Prep football: It’s late magic again as Highland downs Carson 22-7
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POCATELLO – With a whole new cast of characters highlighting the Highland football roster, it’s a good bet that it’s probably going to take some time for all the pieces to start to fall into place for the Rams. The program has set a high standard, but sometimes patience can be a good thing.
So, how’s that going two games into the season?
Glad you asked.
Highland improved to 2-0 with Saturday’s 22-7 win over Carson (Nev.) in the Rocky Mountain Rumble at the ICCU Arena in Pocatello.
“It definitely wasn’t pretty,” Highland coach Nick Sorrell said of Saturday’s win. “But we preach being a fourth-quarter, second-half team, all the way through the summer and through fall camp and you look at the last two games we’ve won the game in the fourth quarter. We don’t give up, even when things are really tough and we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, they’re finding a way.”
Highland opened its season last week with an impressive 21-13 win over reigning Nevada state champion Legacy.
Saturday’s opponent, Carson, already had two wins under its belt, but Highland struck first and took 7-0 lead in the first quarter as Zaydin Alo ran for an 11-yard touchdown.
The early lead held as both defenses stiffened into the fourth quarter when Carson took advantage of a Rams fumble and tied the game when Drake Hardcastle hit Zack Eaton for a 13-yard score with 10:50 left.
That’s when Highland’s late-game mojo kicked in, starting with the defense.
McKay Galo picked off a pass at the Carson 25 yard line. The Rams eventually converted a crucial fourth-and-inches with 2:38 left on a run by quarterback Keaton Belnap. Galo then capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run to put the Rams in the lead with 1:54 left.
Carson Bates finished it off with a 45-yard pick-six with 53 seconds remaining to add to the final margin of victory.
Belnap passed for 66 yards and ran for another 61. Cedric Mitchell topped the Rams with 84 yards rushing and also had two catches for a team-high 39 yards.
Next up for the Rams is a game Saturday against Summit (OR) at Rocky Mountain High.
“We got a lot of growing up to do,” Sorrell said of his young lineup. “We’re making young mistakes due to inexperience. But it’s a competitive spirit these guys have in finding a way. We’ll clean up the physical mistakes. We got to figure out the mental mistakes and some accountability. Once we figure that out, the sky’s the limit for us.”