In the Highland-Alta football game on Friday, Sep. 21, the Rams kept the fans on the edge of their seats for most of the exciting homecoming game. Going back and forth with defensive stops, Highland was able to keep the Hawks quick offense within one score for most of the first quarter.
But the defense could only do so much, as the Rams’ offense had three turnovers in the first half and struggled to move the ball effectively for much of the night, which allowed the Hawks to score the final 21 points and earn a 31-10 victory.
And although Highland did a good job slowing Alta’s offense, the Highland offense couldn’t stay on the field with all of the turnovers, so the defense eventually wore out.
“The first half was tough,” junior defensive end James Conde said. “It felt like we were on the field the whole time.”
Down only a field goal, Highland had the ball at its own four-yard line when one of these costly turnovers struck. An interception on a short pass to the sidelinele directly to the first touchdown of the game and a 10-0 Alta lead.
Going into the half, Highland blocked a punt, leading to a field goal that put the game back within a score. The crowd was feeling good going into the second half with hopes that the Rams could capitalize on this momentum.
Unfortunately, Highland’s starting quarterback and linebacker Nasa Pela went down early in the third quarter with an injury. This was a huge blow for the Rams, and they had to adjust. But sophomore quarterback Will Bauman was able to put together a scoring drive for the Rams to tie up the game.
“It felt so good to tie the game up,” Conde said. “I was worried without Nasa, but I felt like we had practiced hard for this game we just needed to keep our momentum going.”
The Ram’s defense was able to string together a couple of more stops in the third quarter keeping the game tight. But Alta had a long drive ending in a touchdown that took the life from the crowd.
A couple of more defensive players came out due to injury during the third quarter that really hurt the Rams. In what was a physical game, fatique really started to show and the Rams couldn’t find a way to move the ball on offense at this point. The momentum had completely shifted towards the Hawks’ sideline.
Alta kept pounding the Rams defense with short-yard gains and the Rams didn’t have an answer. The offense kept going three and out and despite the defensive effort from the rams they couldn’t contain Alta’s dominant offense going into the fourth quarter.
“It was frustrating to see so many of our guys go out,” junior safety and receiver Jackson Folau said. “We just didn’t have an answer for their offense in the second half.”
This was a very disappointing loss for all of Highlands fans and players. The team had shown promise in the first half, but with all of the injuries and turnovers there was too much to overcome.
“We need to be better,” Conde said. “There’s no reason they should have beat us like that. We need to turn this around.”
As the season progresses, the Rams head into a much-needed bye week with a 3-3 record. The Rams will look to bounce back from this defeat as they go into the second half of region play. With a good core group of seniors and a dedicated coaching staff, the Rams are hopeful to turn things around for the remainder of the season.
