I think Highlands wins by double digits.

2 hours ago, Scottcountyred said:

Our players rarely don’t play clean. It’s almost always verbal or gestures that get flagged. Now, if you punch a player, put hands on an official then throw your helmet 30 yards down the field while yelling a whole list of profanity at the officials then you’ll be kicked off the team as we saw last season. 

McKee has made a few changes to try and combat the crazy behavior we’ve seen a few times, but he himself accounts for a number of our unsportsmanlike calls. It seemingly is just a part of the Scott County season to an extent. 
 

Hadn't really heard of these issues before.  To be honest it surprises me.  

18 minutes ago, BEChargers said:

Hadn't really heard of these issues before.  To be honest it surprises me.  

To opposing teams it’s probably not very noticeable. Team mouths to the ref a bit too much in a big game it happens. When you watch every game you notice it very quickly.

I wouldn’t expect it on Friday. Hoping for a good game!

3 hours ago, Breds82 said:

In my very biased opinion the NKOA has the best officials in the state. They won’t put up with any shenanigans. If it’s an issue then why doesn’t Coach McKee just put an end to it? I want a clean and well played game.

His antics are as bad as anyone's from what I've seen from the opposing stands/sideline. 

And I’ll never understand that line of thinking. The players and fans feed off the actions of the HC, they just do. I’ll never understand a head coach acting befuddled bc his players are penalized for acting out, when they know darn well why the players act/react the way they do.

IMO this game will come down to which team sticks to their gameplan and who wins the turnover battle. If Highlands sticks to 75% running the ball, they can win by 2tds because they will eat up the clock. They deviate from that and start trying to throw the ball it will be a problem. 
 

For SC they need to just do what they do and run their offense to perfection. When they do that they are extremely tough to beat. Teams have to be patient defensively and be 100% gap sound because if you don’t you will be eaten alive trying to find the ball and then it’s too late because the player you thought has the ball doesn’t and the player that does is off to the end zone. Add to that, if your secondary falls asleep and they will hit you with a pass play over the top when you least expect it. 
 

Close game but I think SC wins by 3. 

I think Highlands wins by 3 or more touchdowns. As I think Scott County will struggle to stop Highlands. While Highlands will at least slow Scott County down some. Scott County always will put up some points, and will be close early. 
 

Highlands 48

Scott County 24

17 hours ago, CoachMulvi said:

His antics are as bad as anyone's from what I've seen from the opposing stands/sideline. 

Yeah....that game down there showed a lot about their program. I was really shocked that the teams did the post game handshake deal. That got totally out of control a couple years ago.

On 10/19/2025 at 1:42 PM, 9068 said:

Yeah....that game down there showed a lot about their program. I was really shocked that the teams did the post game handshake deal. That got totally out of control a couple years ago.

Both teams were guilty. I don’t see one side as being the worse party in what occurred.

Not sure why people think Highlands is going to win this game comfortably.  I do have my concerns about the offense, namely play calling, but can the defense consistently stop the Scott County offense?  The Benke twins do a pretty good job of setting the edge, which means the linebackers and defensive backs need to be solid with their tackling which was lacking a bit against Elder.  
 

There is no question that this is a huge RPI game for Highlands so it needs to be treated like a playoff game.

2 minutes ago, Jack of all Trades said:

Not sure why people think Highlands is going to win this game comfortably.  I do have my concerns about the offense, namely play calling, but can the defense consistently stop the Scott County offense?  The Benke twins do a pretty good job of setting the edge, which means the linebackers and defensive backs need to be solid with their tackling which was lacking a bit against Elder.  
 

There is no question that this is a huge RPI game for Highlands so it needs to be treated like a playoff game.

I agree JOAT and Scott County has owned Highlands:

Aug 24, 2012    Highlands    60    Scott County    37    
Sep 4, 2015    Scott County    54    Highlands    28    
Sep 2, 2016    Scott County    42    Highlands    33    
Aug 31, 2017    Scott County    71    Highlands    20    
Aug 31, 2018    Scott County    28    Highlands    7    
Nov 11, 2022    Scott County    29    Highlands    23    (2022 Class 5A Playoffs)

1 hour ago, Scottcountyred said:

Both teams were guilty. I don’t see one side as being the worse party in what occurred.

Which game are you referring to? 

15 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

Which game are you referring to? 

SC Cooper round two of the playoffs in 2023. Officiating was iffy all game then really blew up towards the end, as did both teams. SC racked up 200+ yards in penalties both teams had players/coaches ejected.

Bad look for the officials at the time. The game got out of hand mostly due to their actions not to say the players are innocent but things were avoidable.

33 minutes ago, Jack of all Trades said:

Not sure why people think Highlands is going to win this game comfortably.  I do have my concerns about the offense, namely play calling, but can the defense consistently stop the Scott County offense?  The Benke twins do a pretty good job of setting the edge, which means the linebackers and defensive backs need to be solid with their tackling which was lacking a bit against Elder.  
 

There is no question that this is a huge RPI game for Highlands so it needs to be treated like a playoff game.

McKee’s philosophy will be to treat this game as the opposite for SC. If they drop this game he doesn’t need morale to drop on the team as well. I’m sure he’ll reiterate many times throughout practice this week that this game untimely doesn’t matter. They have their first two games set, and if they beat cooper whoever they get in round 3 is manageable.

I feel like this is a difficult game for Highlands, as all the contingent is saying an easy win.

I think Scott County is playing really well right now.  Yes, they just lost to Woodford, but they scored 50 points against a pretty good defense.  Would I rate Woodford's defense over Highlands?  No, but playing Scott County isn't like playing anyone else.  Their wing-T is unique in how they string plays together and then hit you over the top with pass plays better than anyone else.

Highlands played with toughness vs Elder even though they lost.  That impressed me.  They will need that same toughness in this game and more discipline than they have played with this year to win.  IMO.