Highland gets first NCC win

WHEATFIELD — Highland took a big step Friday night in defeating Kankakee Valley 30-13. It was Highland’s first-ever win in NCC play.

“We got the monkey off our back,” said Highland coach Ken Bye. “I can’t be happier.”

Led by senior running back Justin Thiele and classmate Michael Anderson, the Trojans raced out to a 24-0 lead.

Thiele opened up things with a 33-yard run with 9:44 left in the first quarter. Anderson also scored in the first quarter on a 37-yard field goal, and when the Trojans needed a big play to keep drives alive, Anderson was there for a big reception at wide receiver, getting gains of 65 and 20 yards.

“Anderson is a nice receiver,” Bye said. “We were able to get him the ball several times when we needed some yardage.”

Thiele also took care of things defensively, with a 50-yard pick and touchdown return.

Thiele, who finished with 153 yards rushing, added a third touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

“It was good blocking from my linemen,” Thiele said of his big game. “Most of those yards came from them. They work hard and I feel comfortable running behind them.”

Bye was more than pleased with his team’s strong start offensively.

“Thiele carried the ball extremely well, and the line opened up some big holes,” Bye said.

Twice the Kougars made it to the red zone in the second half. Once they took a 5-yard penalty after reaching fourth and inches, only to come up short at the goal line on a completed pass, then were stopped again when the ball was intercepted at the goal line.

“We didn’t come out to play the first half,” said Kougars coach Brad Stewart. “We had a change of attitude in the second half. But we dug too big of a hole. We’ve got to play with a little more heart. We couldn’t complete on that big play in the red zone.”

Tyler Birky, who ran for 90 yards for the Kougars, was not only clutch in the Kougar drives in that second half comeback, he also scored twice, on a 31-yard run and a two-yard run in the third quarter to cut the Trojan lead to 24-13 with three minutes to play in the third quarter.

“Kankakee Valley hung in there, and didn’t give up, but then so did we, when they came back,” said Bye.

Kougar defensive end Matt Myers, a sophomore, had his work cut out, but played well, and caught one pass on offense.

“We came up big sometimes, but they came up big other times,” said Myers.

Stat-wise, the Kougars actually were competitive with Highland, which is now 3-5, while KV is 2-6. The Trojans had 292 yards overall, while KV came in at 262.

The Trojans were just more efficient in moving the ball when they had to, and lke Bye said, minimized their mistakes.

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