High school football: Highland hammers Revere to claim second straight SL American title

BATH TWP. — It was billed by some as a Suburban League American Conference football showdown. It wasn't. Highland scored two touchdowns before it ran a play from scrimmage and had six by halftime Friday in a 49-7 demolition of Revere that featured a running clock for the entire second half. The Hornets (9-0, 6-0) clinched their second straight SL American crown by downing the Minutemen (6-2, 4-2), who trailed 28-0 after one quarter, 42-0 at intermission and 49-0 after three. In doing so, Highland recorded its first defensive touchdown and first special teams touchdown of the season, with both coming in a span of five seconds of game time. After Revere went three-and-out on the first possession of the game, Lucas Gerding fielded a punt near the left sideline, headed right, picked up a wall of blockers and raced down the opposite sideline for a 60-yard TD. "This game was supposed to be closer, so I was a little more nervous than usual," Gerding said. "To start the game out like that helped. It got all the nerves out." Following the first of five touchbacks by kicker Jonah Kowza — punter Landon Kuzma kicked off twice and added two more — the Minutemen had a mistimed shotgun snap roll 18 yards behind the line of scrimmage, where Highland defensive end Dan Miller scooped it up and went 2 yards into the end zone. "I did my job, then I saw the ball on the ground," Miller said. "As a defensive player, you're taught to get the ball. It's every defensive player's dream to get a scoop and score, and I got one." By halftime, Highland had run 22 plays for 220 yards while holding Revere to 34 yards from scrimmage, including minus-10 on the ground. Coach Mike Gibbons' team got a number of stellar defensive performances. In addition to Miller, lineman Lukas Grillis had three tackles for loss, linebacker Kallen Whitling had a TFL and interception, defensive back Liam Zielinski had a pick and linebacker Jameson Gordon had a TFL. At the end of the first period, Highland had 99 yards and six first downs on 12 plays, while the Minutemen had minus-14 on 11. "We were very solid on defense," Miller said. "We knew we had to stop their run game. Without them being able to run, their offense shut down." For the game, the Hornets ran just 34 plays but had 298 yards, while Revere finished with 115 yards on 43 plays, most of that coming when Highland removed its starters after going up 49-0 with 3:42 to play in the third quarter. "We've been preparing all week," Whitling said. "We practiced for everything their offense does. "It was a great feeling," he added of being up 14-0 before the offense took the field. "We've been stressing defensive scores all year because it makes it easier on the offense. We finally got one." The offense was just as good, though the statistics weren't gaudy because it twice didn't have to take the field and backups played the final quarter. Tailback Casey Myser ran 12 times for 101 yards and a pair of 2-yard TDs, giving him 74 rushing touchdowns for his illustrious career. Myser entered the night tied with Black River graduate Andrew Vaughn (72) for the most career rushing TDs in Medina County history and also upped his county record for total career touchdowns to 85. "They mean a lot," he said of the records. "To know my name is in the record book with all the greats is very honoring. "If I get to carry it 30 times (in future games), I'll be happy, but Grady (Gibb) is a great quarterback. He's lighting it up." Gibb completed 7-of-10 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns and ran three times for 46 yards. Both scores were identical 14-yard throws to Evan Foust (3 catches, 40 yards) on which the offense flowed right before Gibb threw back left to a wide-open Foust. Dylan Lazar (4 carries, 33 yards) added a 2-yard TD run, Gerding had two catches for 29 yards and two rushes for 16 and Nick Dobokowski hauled in two passes for 33 yards. It added up to another SL American Conference title for the Hornets, who will begin play in the SL National next season. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Highland 49, Revere 7 HIGHLAND 28 14 7 0 — 49 REVERE 0 0 0 7 — 7 First H — Lucas Gerding 60 punt return (Jonah Kowza kick), 9:38. H — Dan Miller 2 fumble return (Kowza kick), 9:33. H — Evan Foust 14 pass from Grady Gibb (Kowza kick), 6:15. H — Dylan Lazar 2 run (Kowza kick), 0:40. Second H — Casey Myser 2 run (Kowza kick), 5:15. H — Myser 2 run (Landon Kuzma kick), 2:50. Third H — Foust 14 pass from Gibb (Kuzma kick), 3:42. Fourth R — Brady Hajdu 1 run (David Kennedy kick), 8:27. H R First downs &emsp;&emsp;13 10 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;24/196 31/47 Rushing average 8.2 1.5 Passing &emsp;&emsp;7/10 6/13 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;102 68 Total offense 34/298 44/115 Punting &emsp;&emsp;1/29.0 3/35.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;4/41 3/2 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;1/0 1/1 Individual statistics RUSHING: Highland — Myser 12-101, Gibb 3-46, Lazar 4-33, Gerding 2-16, Joseph Oriti 1-5, Levi Clark 1-1, Frankie Iannaggi 1-(-6). Revere — Harrison Drvenkar 12-27, B. Hajdu 6-24, Chase Clifford 6-10, Sam Childs 1-3, James Perry 5-1, Team 1-(-18). PASSING: Highland — Gibb 7-10-102-0. Revere — Clifford 5-12-59-2, Carter Hajdu 1-1-9-0. RECEIVING: Highland — Foust 3-40, Nick Dobkowski 2-33, Gerding 2-29. Revere — Drvenkar 2-30, T.J. Meech 2-19, Uriah Pulliam 1-15, Nicholas Hall 1-4.