High school football: After two ACL tears, Highland quarterback Dylan Borla appreciates every moment on the field

Highland senior quarterback Dylan Borla let out a huge sigh of relief when September 2024 passed without incident. In two of the previous four years, the month was not kind to Borla, who will be behind center Friday at 7 p.m. at Bellevue High when the second-seeded Hornets (12-0) take on third-seeded Anthony Wayne (12-0) in a Division II, Region 6 semifinal playoff game. In an eighth-grade game against Stow in the third week of the season, Borla pulled back the ball on a read option, headed outside, saw an outside linebacker in his path and planted his left foot as he prepared to make a spin move that never happened. He underwent surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Sept. 21, 2020. Last year as a junior, the 6-foot, 185-pounder entered a varsity game against North Royalton in Week 2 with a handful of other junior varsity players. Again running outside, he went to lower his shoulder against an oncoming safety, was tackled with his left leg planted and again underwent surgery on his left ACL, this time on Sept. 24, 2023. "I try not to think about it," said Borla, who still wears a brace, "but playing against North Royalton this year, getting past that game made me really happy." Though he doesn't run the ball as much as he used to, in large part because the Hornets have been so dominant, Borla has provided exactly what his team has needed. He is 85-for-118 passing (.720) for 1,884 yards, 25 touchdowns and just two interceptions while rushing 53 times for 243 yards and three TDs. His biggest value to the Hornets, however, is his brain, as his 4.5 grade-point average nearly matches his 4.6-yard rushing average. "It starts with how smart he is, his ability to process information and make the right decision to put us in position to be successful," Highland coach Mike Gibbons said. "He thinks everything through. We talk about football every single day. He's a very likable kid who puts his teammates before himself." Borla isn't out to produce gaudy stats. He's out to win. That he's done exactly that after going through a combined 20 months of rehab following two ACL surgeries is impressive even to his teammates. "He's been great," offensive tackle/defensive end Carson Noonan said. "He's a great leader on the field and in the locker room and school. He's here for for us and we're here for him. "The biggest thing is he's very smart. He reads the game, and that helps us every week" Before Borla could read the field, he had to get back on it. When he got hurt in the first quarter as an eighth-grader, he did not know the significance of his injury, so he attempted to play at the start of the second half. "I did cuts on the sideline and thought, 'OK, I think I can do this. It can't be that bad,'" he said. "I carried the ball one more time and when I got tackled, it felt worse." After nine months of rehab, Borla went to Highland's summer camp, but scar tissue caused him to hear popping noises when he cut. He also experienced cramping and swelling in the knee, estimating it took 10½ months for him to fully recover. "Freshman year it was in the back of my head a little bit, but I was mostly full go," he said. "I was still scared to fully plant off that leg, but for the most part I was OK." After an injury-free sophomore season, the knee was out of Borla's mind. Then it happened again early in his junior year. "I still remember that," Noonan said. "It hurt me to see that happen. We all felt terrible for him, but we knew he was going to work harder than ever. That's exactly what happened, and we're having a great season because of it." Borla, who is planning on majoring in aerospace engineering at a college like Ohio State, Purdue or Kentucky, also had his meniscus cleaned up during his second ACL surgery. "This rehab was more intense and harder, but I had the mindset of coming back and playing this year," he said. "I was there (in rehab) a week after my surgery." Borla went to physical therapy twice a week, for two hours or more each time, for eight months. He also did more work on his own, and now it's paying off not just for him, but the Hornets. "He's a tremendous worker and leader," Gibbons said. "He's a great teammate to everybody. He's exactly what you would want in your quarterback. "He'll tell me, 'We're able to run the ball, so let's keep doing what we're doing.' He understands the big picture. You want to win the game, and he puts us in position to win every game. He takes what the defense gives him and doesn't throw interceptions. He's a very heady football player." In Highland's season opener, Borla completed 13-of-16 passes for 141 yards and a TD. He also rushed 12 times for 72 yards and a score as the Hornets beat Hudson 31-24 in their toughest game of the year. In the final week of the regular season, Borla went 3-for-3 for 97 yards and a TD as Highland throttled Aurora 34-0 in a battle of 9-0, 6-0 teams that determined the Suburban League American Conference champion. "Some games I'll be 13-for-16 and other games I'll be 3-for-3," he said. "It just depends on how the game goes. If we win, I'm happy. "This is the best team we've had in a while, and I'm not saying that because I'm the starting quarterback. We had a running clock for 10 straight games (until St. Francis de Sales stayed within 29 points in a 49-20 quarterfinal loss last week)." Anthony Wayne will represent Highland's toughest test to date, but with dominant lines on both sides of the ball and junior tailback Casey Myser having a historic season with 1,940 yards rushing, 452 yards receiving and 41 total TDs, Borla likes his team's chances. He will always like his team's chances. "We're not afraid of anyone," Borla said. "We'll play anyone who comes up on our schedule. "Before the season, coming back, I just wanted to play a full season and be healthy. Playing these last few games, I don't take it for granted. I think about it every day that this could be my last Monday practice, that this could be our last week of practice or our last game. All of us have it in the back of our heads, but we're not ready for it to end." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.