Junior Varsity
Adams 14
Groves 7

Mark Twain attended a college football game a little over a hundred years ago.  As he watched Yale defeat Princeton in score, Twain quickly mastered the main principles of the game.  The legendary writer was most impressed with the “splendid exhibition of spirit” displayed by Princeton .  He walked away from this first experience, vowing to return soon, and commented that “the game was the grandest he’d ever seen for boys – one which showed all their best qualities to advantage, and a game that must necessarily build up the mind as well as the body.”

 Birmingham Groves had done its homework.  After witnessing how challenging it had been for other teams to pass the ball against the JV Highlanders (notably defensive backs Cory Colucci, Adam Smith and Mike Monahan), the decision was clearly made to control the ball on the ground, using predominantly a double-tight end formation and full house backfield in an attempt to overpower the Adams defense.  Groves may have bent the Adams defense a little with 50 carries for 212 yards, including several long ball-control drives, but the Highlanders were unwilling to break.

 What do you do when co-captain Aaron McNamara, the Highlander leading tackler and runner so far this year, joins his teammates, the multi-talented Steve Emery, Nate Garcia and David Parker on the sidelines?  McNamara and Emery had been a significant part of the Highlander offense and defense in the first few games.

Answer: The Highlanders responded with a huge dose of heart and a superb team effort, raising their record to 3-1 on the season by conquering the Groves Falcons and the pounding attack on the ground by the Falcons.

Birmingham Groves drove the ball inside the Highlander 5-yard line on two occasions in the first half.  The first trip ended when the Highlanders knocked down an attempted pass on 4^th down.  The second, on a 3^rd-and-goal from the one, ended when Josh Patten jarred the ball loose and Adam Smith recovered the fumble in the end zone.  “All heart.”  Bending but no signs of breaking.

The Highlander offense would see very few possessions during the game.  In this case, with the first half drawing to a close, the tandem of quarterback J.D. Osborne and wide receiver Alex Anderson decided to make the most of it.  On first down from their own 20, Osborne connected with Anderson for a 25-yard completion.  On the very next play, it was Osborne-to-Anderson for 19 more.  A pitch to Mike Monahan went for 20 more yards and Greg Ornazian finished off the 80-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Highlanders a 7-0 lead.

Adams stifled the Falcon offense and as the clock expired to end the first half, DE Greg Ornazian intercepted a pass and returned it 36 yards for a second Highlander touchdown.  The special teams unit of long-snapper Aaron Gesquire, holder J.D. Osborne and kicker Thomas Casey nailed the extra point and the Highlanders led 14-0 at halftime.

The second half continued much like the first.  The Highlander offense was efficient and provided just enough time for the Adams defenders to rest.  With his typical precision, Osborne finished the game 5-for-7 passing for 65 yards.  Marlon Phillips provided several strong runs, finishing with 23 yards and Greg Ornazian carried 7 times for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Despite several trips down the field, the Falcons finally broke into the scoring column early in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard scamper by their freshman QB (1 completion in 9 attempts, 1 interception and 2 yards passing) to make the score Highlanders 14, Falcons 7.

The story of the game was the bend-no-break defense and tremendous heart displayed by the JV Highlander defense.  Leading tacklers included: Josh Patten (7 tackles, 0.5 for a loss, 0.5 sack, 1 forced fumble), Jake Heinrich (6 tackles, 1.5 for losses), Ornazian (5.5 tackles, 1.5 for losses), Chris Niswonger (5 tackles, 1 for a loss, 1 sack), Adam Smith (4.5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), and Mike Monahan and Callahan each contributed 4 tackles.

Superb plays were turned in by Chris Niswonger, covering a lot of ground and Frank Moran with a touchdown-saving tackle.  But a series of plays as the game came to a close summed it up perfectly.  It seemed as if the Highlanders collectively decided to bend no more.  With a burst of raw Highlander spirit and heart, Alex Ko proceeded to demolish the Falcons with a couple of quarterback sacks, teaming with Jake Heinrich.  Ko also caused a fumble and wreaked havoc for the Groves offensive line for the last several minutes of the game.  All heart.

A tip of the Highlander hat to the parents who contributed to the pasta party the night before the game.  Rumor has it that Mr. Ko enthusiastically “fueled up” on the feast.  Whatever we fed him, I think it’s a particularly good idea to keep up the good work.  Thanks, parents!