BF, that wasn't geared toward my quote, was it?

No, not at all. Just my own frustration at seeing blowouts turn into squeakers when they shouldn't have to do so...and some who want us to believe it was just a controlled descent.

Extremely disappointed in the LexCath crowd. Highlands definitely had them outnumbered and they only rarely came alive during the game. We sat on the LC side in an almost empty bleacher section and had another section next to us that was similarly empty if not for one group of HHS fans and an elderly LC couple. I guess the holiday stuff downtown was a bigger draw than the 5A state semi-finals.

BF, that wasn't geared toward my quote, was it? I'm in no way insinuating they let Lexington Catholic back into the game. I was saying that if Collins is as good as many say they are, Highlands will have to put the pedal down from the get go and keep it there (much like they did last year against Collins).

 

We have had one self proclaimed know it all trolling in Highlands threads all yr long telling everyone how good Collins is just because his team got themselves a "banquet win" and now he has some of the more knowledgeable and credible posters believing his elementary rhetoric....Just sayin

I like Dale's chances in his first game coaching against Collins.

I like Dale's chances in his first game coaching against Collins.

 

Agreed! No way Dale let's his Assistant one up him against Collins. Oh and you can bet it will be full throttle if it comes to that.

A quote in the paper mentioned a letdown at halftime. My question is who is responsible for that letdown? Interested to hear the take on this from the many Bird faithful.

Quote from Enquirer: Dale - "We wanted to get a running clock because it's such a big advantage. When we got the running clock, I think we relaxed, and you can't relax against them."

 

The coaches, boys, and fans got too comfortable at halftime with a 42-7 lead. Plans for Bowling Green were already being made by all involved. We let up on the gas. A couple of bad series by HHS, some great passing by LC, an LC recovered onside kick...then, panic begins to set in, and you can't play in panic mode against a team like LC. Kudos to LC players and coaches for never giving up last night.

 

Running clock was our friend and in a way, our enemy last night. It couldn't tick off fast enough...but yet, it also, let us get too relaxed way too early. Regardless, the Birds are heading to Bowling Green. Let's get Seven on the Seventh!

Wrong answer here my friend. The only backup in the game was the QB and the RB who have each seen extensive action in the last month or so.

 

Why was Drew out? No word on LC radio about that. Did he return?

Why was Drew out? No word on LC radio about that. Did he return?

 

He was out because the Birds thought they had it in the bag and didn't want to get him hurt. When Hoge came in and threw the interception Drew was in for the rest of the game.

The update thread at halftime said drew had 337 yds and 4 td's. the paper said he ended game 14-17 for 357 yards. Did Highlands not throw the ball in second half? Were they just running it because of running clock?

Time for the Birds to move on...Nothing to see here folks :thumb:

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

LEXINGTON – The Highlands Bluebirds football team once again forced the running clock.

It may have saved them in the end of a 49-35 Class 4A semifinal victory against the host Lexington Catholic Knights on Friday. Highlands (13-1) won its state-record 34th consecutive playoff game. The Bluebirds have outscored those opponents by 1,142 points for an average of about 33.6 points per game.

The Bluebirds built a 42-7 mostly through their vaunted deep passing game. They outgained the Knights (10-4), 398-204 in total offense in that half and enforced the running clock with 8:09 left in the half.

But LexCath did not quit and cut the lead to 42-35 with 3:45 left in the game. But Highlands made the plays down the stretch to earn another Class 4A semifinal win. LexCath ended up winning the statistical battle, 457-449.

“I think a lot of that was my fault. We were relaxing,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator. “We took Drew (Houliston) and Zach (Harris) out. We went into halftime feeling good about ourselves. Football is just not that kind of game. LexCath is an explosive team. You just can’t relax against a team like that.”

But Highlands did win the turnover battle, 3-2. Junior Griffin Urlage had an interception and fumble recovery with Brady Murray recovering another fumble. Highlands followed with two quick touchdowns after the fumble recoveries and Urlage’s interception with 1:21 left in the game let the Bluebirds run out the clock.

“That interception felt really good,” Urlage said. “They had some really good receivers. (Ryan) had a slinger on him. We unfortunately weren’t keeping our guys in front.”

Brandon Hergott returned an onside kick to the Lexington Catholic 12 with 3:45 left in the game. Highlands lined up in its full-house backfield and Harris ran the ball to the LexCath 1 before plunging in to make the final score.

“Before the play, everyone said to catch the ball and get down,” Hergott said. “But I saw the opening. I just made sure I didn’t fumble the ball. That’s just one big time play that everyone looks forward to making.”

Hergott scored on a touchdown against Warren Central in the season finale. LexCath recovered an onside kick with about 6:30 left in the game.

“On a rule change on an onside kick, they’re not allowed to hit you the first 10 yards,” Mueller said. “Brandon Hergott is just such a heads-up guy. He really attacked the ball. When they were roaring back, that was the play of the game.”

Houliston finished with 357 yards passing completing 14-of-17 passes with four touchdowns. Jensen Feggins led the way with four catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Alex Veneman had three for 150 with one touchdown.

“That was really key early on,” Veneman said. “They had Jensen (Feggins) one-on-one and Jensen had a couple big catches. They put more guys on him then I became open. They played some man on me, which is pretty nice. (The deep pass) worked every time.”

The Bluebirds have 60 touchdown passes on the year and Houliston has thrown 48 of them. That breaks the school record for touchdown passes in a season of 59 set back in 2000. Gino Guidugli set the individual record at 53 for touchdowns in a season.

Houliston completed 11-of-14 passes for 325 yards and all four touchdowns in the first half. The Highlands offensive line kept the Knight defenders off the skill position players.

“I think offensive lines are underrated just because they’re not really seen as much on the field,” said Sam Little, Highlands senior offensive lineman. “The touchdowns are scored by the wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks. I don’t think we care (about the attention) as much. We know we are respected by our skill players.”

Harris scored three touchdowns rushing 10 times for 94 yards. The first one gave the Bluebirds the lead for good on a 21-yard scamper just 1:24 into the game. He now has 1,000 yards rushing on the year. Harris is just the third back in the Mueller Era to record consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The other two were Eamon Mueller and Justin Frisk in the mid-90s.

The Bluebirds led 21-0 after two quarters following two Knight fumbles. Houliston found Feggins over the middle with 4:38 left before Murray recovered a Knight fumble and returned it to the LexCath 41. On the next play with 1:47 left in the quarter, Feggins scored on a deep 41-yard route.

On fourth-and-8 with 10:42 left in the second, Houliston found Beau Hoge in the left corner to put Highlands up 28-0. About three minutes later, Veneman ran a deep 86-yard play down the field and Harris scored the two-point conversion run to enforce the running clock.

Highlands responded to a Reese Ryan 44-yard touchdown pass to Noah Mitchell with another score to make the halftime 42-7 advantage. Harris scored from a yard out.

Ryan completed 22-of-31 passes for 369 yards. He had 145 in the first half. David Bouvier led LexCath with seven catches for 142 yards and three touchdowns and Sam Letton had 11 for 122.

“We were shutting them down in the first half,” Murray said. “We got pressure on (Ryan) in the pocket. We play our best when (turnovers) happen.”

Highlands will own the record to its lonesome on Saturday with a win. The Bluebirds and Louisville Trinity are tied for the most state championships in Kentucky with 22 each.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Highalnds holds off determined LexCath, 49-35

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

LEXINGTON – This one turned out to be the closest state semifinal win in a while.

During their state record 34-game playoff winning streak, no one had come within 21 points in the state semifinals. In their six consecutive state championship runs, no team had come within three touchdowns of the Highlands Bluebirds in the state semifinals. Highlands had won those six semifinal contests by an average of 29 points.

The host Lexington Catholic Knights (10-4) cut the Highlands 42-7 halftime lead to 42-35 with 3:45 left in the game. But the Bluebirds made the plays to pull off the 49-35 win.

“We won. That’s all that matters this time of year,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator. “We’ll take it. We’re playing next week.”

Highlands has won 15 regional championships and 14 semifinal games since Dale Mueller became Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator in 1994. The only semifinal loss came 45-6 at Rockcastle County in 2002. The average margin of victory in those contests is 19.2 points.

The Bluebirds have beaten the Knights three straight years in the same round. Lexington Catholic became the most common semifinal opponent since 1994 on Friday. Highlands beat LexCath, 61-28 in Fort Thomas last year and 42-21 in Lexington two years ago. The average margin of victory for Highlands is 22.6 points in those three games.

“We can’t give in once we’re up,” said Drew Houliston, Highlands senior quarterback. “We need to keep going. When you get this far, these teams are not going to quit. We need to realize that and keep playing (hard) until the horn sounds.”

Prior to Friday, Highlands had also faced the Rockcastle County Rockets and Bell County Bobcats twice on the road in semifinal contests. The Bluebirds beat the Rockets, 41-9 in Mount Vernon in 2000 and edged the Bobcats at Pineville in 1996 (16-14) and 2004 (15-10).

Highlands moved to 8-1 in road semifinal games in the Mueller era and 6-0 at home. The average margin of victory for Highlands is about 11.7 points and 30.5 at David Cecil Memorial Stadium.

Only one visiting team has come within 28 points in Fort Thomas. Highlands edged Mason County, 21-14 in the 2003 Class 3A semifinals.

A huge Thanksgiving Day Visit:

While the wins in those previous games did not guarantee a victory Friday, visits from players of those teams often helps. Current University of Kentucky quarterback and 2012 Highlands graduate Patrick Towles stopped by practice Thursday.

“Each (team) just builds (on the tradition),” Mueller said. “The guys that played before are just such great supporters. There were other guys that came to practice just to support the guys and say some positive things to them.”

A number of former players came to Lexington for the game. That includes three seniors off last year’s team in Mitch Dee, Reid Schroeder and Quentin Murray.

Mueller earns 250th win at Highlands:

Mueller moved to 250-35 in 20 seasons as Head Coach of the Bluebirds.

That win moved him into 18th in Kentucky history. He passed Murray 43-year veteran Preston “Ty” Holland with the win. Holland’s record was 249-159-28.

Bowling Green Head Coach Kevin Wallace is not far behind Mueller at 248-96 good for 19th in Kentucky history. Wallace began his career as head coach of Warren East.

Finising off 2012 Playoff Rewind:

The Bluebirds need to beat the same five opponents in the same five rounds as last year to win another state championship.

They finish 2012 playoff rewind against Collins (12-2) in the 4A state championship at 4 p.m. at Western Kentucky on Saturday. Highlands beat Collins, 47-0 in the title game last year.

The Bluebirds beat three opponents in the same rounds for the third straight year. Highlands also beat Boyd County in the first round, Covington Catholic in the regional final and LexCath in the state semifinals in 2011. The Bluebirds beat Johnson Central in the second round and Franklin-Simpson in the state championship that year.

Another Highlands win would extend the longest current streak of football championships in the country. The Bluebirds and Honolulu ‘Iolani. But the Raiders lost in the Hawaii Division II semifinals, 28-7 to Lihue Kauai.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Bluebird Notebook: Highlands moves to 14-1 in semifinal games since 1994

Who is the person in this pic with Pat Towles?

 

Instagram

Who is the person in this pic with Pat Towles?

 

Instagram

 

That is Michael Waite. He has Down Syndrome, he attended Highlands and actually suited up for the Birds about 6-8 yrs ago and then Dale had him stay on as an Asst Coach.

 

Rarely if ever has he missed a practice or game, Coach Waite puts his time in just like the rest of the guys:thumb:

 

He is quite the dancer as he can be seen doing his thing after a Highlands score to the tune of that goofy song they play...