Rams Take Tough Loss Against Olympus

Highland football’s game against Olympus did not go as hoped Thursday night, October 6, as the Rams lost their lead in the final minutes, 17-16. But the score does not tell the complete story. 

It certainly does not reflect how well the Rams played, and it even seemed like there was a chance that the Rams could have pulled it off to secure a playoff spot. The first half and even third quarter were definitely controlled by the Rams but late in the fourth, with Highland leading 16-10, it just didn’t go their way as Olympus drove for the game-winning touchdown.  

The first quarter was a bit rocky without any points for the Rams. With a few incomplete passes by Highland, Olympus put the first points on the board with a touchdown and accompanying extra point. Highland tried to push back but Olympus managed to run it down again and kick a field goal at the end of the first quarter putting them up 10-0 at the end of the first.  

But then the Highland defense came to life. 

The second quarter was more of what fans know as Highland football. Just a few minutes in Highland scored their first touchdown of the night when Joe Fonua caught a pass and found a pocket where he was able to run through the Titans straight into the endzone. But this wasn’t the only big play of this quarter. Late in the quarter, Paige Mailei threw a long pass right into the hands of Jeremiah Jimoh, who was in the perfect position. Jimoh caught it and ran into the end zone untouched, putting Highland up 14-10 to end the first half.  

After the second quarter, Highland’s energy was high. They just had two big plays to put them ahead going into the second half, which can always be an advantage.  

Compared to the second quarter, the third was not as eventful. Neither team scored in this quarter, so Highland’s defense did their job.  

But the fourth quarter is where things went sideways, but not at first. Highland’s defense held up and made it very hard for Olympus to score. And with three minutes left in the game, Highland forced a safety to put the Rams up 16-10.  

It looked like a playoff berth was in Highland’s grasp. 

But only 45 seconds, later an Olympus player went down, hard. This caused the game to put on hold while he was checked out. About 25 minutes later, this player was taken off the field on a stretcher and gameplay resumed. The players stretched to get warmed up again.  

But after 25 minutes of not playing and the realization of what had just happened, the Rams just didn’t seem to be quite as sharp as they were earlier in the game. Olympus took advantage of this and drove for the game-winning score.  

With about a minute left Highland pushed and fought as hard as they could but they ran out of time and the final score held, 17-16.  

“We put it all out there and it just didn’t happen,” Highland player Jimmy Berg said. “Could have been better.”  

This was a heartbreaking loss for the Rams. They were unable to seal the deal on a playoff appearance and losing it so late in the game was difficult to take. Highland will hope to rally back and upset East on Wednesday night.