There’s no denying the romantic appeal of high school football.
The storybook finale was provided by Highlands junior Tayden Lorenzen, son of the late Jared Lorenzen, a football star from the University of Kentucky and the Bluebirds, on the first Friday of the season. On August 22, Highlands defeated Frederick Douglass 21–20 in double overtime at Fort Thomas thanks to a score and two-point conversion by No. 22, who was wearing his father’s old number.
“After that, I don’t know what was going through my head,” Lorenzen stated. I was just having a blast with my pals and shouting as loudly as I could.
Even though it was only Week 1, the match had the atmosphere of a postseason match, possibly even a Hollywood script.
It was sufficient, at the very least, to cause head coach Bob Sphire’s watch to flash SOS.and you appear to have fallen quite hard.The message might have been the same if all of the stadium’s supporters had been wearing one. Because, despite its fantastical conclusion, the night didn’t begin that way.
Highlands fumbled the ball twice, once by interception, missed two field goals, and had two more blocked. Rio Litmer, the quarterback, found Cale Harris for a 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter, their only score in regulation.
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When Carter Ross bounced outside for a 30-yard touchdown run in the third, Frederick Douglass responded. The game remained tied at 7-7 through regulation because of the Broncos’ own blunders, poor snaps, and expensive penalties.
Everyone anticipated the drama that overtime brought. In the first extra period, both sides swapped points, but the Broncos had a chance to win it after Highlands’ two-point attempt was unsuccessful. This time, the Bluebirds’ special teams made a good play by stopping the extra point and resulting in a further overtime. Lorenzen took control at that point, pushing across the game-winning touchdown and the game-winning convert after Douglass’s score.
According to Sphire, it was the sort of reward that came after months of planning.
He stated, “I’m just so happy for these guys.” We told each participant that they had a shot if they put in the effort when we created this timetable and met with them one-on-one in December. Tonight’s performance demonstrated how seriously this team has taken that.
Perhaps a sneak peek at where the Bluebirds aspire to finish, the triumph was more than just a highlight or interesting story.
“I can only think positive thoughts because we clearly won,” Lorenzen remarked. However, as we play this type of tournament, both our team and I will improve. It feels fantastic to have achieved this victory.
Much of it was due to the defense, which held Douglass at bay when the attack stumbled.
Lorenzen stated, “Our defense came up huge.” At initially, we only scored seven points. Our attack performed admirably; we simply needed to handle the ball. Aside from that, we had a great game.Friday night’s success was largely due to Highlands’ defense. Charles Bolton took the picture.
The Bluebirds never faltered when the momentum shifted.
He claimed that Frederick Douglass is an excellent team. Their style of play is explosive. We were aware that would occur. All we needed to do was play the next play and maintain our composure.
The payoff for Highlands was the sort of opening statement Sphire had in mind when he created the program.
“You open in the Mercedes-Benz and you play Texas if you ever want to be Alabama of high school football, which is what Highlands aspires to be,” Sphire said. Our children are right there. They exclaimed, “Thank you, Coach,” when they saw the winter schedule. This schedule is what we want. They were aware that they could have lost tonight and yet improved as a football team as a result. We’re on the right end, and I’m giddy with excitement.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Bluebirds. In an attempt to start 2-0, Highlands will travel to Union on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to play Cooper, an old district rival. Now down to one, Frederick Douglass returns home to face Trinity.
Below are additional images taken by Charles Bolton:
BRONCOS 20, BLUEBIRDS 21 (2OT)
LANDSCAPES 0-7-0-0-6-8 21
Frederick Douglass 0-0-7-0-6-7-20
Plays That Score Points
The Second Quarter
(H) Litmer passes to Harris for 22 yards (1:25) Anderson’s kick
Third Quarter
C. Ross’s 30-yard run (8:36) (FD) R. Barbour’s kick
Working overtime
(H) 2-yard run by Lorenzen (OT) Failure to run
(FD) Cayson received a 10-yard pass from B. Ross; (OT) R. Barbour’s kick was unsuccessful.
Double Overtime
(OT) R. Barbour kick (FD) Talbert 2-yard run
(H) Lorenzen 4-yard run (OT) Lorenzen run
Game Stats
Passing Yards:Highlands 126 (Litmer 13/17, Lorenzen 0/1), Frederick Douglass 38 (Ross 3/8)
Rushing Yards:Highlands 176 (Williams 18-84, Lorenzen 15-43, Duncan 9-28, Litmer 4-13, Kremer 4-8), Frederick Douglass 81 (Talbert 22-65, C. Ross 3-38, B. Ross 2-(minus)22)
Receiving:Frederick Douglass (Clay 3-30, Cayson 1-10 Talbert 1-(minus)2), Highlands (Harris 8-93, Williams 2-13, Lorenzen 2-12, Feldbrugge 1-11)
Turnovers:Highlands 2, Frederick Douglass 0
Penalties: Highlands 4-30, Frederick Douglass 9-60
Records:
Highlands 1-0, Frederick Douglass 0-1
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