening night since a 34-0 victory over Valley in 2004.

Said Girardi: “I was real happy overall with our week of work our kids put in at practice, and it carried over to Friday. I’m proud and happy about the way they executed the gameplan.”

It also was the first time Highlands played a City League school, but now the focus turns to another city: New Kensington. The Golden Rams head across the river Friday night to play Valley for the first time since 2015. It will be a nonconference game.

“I’m expecting a good, hard-fought game there,” said Girardi, a Vikings quarterback in the mid-1990s. “A battle between two rivals, and I’m happy for our kids because there’s been a lull here. You have kids come up who have never played in this game. Hopefully, it’s something that we can get back to playing again every single year.”

Valley opened the season with a 41-0 loss against Hampton, but coach Muzzy Colosimo liked the play of linebacker Jeremiah Johnson.

“He was all over the field,” Colosimo said. “He returned a kick about 65 yards and caught an interception.”

The players, many of whom have experienced long bus rides with the move to six classifications, are looking forward to the 4-mile jaunt Friday.

“I think it’s going to be a decent game. It’s going to fun,” Bombalski said. “I know a lot of guys on that team. We’ve just got to go out and compete.”

“Highlands has a pretty strong line and they run the ball very well,” Colosimo said. “I like both Thimons boys, the quarterback (Chandler) and the center (Dan).”

It will be a nonconference game.

Getting to know you … again

Highlands and Valley haven’t played since 2015. The Golden Rams lead the all-time series 17-12.

Before that, the predecessor schools had notable rivalries: Har-Brack was 18-15-5 vs. New Kensington, and Tarentum was 21-12-4 vs. Arnold.

Tags: Highlands, Valley