What started out as a fairly evenly matched game quickly became an uphill battle for Highland as they fell to East Friday night by a score of 31-13.  This game is always considered one of the most intense of the year as Highland and East are so close in proximity to each other.

The game started out with plenty of mistakes and jitters from East, with penalties as well as QB Ben Ford not being able to hold onto the ball which ended up with Highland recovering a fumble deep in the Leopards territory.  The Rams went on to capitalize on this miscue from the Leopards, leading to a 7-0 lead early for the Rams.  After the first drive however, the Leopards seemed to figure it out offensively, and led behind the powerful run game of RB Jaylen Warren, were able to drive partially down the field before Ford broke through the Highland line and sprinted a good 50 yards into the endzone.

This TD would effectively be the beginning of the end for the Rams, as East would go on to score 24 unanswered points.  All of these points came on the ground, as the East would score 3 rushing touchdowns on the Rams.  On the offensive side, it was difficult as the already injured Rams offensive line had a tough time keeping the very talented East D-line from getting into the backfield.  This was coupled with the East D-line blocking two field goal attempts by the Rams at the end of the first and middle of the fourth quarter.  Highland however finally got back on the board at the end of the third quarter but the already large difference in score, coupled with a successful onside kick and later a 50+ yard TD run that were both called back, all put the nail in the coffin for the Rams.

This win for the Leopards clinched at least a share of the Region 5 championship for them, but has the Rams sitting in second place as the playoffs rapidly approach.  The Rams are back in action on a short work week on Wednesday for the last game of the regular season @Bonneville.