Highland gets 3 TDs from Vincent, cruises past Lake City into quarterfinals

POCATELLO — For the second time this season, the Highland Rams flexed all their muscles against the Lake City Timberwolves.

Highland dominated so thoroughly across all three facets that they overcame 110 penalty yards to beat Lake City (6-4) by four touchdowns.

Penalty problems popped up early for the Rams (5-5) when a block-in-the-back call negated a 75-yard punt return from Cedric Mitchell with 7:40 left in the first quarter. Instead of taking possession on the Lake City 3-yard line, Highland started their second drive of the game at their own 12.

The costly penalty contributed to a scoreless first quarter. Two plays into the second quarter, though, Highland kicker Bridger Hanks connected on a 47-yard field goal, giving the Rams their first points of the game and opening the floodgates to an eventual 31-0 win.

Head coach Nick Sorrell said that Hanks has been “awesome” all season.

“He’s been so dialed in,” the coach told EastIdahoSports.com. “I love having a kicker like that.”

Highland’s 20 seniors were playing their last game on the home turf of Highland High School. To perform the way they did, Sorrell said, and get “a big W like that” was “huge.”

“I’m happy for the boys; they get another week together,” Sorrell said. “Let’s go see what happens.

Two of those seniors, quarterback Jacob Vincent and wide receiver Steele Hoopes, were massive for the Rams.

On Highland’s first possession following the Hanks field goal, the duo hooked up on a 47-yard touchdown pass. Two possessions later, after Vincent connected with another senior, Kellan Tingey, on an 18-yard touchdown pass, Hoopes caught his second scoring pass of the day, giving the Rams a 24-0 lead with just over 30 seconds left in the first half.

Vincent finished the game completing 14 of his 18 pass attempts for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Hoopes snagged three of those passes for 73 yards and two scores.

They both said that they have been building toward these types of performances since they were freshmen.

“We’ve had that chemistry — me and Jacob,” Hoopes said. “But we haven’t been able to show it a lot this season. We finally got the opportunity and executed.”

Doing so in front of the home fans, they added, made it even more special.

“Nothing feels better,” Hoopes said of winning a playoff game at home.

“It’s amazing,” Vincent said. “There’s nothing better than coming out here and playing in front of your home fans one more time with all your boys.”

Vincent, Sorrell added, stepped up the way a senior quarterback is expected to do.

“We gave him an opportunity — we finally played some conditions that were pass-worthy,” Sorrell said. “He went out and executed. He went through his reads and found the open guys.”

Mitchell held down his normal workhorse role, carrying the ball 17 times for 99 yards and grabbing six catches for another 58 yards.

But Highland’s win wasn’t built entirely by the offense and special teams; the Rams defense was overwhelming again, following a shutout last week against Thunder Ridge with a shutout in the first round of the Idaho High School Football State Championships.

A constant pass rush and blanket coverage stymied the Timberwolves’ passing game, leaving senior running back Brayden Van Leuven as Lake City’s lone offensive threat. But even that produced little. Van Leuven turned his 29 carries into just 89 yards (3.1 yards per carry).

The Highland defense also forced the game’s only turnover, an interception from senior safety Brody Jones.

With the win, Highland advances into the quarterfinals, where they will meet the Eagle Mustangs (6-3) at Eagle High School.

The Rams hosted Eagle on Aug. 21, losing 33-28. After the game, Sorrell said his team fell a play or two short of winning that Week 0 game, after just one week of practice. Now, Highland will have the chance to make those plays in a much more meaningful matchup.

“We’ve grown a lot, in all three aspects. So now, we’re at a higher level of execution, and I think that’s going to be the difference,” Sorrell said. “Let’s go on the road and prove some people wrong. There are a lot of doubters out there.”

Vincent echoed his coach, saying that the Rams are a completely different team than they were two months ago.

“We’ve just got to take it six seconds at a time — stay aggressive, stay physical, and we’ll pull it out.”