What can Highlands do this year to be competitive again? Is there a different strategy that will be used this year outside of Weinrich moving back to calling the defense?

Any update on Huddleston?

What can Highlands do this year to be competitive again? Is there a different strategy that will be used this year outside of Weinrich moving back to calling the defense?

 

Just my opinion...They are trying a few different things. I think some will help. However, I think a lot of it is mental and getting the "fight" back is a big part of it and playing with a chip on their shoulder. I think that was missing last couple years as a program.

 

I think they will improve a lot this year and as the depth continues to creep back, you will start to see them make runs again. I think it's ridiculous to think they will get back to the unreal level they sustained for about 10 years, but they will get back near the top again. And I know there are some very talented alum that have very athletic boys heading our way very soon. It goes in cycles at times and its on the way back up from last year.

Just my opinion...They are trying a few different things. I think some will help. However, I think a lot of it is mental and getting the "fight" back is a big part of it and playing with a chip on their shoulder. I think that was missing last couple years as a program.

 

I think they will improve a lot this year and as the depth continues to creep back, you will start to see them make runs again. I think it's ridiculous to think they will get back to the unreal level they sustained for about 10 years, but they will get back near the top again. And I know there are some very talented alum that have very athletic boys heading our way very soon. It goes in cycles at times and its on the way back up from last year.

 

Expound on your comment of getting the "fight" back and who is responsible for instilling that "fight"?

Expound on your comment of getting the "fight" back and who is responsible for instilling that "fight"?

 

I think the ownership is in multiple places. First and foremost, I think it's on every player to look in the mirror and ask how bad they want it. Do they just say they want it or do they show it in their actions? Its one thing to want it and it's another to give every ounce of effort you have in you in practice and games to make it happen. Play with an attitude every time you cross the line!

 

But in my opinion, Coaching has to create a culture that keeps the kids motivated and hungry. The team last year never really looked "hungry". However, there are some that just don't have it. Its the coach's job to figure out who will run through a wall for them and weed out the others. Play the kids that want to be there and want success for the program more than they want to breath!

I think the ownership is in multiple places. First and foremost, I think it's on every player to look in the mirror and ask how bad they want it. Do they just say they want it or do they show it in their actions? Its one thing to want it and it's another to give every ounce of effort you have in you in practice and games to make it happen. Play with an attitude every time you cross the line!

 

But in my opinion, Coaching has to create a culture that keeps the kids motivated and hungry. The team last year never really looked "hungry". However, there are some that just don't have it. Its the coach's job to figure out who will run through a wall for them and weed out the others. Play the kids that want to be there and want success for the program more than they want to breath!

 

Your last paragraph speaks volumes and I think anyone that has been associated with the program in some way shape or form would agree that the "drive" to succeed at the highest level has not been there since the regime change. I agree with you 100% that you put the kids out there who have the talent and most importantly the desire to give it their all, even if that means playing kids on offense, defense and/or special teams.

Just my opinion...They are trying a few different things. I think some will help. However, I think a lot of it is mental and getting the "fight" back is a big part of it and playing with a chip on their shoulder. I think that was missing last couple years as a program.

 

I think they will improve a lot this year and as the depth continues to creep back, you will start to see them make runs again. I think it's ridiculous to think they will get back to the unreal level they sustained for about 10 years, but they will get back near the top again. And I know there are some very talented alum that have very athletic boys heading our way very soon. It goes in cycles at times and its on the way back up from last year.

 

Agreed and I also think that the other teams have gotten better as well. Thats something that gets missed in these discussions a lot.

Agreed and I also think that the other teams have gotten better as well. Thats something that gets missed in these discussions a lot.

 

There's no doubt other programs have improved...which is what most of us on here have been hoping for a long time now. Getting it back to the days where NKY was consistently strong in all divisions.

Any update on Huddleston?

 

From what I have heard its not good. I hate to hear this too because Bryson is an outstanding football player and would have been the anchor of that Defense.

 

Broken clavicle and out 12 weeks is what I heard. Coming back from that could be difficult as well. Hoping its a speedy recovery and he is 100% healthy.

From what I have heard its not good. I hate to hear this too because Bryson is an outstanding football player and would have been the anchor of that Defense.

 

Broken clavicle and out 12 weeks is what I heard. Coming back from that could be difficult as well. Hoping its a speedy recovery and he is 100% healthy.

 

No reason to play him this year if that is the case, let it heal.

1. What does Highlands need to do to improve in 2017?

win more games, go deeper into playoffs

 

2. What do they need to keep doing to be successful?

see #1

 

It's all about De-fense. Need to be able to make timely stops and get the D off the field. Didn't happen much last season.

Editor's Note: This is a two-part series. A preview of the 2017 Highlands defense will run Friday.

 

The Highlands Bluebirds football team came back home up Interstate 71 from Louisville on Nov. 4 last season facing cold, hard reality.

 

The season that the returning players hope to make people forget about quickly came to an end that night. The Bluebirds ventured to the Commonwealth of Kentucky's largest city and lost 52-32 to the Doss Dragons in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

 

For the first time since 1991, Highlands did not win a playoff game and the loss put the cap on its first losing season in 60 years at 3-8 overall and just the ninth losing season in school history in 102 seasons. The last time that happened came in 1955 when the Bluebirds finished 4-5-1.

 

A number of things contributed to the rough season. But players like Trey Bowden, a senior linebacker last year, said the main reason for the rough season was not every player bought into the things that have made the Bluebirds successful to the tune of 23 state championships good for second in Kentucky and an overall record of 879-243-26 good for second in the country for most wins in program history behind the 913-223-34 mark of Valdosta High from southern Georgia.

 

Highlands senior Nick Veneman among the other returning players said they hoped to get to know their teammates better in order to build trust and earn respect as leaders this year. Veneman returns as a dynamic force for the Bluebirds to build around offensively. Veneman caught 46 passes for 1,026 yards and 12 touchdowns last year hurting teams all years, especially on the deep routes.

 

Highlands is as deep as it has been in recent years. The Bluebirds have 84 players in the top three grades on the roster. That has generally let players go one direction and wear opponents down. That is still the case even though Highlands has begun playing players on both sides in certain situations the last couple years.

 

Highlands Head Coach Brian Weinrich moved back to the Defensive Coordinator role after spending the previous three as Offensive Coordinator and Zach Deaton took over as Offensive Coordinator. Weinrich served as Defensive Coordinator under former Head Coach Dale Mueller from 2002 to 2013.

 

Weinrich challenged the guys to not only get better themselves, but make sure their teammates are doing the same thing. He said the team has made tremendous strides throughout the 7-on-7 Tournament on Saturday at Oldham County defeating Oldham County, Boyle County and Simon Kenton.

 

"Top to bottom, I just feel there's so much improvement from this year to last year, from spring to now," Weinrich said. "It's something we truly believe in and you hear them saying it. 'We got to get better. Got to get better.' You hear every coach, every business say it. You either get better or you get worse."

 

Veneman is one of several wide receivers returning with varsity experience. The others are seniors Griffin Huber (24 catches, 225 yards, one touchdown), Jared Wogan (19 catches, 243 yards, four touchdowns), Grant Summers (12 catches, 180 yards, one touchdown) and junior Nate Roberts (two catches for 25 yards).

 

"There's a lot of pride in it because you want the opportunities to score, but you also want your teammates to have the same opportunities so you have to block for them every play and make sure they get the opportunities to score," Summers said of the team's depth. "It's pretty hard on them because every time we run a fake and run 40 or 50 yards, the defense has to run that too. Then we have a new guy in who's fresh and ready to go on the next play and they're winded running down the field and back to the line of scrimmage."

 

Highlands graduated five wide receivers from last year. They are Trent Buchert (24 catches, 242 yards, three touchdowns), Evan Fickenscher, twins Chuckie and Dougie Buckler and Brent Angel. Also for Highlands, senior Braden Posey (38 catches, 391 yards, four touchdowns) and his younger brother Aubrey Posey, a junior, transferred to Newport Central Catholic.

 

A number of other wide receivers could emerge to take the pressure off Veneman. They are senior Chas Sand, juniors Eddie Etter, Tyler Bracken, Austin King, Liam Ehram, Carter Crawford, Jack Schultz and Logan Guy along with sophomores Ryan Garvey, Adam Weyer, Conner Noon, Joey Deshler, Tyler Brune and Ethan Houze. Sophomore Brycen Huddleston could see action at both wide receiver and linebacker and sophomore Sam Ellsworth could play at tight end or the defensive line.

 

"I think we got a lot of options," Deaton said. "We have a lot of gifted older guys that know what they're doing and are effective at whatever we're asking them to do whether it be blocking or catching or anything. Getting the ball in those guys' hands as quickly as possible is something we're really excited about."

 

The key for Highlands offensively out of its multi-formation spread attack has been balance. The Bluebirds put together another nice year on that front last year scoring 367 points for an average of just more than 33 points per game. Highlands rushed for 1,717 yards and passed for 2,692 yards for averages of just more than 156 yards rushing and just under 245 yards passing last year.

 

The defensive woes unfortunately overshadowed those stats in the tough season. Highlands did not convert key third and fourth downs to sustain drives and make up for the defensive woes last year.

 

"We just have to make plays when we need to make plays all the time," Deaton said. "We have to keep the pedal down and stay focused on doing the right thing every single time and having a short memory when something doesn't go our way. When you play football, you learn about competing at every single thing you do. Everything is a job interview. You learn that even though you work hard and do things right, something may not go your way. How do you respond to it? Are you going to shy away from it or line back up again and try to fix it?"

 

That balance starts with the offensive line that graduated Mitch Schry, Kyle Finfrock, Michael Davidson and Trey King. Seniors Sam Sparks, Josh Homer, Michael Dunn and Justin Merkle return along with junior Trent Johnson with varsity experience. Highlands also moved senior Keaton Huddleston from the defensive line to the offensive line. Dunn, Schry and Johnson also saw time on the defensive line last year and that could happen on the defensive side in certain situations again this year for Dunn and Johnson. Juniors Will Gastright and Will Salmon could join the rotation there along with sophomores Jackson Curry, Jackson Bibb, Brock Huber and Dylan Turner.

 

"We have to have people holding each other accountable," Merkle said. "If you're not in (the game), you're supposed to be watching your position making sure (your teammates) are doing everything correct. You always want to continue the play until the whistle. We'll keep doing that every play until we get (the skill players) in the end zone."

 

The biggest question mark is how fast the new starting quarterback will adjust to the varsity level. Last year's starting quarterback in Brady Gosney completed 200-of-339 passes for 2,681 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last year. Gosney also made plays with his legs rushing for 212 yards on 52 attempts and seven touchdowns last year. Gosney took his talents to Hanover College. Back-up quarterback Cam'Ron Johnston also graduated.

 

The two players battling for the starting quarterback job are senior Carl Schoellman and junior Grady Cramer with sophomore quarterback Collin Hollingsworth moving up the junior varsity level. Schoellman did not complete his lone pass on the varsity level. Schoellman and Cramer helped the Highlands Junior Varsity squad go 6-3 last year. Deaton said the staff is close to naming a varsity starter.

 

"We got a couple guys that are good at a couple different things," Deaton said. "We're looking at boxes that they're completing being able to do that we want them to be able to do. As we put more pads on and as we see more things against other defenses, it's helping us check those things off."

 

Two seniors handled most of the carries for the Bluebirds last year. Grant Murray led the team rushing last year going for 989 yards on 163 carries and nine touchdowns for an average of just more than six yards per carry. Murray also caught 16 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. The other senior in Jared Pulsfort rushed for 432 yards and nine touchdowns on 84 carries for an average of just more than five yards per carry and caught seven passes for 84 yards before going out for the season with an injury against Covington Catholic.

 

Three seniors in Larry Wilson, Logan Aubrey along with junior Cooper Schwalbach and sophomores Sawyer Depp and Wes Bowling hope to fill in those shoes and give Highlands the offensive balance that has made it tough over the years. Wilson, Aubrey and Schwalbach had some carries last year. Schwalbach scored a touchdown on one of his four carries and saw time at the end of the year at linebacker defensively. Senior Crosley New and sophomore Mason Schwalbach could also see some carries along with his linebacker duties.

 

"You want to have awarness," Aubrey said of running smart. "You want to know what you're doing on the field. Whenever you're carrying the ball, you want to fall forward to get some extra yards. It's about being smart about everything."

 

Highlands plays host to Cincinnati St. Xavier on Aug. 11 for a scrimmage before opening the season at Cooper on Aug. 18. The schedule is the same as the last two years with only two new opponents in Lexington Catholic and Greenwood.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: 2

I won't go into a lot of details. But I will say I think supporters will like what they read about the defense Friday.

Editor's Note: This is a two-part series. A preview of the 2017 Highlands defense will run Friday.

 

The Highlands Bluebirds football team came back home up Interstate 71 from Louisville on Nov. 4 last season facing cold, hard reality.

 

The season that the returning players hope to make people forget about quickly came to an end that night. The Bluebirds ventured to the Commonwealth of Kentucky's largest city and lost 52-32 to the Doss Dragons in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

 

For the first time since 1991, Highlands did not win a playoff game and the loss put the cap on its first losing season in 60 years at 3-8 overall and just the ninth losing season in school history in 102 seasons. The last time that happened came in 1955 when the Bluebirds finished 4-5-1.

 

A number of things contributed to the rough season. But players like Trey Bowden, a senior linebacker last year, said the main reason for the rough season was not every player bought into the things that have made the Bluebirds successful to the tune of 23 state championships good for second in Kentucky and an overall record of 879-243-26 good for second in the country for most wins in program history behind the 913-223-34 mark of Valdosta High from southern Georgia.

 

Highlands senior Nick Veneman among the other returning players said they hoped to get to know their teammates better in order to build trust and earn respect as leaders this year. Veneman returns as a dynamic force for the Bluebirds to build around offensively. Veneman caught 46 passes for 1,026 yards and 12 touchdowns last year hurting teams all years, especially on the deep routes.

 

Highlands is as deep as it has been in recent years. The Bluebirds have 84 players in the top three grades on the roster. That has generally let players go one direction and wear opponents down. That is still the case even though Highlands has begun playing players on both sides in certain situations the last couple years.

 

Highlands Head Coach Brian Weinrich moved back to the Defensive Coordinator role after spending the previous three as Offensive Coordinator and Zach Deaton took over as Offensive Coordinator. Weinrich served as Defensive Coordinator under former Head Coach Dale Mueller from 2002 to 2013.

 

Weinrich challenged the guys to not only get better themselves, but make sure their teammates are doing the same thing. He said the team has made tremendous strides throughout the 7-on-7 Tournament on Saturday at Oldham County defeating Oldham County, Boyle County and Simon Kenton.

 

"Top to bottom, I just feel there's so much improvement from this year to last year, from spring to now," Weinrich said. "It's something we truly believe in and you hear them saying it. 'We got to get better. Got to get better.' You hear every coach, every business say it. You either get better or you get worse."

 

Veneman is one of several wide receivers returning with varsity experience. The others are seniors Griffin Huber (24 catches, 225 yards, one touchdown), Jared Wogan (19 catches, 243 yards, four touchdowns), Grant Summers (12 catches, 180 yards, one touchdown) and junior Nate Roberts (two catches for 25 yards).

 

"There's a lot of pride in it because you want the opportunities to score, but you also want your teammates to have the same opportunities so you have to block for them every play and make sure they get the opportunities to score," Summers said of the team's depth. "It's pretty hard on them because every time we run a fake and run 40 or 50 yards, the defense has to run that too. Then we have a new guy in who's fresh and ready to go on the next play and they're winded running down the field and back to the line of scrimmage."

 

Highlands graduated five wide receivers from last year. They are Trent Buchert (24 catches, 242 yards, three touchdowns), Evan Fickenscher, twins Chuckie and Dougie Buckler and Brent Angel. Also for Highlands, senior Braden Posey (38 catches, 391 yards, four touchdowns) and his younger brother Aubrey Posey, a junior, transferred to Newport Central Catholic.

 

A number of other wide receivers could emerge to take the pressure off Veneman. They are senior Chas Sand, juniors Eddie Etter, Tyler Bracken, Austin King, Liam Ehram, Carter Crawford, Jack Schultz and Logan Guy along with sophomores Ryan Garvey, Adam Weyer, Conner Noon, Joey Deshler, Tyler Brune and Ethan Houze. Sophomore Brycen Huddleston could see action at both wide receiver and linebacker and sophomore Sam Ellsworth could play at tight end or the defensive line.

 

"I think we got a lot of options," Deaton said. "We have a lot of gifted older guys that know what they're doing and are effective at whatever we're asking them to do whether it be blocking or catching or anything. Getting the ball in those guys' hands as quickly as possible is something we're really excited about."

 

The key for Highlands offensively out of its multi-formation spread attack has been balance. The Bluebirds put together another nice year on that front last year scoring 367 points for an average of just more than 33 points per game. Highlands rushed for 1,717 yards and passed for 2,692 yards for averages of just more than 156 yards rushing and just under 245 yards passing last year.

 

The defensive woes unfortunately overshadowed those stats in the tough season. Highlands did not convert key third and fourth downs to sustain drives and make up for the defensive woes last year.

 

"We just have to make plays when we need to make plays all the time," Deaton said. "We have to keep the pedal down and stay focused on doing the right thing every single time and having a short memory when something doesn't go our way. When you play football, you learn about competing at every single thing you do. Everything is a job interview. You learn that even though you work hard and do things right, something may not go your way. How do you respond to it? Are you going to shy away from it or line back up again and try to fix it?"

 

That balance starts with the offensive line that graduated Mitch Schry, Kyle Finfrock, Michael Davidson and Trey King. Seniors Sam Sparks, Josh Homer, Michael Dunn and Justin Merkle return along with junior Trent Johnson with varsity experience. Highlands also moved senior Keaton Huddleston from the defensive line to the offensive line. Dunn, Schry and Johnson also saw time on the defensive line last year and that could happen on the defensive side in certain situations again this year for Dunn and Johnson. Juniors Will Gastright and Will Salmon could join the rotation there along with sophomores Jackson Curry, Jackson Bibb, Brock Huber and Dylan Turner.

 

"We have to have people holding each other accountable," Merkle said. "If you're not in (the game), you're supposed to be watching your position making sure (your teammates) are doing everything correct. You always want to continue the play until the whistle. We'll keep doing that every play until we get (the skill players) in the end zone."

 

The biggest question mark is how fast the new starting quarterback will adjust to the varsity level. Last year's starting quarterback in Brady Gosney completed 200-of-339 passes for 2,681 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last year. Gosney also made plays with his legs rushing for 212 yards on 52 attempts and seven touchdowns last year. Gosney took his talents to Hanover College. Back-up quarterback Cam'Ron Johnston also graduated.

 

The two players battling for the starting quarterback job are senior Carl Schoellman and junior Grady Cramer with sophomore quarterback Collin Hollingsworth moving up the junior varsity level. Schoellman did not complete his lone pass on the varsity level. Schoellman and Cramer helped the Highlands Junior Varsity squad go 6-3 last year. Deaton said the staff is close to naming a varsity starter.

 

"We got a couple guys that are good at a couple different things," Deaton said. "We're looking at boxes that they're completing being able to do that we want them to be able to do. As we put more pads on and as we see more things against other defenses, it's helping us check those things off."

 

Two seniors handled most of the carries for the Bluebirds last year. Grant Murray led the team rushing last year going for 989 yards on 163 carries and nine touchdowns for an average of just more than six yards per carry. Murray also caught 16 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. The other senior in Jared Pulsfort rushed for 432 yards and nine touchdowns on 84 carries for an average of just more than five yards per carry and caught seven passes for 84 yards before going out for the season with an injury against Covington Catholic.

 

Three seniors in Larry Wilson, Logan Aubrey along with junior Cooper Schwalbach and sophomores Sawyer Depp and Wes Bowling hope to fill in those shoes and give Highlands the offensive balance that has made it tough over the years. Wilson, Aubrey and Schwalbach had some carries last year. Schwalbach scored a touchdown on one of his four carries and saw time at the end of the year at linebacker defensively. Senior Crosley New and sophomore Mason Schwalbach could also see some carries along with his linebacker duties.

 

"You want to have awarness," Aubrey said of running smart. "You want to know what you're doing on the field. Whenever you're carrying the ball, you want to fall forward to get some extra yards. It's about being smart about everything."

 

Highlands plays host to Cincinnati St. Xavier on Aug. 11 for a scrimmage before opening the season at Cooper on Aug. 18. The schedule is the same as the last two years with only two new opponents in Lexington Catholic and Greenwood.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: 217 Highlands Football Offense Preview

 

SK went 4-0 at the Oldham County Tournament they might have beat the 2nd team?

Editor's Note: This the second of a two-part series.

 

After the season-opening win over Cooper last year, Shelby Jones, the Defensive Coordinator of the Highlands Bluebirds football team came into the locker room concerned.

 

"About all I can say is we're lucky to win the game," Jones said. "We have to get better. We're not as far along as I thought we'd be."

 

Highlands recovered three fumbles in that game on its way to a 52-42 victory. But the Jaguars racked up 479 yards on 71 yards for an average of 6.7 yards per play.

 

Those fears came into fruition over the next couple months as the Bluebirds lost seven straight for the second-longest losing streak in school history on their way to a 3-8 season for their first losing since going 4-5-1 in 1955. Only the 1939 squad lost more in a row dropping eight straight.

 

The Highlands 3-4 defense lacked the size of past teams and opponents overpowered the Bluebirds for 3,343 yards rushing and 1,938 passing for averages of about 304 yards rushing and just more than 176 passing. The only exception was the 50-0 shut-out at Grant County in which the Bluebirds held the Braves to just 68 yards on 49 plays for an average of 1.4 yards per play.

 

Highlands did put several offensive linemen on the defensive line for the last three games of the season. But unlike the past, the Bluebirds did not have that one player that commanded double-teams and freed up teammates to make plays like Tyler Robinson did in 2015.

 

Highlands Head Coach Brian Weinrich spent the previous three years as Offensive Coordinator after serving as Defensive Coordinator between 2002 and 2013 when Dale Mueller was head coach of the Bluebirds. Weinrich decided to return to the defensive side of the ball after talks with the assistants int he off-season.

 

Highlands switched from the 3-4 to the 3-5 defensive scheme in the off-season. The Bluebirds added an extra linebacker in their come-back 49-42 win over Owensboro in the 2014 Class 4A state championship game. That helped the Bluebirds keep the Red Devil Veer-Option offense off the scoreboard in the second half.

 

"It had to do with personnel. It also had to do with comfort levels," Weinrich said of the defensive scheme switch. "It's what we ran for a long time. We feel like we really know the ins and outs of it. It was also driven by some of the teams we had to play. We felt like there for a couple seasons they were adjusting to the 3-4 concepts a lot in the important games so we made the decision then that was where it needed to go. If there was a perfect defense, everyone would run it."

 

The returning Highlands defensive linemen heavily focused on becoming bigger and stronger hoping to correct the problems of last year. Highlands graduated Max Abanto, Connor Myers, Jacob Johnson, Zach Sisson and Bruce Seidel from last year's defensive line.

 

Seniors Nick Biltz and Nate Davis along with junior Brady Walz hope to lead the charge in the trenches for the Bluebirds there. The Bluebirds moved several players to the defensive line in seniors Korbyn Poole, Ethan Sketch and juniors Ben Sisson and Andrew Wyckoff. Sophomores Zach Lewin, Max Dierig, Sylvan Frazier, Preston McAlpin, Brennan White, Conner Zell and Tyler Phillipps along with Sam Ellsworth could also make an impact there. Weinrich said senior Michael Dunn and junior Trent Johnson could see action on the defensive line in certain situations like they did at the end of last year.

 

"I feel like we've made bigger jumps than any group before them," Weinrich said. "It's no knock on any group before them or whatever. This group really bought into everything we were telling them. We just needed to put our guys in the best position to do the things like stop the run. It's been a great spring and summer adjusting because there is a lot of adjusting for the guys in how they play their position. It's been a good change."

 

The lack of backfield penetration meant the linebackers had to crowd the line of scrimmage attempting to limit the big plays. The Bluebirds recovered 17 fumbles last year. Ten came from the linebacker spot as Dalton Cornett hopped on eight fumbles and Trey Bowden recovered two. Those two graduated at that spot along with Luke Ross, Luke Meyer, Carter Burke, Noah Kremer-Stegman and Trent Webster.

 

"I put a lot of effort into getting stronger and getting faster and working on my form," Davis said. "I feel like everyone on the defense is focused on that because we all know we were not great last year. We kept on losing because we couldn't stop the run. It's a matter of reading your keys and getting off the ball. That's going to be your main advantage because the offensive line is almost always going to be bigger than you. But if you can be quick off the ball and surprise them, that's how you get off (blocks) and are able to make a sack or stop the running back."

 

Junior Nick Bowman and senior Logan Sparks bring back some experience at linebacker. Others hoping to contribute there are juniors Alex Starkey, Jackson Hagedorn and Addison Reynolds. Seniors Logan Seiple and Crosley New moved from defensive back to linebacker roles in the off-season.

 

"We're really trying to emphasize getting downhill and not going parallel with the sideline," Sparks said. "If we get three or four linebackers, especially the inside guys heading downhill fast, we'll make a lot of stops. We played pretty well in spring ball. It's a lot of read and react. There's not a lot of thinking in it. Just go, go, go. If you get going full speed, good things will happen."

 

The Highlands secondary had its fair share of issues last year. Teams found one-on-one match-ups and burned the Bluebirds for big plays. Highlands only intercepted three passes last year. The Bluebirds graduated three starting defensive backs in Bradley Greene, Sam Taylor and Kyle Rust along with Joe Buchanan, Michael Siska and Ben Grothaus.

 

Senior Joe Steiden is the lone returning starter in the defensive secondary. Senior Harrison Traylor along with juniors Kyle Turner, Casey Greene, Bailey Armstrong, Brandon Mason and Andra Hall hope to help improve the secondary play along with sophomores Noah Lamothe and Jacob Brass. Hall is back out after not playing last year. Steiden said the Bluebirds have converted to a zone, Cover-3 defense in the 3-5 scheme.

 

"We have one less defensive back and one more linebacker to help with underneath routes. The corners usually stay as deep as they can with the deepest person on the field and try not to let us get deep for a big play," Steiden said. "We're going to try to get more interceptions this year because turnovers are a really big turning point in the game. They can change the momentum anytime in the game and make a big difference."

 

Steiden nearly had an interception against Cooper last year, but the ball hit the turf as he came down. He said the defensive backs could get more interceptions by jumping in front of passes. But he also said the Highlands defensive backs don't want the ball to either get tipped or go through their hands into the arms of opponents for big plays so it depends on the situation.

 

Special Teams:

 

Bowman handled the kicking duties last year and returns to that role. Cam'Ron Johnston punted last year. Junior Grady Cramer looks to take over those duties with Johnston's graduation.

 

Highlands takes on Cincinnati St. Xavier on Aug. 11 before opening the season against Cooper on Aug. 18 in Union. The Bluebirds have just four home games this year.