High school football: Ball-hawking Highland defense wants more after shutout of Brunswick

GRANGER TWP. — The Highland football team had just shut out Brunswick 37-0 Friday in non-league play, improved to 3-0 on the season and allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards in school history, but two-way linemen Ryan Zywiec and Carson Noonan weren't completely satisfied. "We need to force more turnovers," the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Zywiec said. The Hornets certainly had their chances against the struggling Blue Devils (0-3), who put the ball on the ground eight times but recovered every one. Most came on mishandled shotgun snaps on a rainy night that featured 10 fumbles total but no turnovers. "Eight fumbles and we didn't get one," the 6-3, 270-pound Noonan said, shaking his head. "That's crazy. We definitely have to get better at recovering turnovers." That and 10 penalties for 100 yards — Brunswick had 10 for 85 on a night when very slow, flag-happy officials seemed to think people were sitting in the pouring rain to watch them — were about the only faults that could be found with Highland's play. With 11 of Brunswick's 23 credited rushing attempts resulting in negative yardage and three others going for no gain, the Hornets held the Blue Devils to minus-36 yards on the ground. It was the worst effort in Brunswick history, breaking the minus-26 against Padua Franciscan on Oct. 3, 1970. "We stopped the run very well," Zywiec said. "When teams can't run, they have to resort to the long pass, but they can't long pass because (Noonan) and I will get their quarterback." Blue Devils quarterback Sean Barnett was decent in the short passing game, completing 11-of-16 for 78 yards, but his eight charged runs lost 37 yards. All told, Brunswick ran 40 plays for 42 yards while failing to score a TD for the second straight game. Eli Nichols rushed for 31 yards on nine carries and caught two passes for 22 yards for the Blue Devils, meaning everyone else totaled minus-11 yards. Collin Kavulic had four catches for 28 yards, but Brunswick's second-leading rusher was Ajay Rebraca, who had one carry for 1 yard. With multi-purpose slotback Cooper Neel seeing limited action — he had one catch for 7 yards and threw an incomplete pass on his team's first drive — the Blue Devils got four first downs and advanced as far as the Highland 42-yard line on their initial possession, but they got just five first downs and 19 yards the rest of the night. "Every game we have a new (defensive) formation," Zywiec said. "We knew what they were going to do. We figured them out and they stopped driving. It was a great game plan." Highland's defense also recorded a safety when Noonan tackled Barnett in the end zone following a dropped snap. That made it 23-0 with 10:34 to play in the third period, and the running clock began with 7:55 to go in the quarter or there might have been six to eight more penalties called. "We always take away the run first," Noonan said. "They can't block us." Offensively, the Hornets rode the legs of tailback Casey Myser and tremendous play by the offensive line, with some very timely passing mixed in. Myser went 71 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game en route to 120 yards and four TDs on 14 carries. He added a catch for 40 yards as quarterback Dylan Borla went 3-for-3 for 121 yards, with his biggest completion a 72-yarder to Evan Foust (2 catches, 81 yards; 4 rushes, 47 yards). "It was great blocking," the 6-2, 205-pound Myser said of his long TD. "I just followed Evan Foust, read his block and didn't even get touched." Speedy Dylan Lazar (4 carries, 45 yards) accounted for Highland's fifth TD on an 11-yard run on a night when the Hornets totally dominated play. The hosts outgained Brunswick 377-42 but often scored so quickly they finished with just an 11-9 edge in first downs, with the Blue Devils actually running four more plays on the night (40-36). "They're always great," Myser said of his offensive linemen. "They work so hard every day. They're just a bunch of dogs." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Highland 37, Brunswick 0 BRUNSWICK 0 0 0 0 — 0 HIGHLAND 14 7 9 7 — 37 First H — Casey Myser 71 run (Jonah Kowza kick), 11:16. H — Myser 1 run (Kowza kick), 1:34. Second H — Myser 5 run (Kowza kick), 0:20. Third H — Safety, Sean Barnett tackled in end zone, 10:34. H — Myser 13 run (Kowza kick), 7:55. Fourth H — Dylan Lazar 11 run (Kowza kick), 11:54. B H First downs &emsp;&emsp;9 11 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;23/-36 33/256 Rushing average -1.6 7.8 Passing &emsp;&emsp;11/17 3/3 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;78 121 Total offense 40/42 36/377 Punting &emsp;&emsp;5/34.2 1/44.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;10/85 10/100 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;8/0 2/0 Individual statistics RUSHING: Brunswick — Eli Nichols 9-31, Ajay Rebraca 1-1, Collin Kavulic 1-0, Team 2-(-4), Jake Tamosuinas 2-(-27), Barnett 8-(-37). Highland — Myser 14-120, Evan Foust 4-47, Lazar 4-45, Colton Winston 3-22, Dylan Borla 4-15, Lucas Gerding 1-7, Alex Wojtylak 1-2, Team 2-(-2). PASSING: Brunswick — Barnett 11-16-78-0, Cooper Neel 0-0-0-0. Highland — Borla 3-3-121-0. RECEIVING: Brunswick — Kavulic 4-28, Nichols 2-22, Brandon Gross 1-9, Neel 1-7, Hayden Swarm 2-6, Aiden Konopinski 1-6. Highland — Foust 2-81, Myser 1-40.