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Adams vs.

West Bloomfield

                      28                                  6

It was back to the friendly confines of the Highlanders home field on Father and Son night. The Highlanders continued to get healthy as senior defensive end #34; Wayne Sanders joined his teammates on the field. The West Bloomfield Lakers received the kick-off. Junior headhunter, Cory Colucci, made the tackle at the 34-yard line. The Lakers first possession witnessed their offense moving the ball well after a defensive penalty, a pass completion and an option / sweep good for 7-yards. The Highlander defense stood tall with good plays by DE Heinrich, LB’s McNamara and Gowman. Facing 3rd and 2 Highlander LB / captain Matt Petrusha knocked the ball loose and DB Mark Hammett recovered for the 1st turnover of the game. The Highlanders started their initial possession from the 23-yard line. Waszak’s pass to a well-covered Cody Wilson was incomplete. SB Renel and FB Hamilton picked up a 1st down coupled with a face mask penalty on the Lakers moved the ball to the 48-yard line. This time Waszak’s pass to Wilson was complete for 16-yards. From the 22-yard line, the tandem of Hamilton and Renel moved the chains for another 1st down. Running attempts by Waszak and Renel followed by an incomplete pass set-up a 4th and 7 situation. Tom Casey’s 25-yard field goal split the uprights. Nice kick Casey! Highlanders 3 Lakers 0 This time the kick-off team was led by senior LB Cory Gowman. He dropped the Laker RB hard at the 17-yard line. The Lakers 2nd possession would be thwarted by big plays by LB Matt Petrusha and DE Greg Ornazian. Facing 3rd and 9, LB McNamara was all over the Laker’s swing pass that was thrown behind the RB. McNamara nearly recovered the ball in bounds. The Lakers were forced to punt. The elusive Highlander RB, Josh Renel returned the punt 22-yards to the Laker 17- yard line. The Highlander offense squandered the excellent field position when the QB lost the handle and fumbled. The Laker defender scooped up the loose ball and took off for the end zone before Renel ran him down at the 39-yard line. Whew….. The Laker offense could not get on track and went “3 and out”. There was no return on the punt.

The Highlanders next possession featured stellar running by Hamilton, Connor and Renel. From the “I-formation” Renel took the ball off-tackle for a 30-yard gain. After a pass intended for Adam Smith was incomplete, FB Hamilton ripped-off 31-yards on a quick dive up the middle of the Laker defense. With the ball spotted on the 20-yard line, Hamilton once again would not be denied as he busted his way into the end zone for the first Highlander touchdown of the game. The P. A. T was “no good”. Highlanders 9 Lakers 0 The Highlanders chose to “squib-kick” the ball to not allow for the dangerous RB #4, Donnelly any chance to run back the kick-off. That allowed the Laker offense good field position at the 41-yard line. On 1st down, senior DE Wayne Sanders “blew-up” the running play for a loss of 1 –yard. On 2nd down, LB Gowman broke-up a Lakers pass. A VERY questionable pass interference call against Gowman ensued. Gowman would not be discouraged. On the next play he made a nice move to intercept the Lakers pass. Justice was served! This next possession would start at the 48-yard line after the Lakers squib-kick was fielded by Jake Wilson. On 1st down, Waszak threw a perfectly thrown pass that hit receiver Mike Gansser in stride for a 62-yard touchdown. The P. A. T was blocked.

Highlanders 15 Lakers 0

Verville's squib-kick went out of bounds resulting in a penalty and the ball spotted at the 35-yard line. With 9:45 left in the half, the Lakers offense showed some sign of life after they picked up a 1sr down and completed a short pass to Donnelly. LB McNamara stopped the QB after a 1-yard gain. Facing 3rd and 7, LB Gowman once again wreaked havoc on the Lakers Offense by sacking the QB and causing a fumble. DB Mark Hammett recovered the ball for the Highlanders. After picking up a 1st down off a counter by Renel, Waszak’s pass to a doubled-covered Cody Wilson was also incomplete. The ball was turned over to the Lakers on downs. The Lakers offense had good field position again at the 45-yard line. The Highlander defense instituted the “bend but don’t break” philosophy as the Lakers moved the ball sporadically. Big plays by LB’s Petrusha, Gowman and McNamara stopped the running attempts of the Lakers offense. DE Jake Heinrich again came up big when he sacked the QB for a 4-yard loss on 3rd down. On 4th down, DB Smith made a nice play to defend on a pass. The ball was turned back to the Highlander offense on downs with 1:26 left in the half.

The score at Halftime; Highlanders 15 Lakers 0

Again, the Lakers decided to squib-kick the ball to begin the 2nd half. From the 31-yard line SB Renel fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage. Probably not how coach Patritto wanted to start the 2nd half. The Lakers recovered the ball in excellent field position at the 36-yard line. This time the Laker offense would find the endzone after a series of completed passes moved the chains to the 10-yard line. On 2nd down, DB Smith got his hand on the ball in the nick-of time to deflect the ball from the receiver running the fade route. On 3rd down, the Lakers threw a swing pass to RB Donnelly who ran it into the endzone for a touchdown. Their P. A. T kick was “no-good”.

Highlanders 15 Lakers 6

The Highlanders 2nd possession of the half would prove to be productive. After the Lakers squib-kick that resulted in good field position at the 45-yard line, FB Hamilton, SB Renel and QB Waszak moved the ball methodically down to the 21-yard line. SB Renel picked up 7-yards on 2nd and 3rd down running plays to bring up a 4th and 2 situation. Coach Patritto trusted his offense and he wasn’t disappointed. On 4th down, Renel showed that he can run with power and picked up 7-yards and a big 1st down. With the ball spotted at the 5-yard line, the Highlander offense did not move the rock any closer to the endzone. Showing good composure, QB Waszak threw a pass to an open SB Braden Connor for his 1st varsity touchdown. This time the P. A. T was “good”.

Highlanders 22 Lakers 6

The Lakers next possession found the Highlander defense again flexing their muscle and force a “3 and out”. Big plays by DE’s Sanders, Bernard and DB Hammett finished this drive off. Again, there was no return on the punt. The Highlanders offense drove down to the 15-yard line after a hitch pass to Wilson and runs by Hamilton, Waszak and Conner. Unfortunately this drive would stall after Waszak was sacked twice for big losses. The ball was turned over on downs giving the Lakers the ball at the 34-yard line.

The Highlander defense was not in a giving mood on the Lakers next possession. McNamara, Bernard, Smith and Gowman all came through for the defensive unit. At the sake of sounding redundant, the punt by the Lakers was kicked away from the punt returner Renel and hence no return unused. The Highlander drive started with 8:03 left in the 4th quarter. From the 35-yard line Waszak picked up 7-yards on 1st down. Conner and McClelland carried the ball and ripped-off other 8-yards. FB Hamilton showed awesome power and determination as he broke 4 tackles before he was finally hauled down after picking up a 19-yard gain. After a holding call on the offense, Renel ran for a 6-yard again and a face masking penalty was called on the Lakers. On 1st down from the 15-yard line Renel blew through several defenders to get into the endzone for a touchdown. Again, there was trouble in P. A. T ville and the kick was “no good”. Highlanders 28 Lakers 6 The final 4:15 of the game ticked –off the clock while the Lakers offense tried one last drive before turning the ball back to the Highlander offense with 1:47 left on the clock. Junior QB, Greg Ornazian and FB Dan Muncie ran the last few plays from scrimmage before this game was in the books. Final score:

Highlanders 28 Lakers 6

Congratulations to both the players and the coaching staff on win #4. Next up is the Troy Colts. This much improved team will be looking to win-out to make the playoffs. This will be an important game for our Highlanders.

Dan R.