On Friday, Oct. 24, the Highland football field was swarmed with students and fans, after the Rams pulled out a 42-14 victory in their first playoff game against the Dixie Flyers.
It was a game where both teams took turns sleepwalking for a time, but Highland woke up enough in the second half to turn the game into a blowout.
Starting the first quarter with a bang, freshman Vili Ripley scored an 80-yard running touchdown on the second play of the game. That was followed by a pick-six from junior Will Bauman just two plays later. The Rams then asserted their dominance by wrapping up the first quarter with a 30-yard passing touchdown thrown by Bauman to Ripley, giving Highland a 21-0 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
Coming all the way from St. George, Utah, meant riding in a crowded bus for more than five hours for the Dixie High football players. Looking sluggish and static, The Flyers basically slept their way through the first quarter, searching for any ounce of improvement that could help them win this game.
Highland, meanwhile, started on a caffeine high and burst out of the gates.
Luckily for the Flyers, the Rams entered the second quarter and appeared to crash. Perhaps feeling a little more relaxed because of their lead, now they were the sleepwalkers, and Dixie had woken up.
Struggling to move the ball down the field, the Rams lost all momentum and even let a Dixie touchdown slide through in the last minute before halftime.
With their heads still hung high, thanks to their success in the first quarter, the Highland Rams headed to the locker room with a 21-7 lead, hoping to muster out a better second half, despite their difficulties in the second quarter.
Bauman had a large impact on the Rams, while playing most of the game on both defense and offense as quarterback. He recalled head coach Kautai Olevao’s influential remarks at halftime.
“We just talked about having all gas and no brakes. We kind of let the gas off and put the brakes on in the second quarter. So ya, we need to have all gas no breaks,” Bauman said.
Headed into the third quarter, Olevao’s wise words were proven effective when Bauman slotted the ball to wide receiver Zamari Vaughn who completed the catch and ran for a 76-yard touchdown. This woke up the Rams and the crowd, bringing the momentum back to Highland and essentially put to sleep any hopes Dixie had.
Even with another touchdown slid in by the Dixie flyers in the fourth quarter, the Rams had nothing to worry about concerning their success, they truly were “all gas, no breaks.” Now all they had to do was stay strong and maintain focus until the clock ran out.
Scoring two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter sealed the deal on a playoff victory for the Rams. The final score of 42-14 proves the Rams worthy of the win and leads them into the second round of playoffs against Hurricane High on Oct. 31.
“The game went very well. We Blew them out, so it was pretty good,” Bauman said.
Bauman speaks for the whole team when expressing his excitement and satisfaction with the results. This was Highland’s first home playoff game in six years, and their first time making it to the second round of playoffs in six seasons.
They look forward to facing the number 4 region ranked Hurricane Tiger’s on their turf. The team will travel on Thursday and spend the night, hoping not to make the same mistake as Dixie by traveling the day of the game.
“(Playing in Hurricane) should be fun! I’m excited and we’ve got to get the win,” Bauman said.
