Highland Outlasts Bountiful in OT Thriller

After a struggle from both sides of the ball last week at Sky View, the Highland Rams retraced their steps and found themselves headed to overtime with a skilled Bountiful team. In a battle of field position and two defensive powerhouses, offense was hard to come by in this game.

With the game still tied 7-7 after an attempted last minute field goal by the Braves, the game went into overtime.  The Rams put together a solid drive, and capitalized off a QB sneak right up the middle to make it 14-7.  Bountiful got the ball for their possession set, before botching a reverse handoff which the Highland defense pounced on.  This recovery secured the 14-7 victory for the Rams.

Defense was huge for both teams throughout the entire game, forcing punts, causing missed field goals, and creating turnovers that lead to points. Senior Andrew Parkin made a key play with an interception returned for a touchdown in the middle of the second quarter.

“I’m just trying to do whatever I can do to help the team out,” said Parkin after the game

Senior Jayden Palauni got in on the action and added two sacks early in the game with the help of Parkin, and another late in the fourth quarter.  With constant pressure from Highland’s defensive front, most decent yardage gains for the Braves came from broken down plays. With the stout run support from the Rams, Bountiful was forced to continuously throw the ball to pick up cheap yards.

Missed opportunities from the Rams offense however hurt them severely, with penalties destroying big gains late in the second half.

“We left a lot of plays out on the field with our offense,” said Head Coach Brody Benson after the game. “We have to clean it up, and sure some things up mentally, so we can play faster physically.”

Even though penalties did hurt the Rams during regulation, during overtime they were nowhere to be found, which helped lock down the win.

With so many weapons spread across the board it’s safe to say Highland has nowhere to look but up.  With players on each side of the ball improving, the rest of the region play looks bright for the Rams.  With a solid victory in the books for the region opener, it is key they keep this momentum going as they move on to Box Elder which will be played at Highland on September 17^th.