The Collins Titans shocked the six-time state champion Highlands Bluebirds, 37-34 on Saturday at Western Kentucky University. Collins (13-2) snapped the longest playoff winning streak in state history at 34 in a row with a touchdown with seven seconds left.
G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands wide receiver Alex Veneman makes a move on a screen pass while Beau Hoge knocks Lexington Catholic's Davis Rowady (19) out of the way. The Bluebirds battle Collins for the Class 4A state title on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Western Kentucky University.
By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
The new motto came about Nov. 30 last year.
The Highlands Bluebirds football team completed the “Race for Seis (Six)” with a state record sixth consecutive state championship, 47-0 over the Collins Titans at Western Kentucky University that night. It was not long after the returning players started talking about adding onto that record with a “Stairway to Seven” theme.
BOWLING
GREEN – Every championship comes with its own unique flavor, especially in
Caketown.
This
football state championship comes with a recipe for a state-record six
consecutive titles and 30 consecutive playoff wins. Class 4A’s top-ranked Highlands
Bluebirds (14-1) grabbed that record all to their lonesome Friday with a 47-0
thrashing of the Collins Titans (11-4) at Western Kentucky University’s
Houchens/L.T. Smith Stadium.
Boyle
County set the mark with five consecutive titles between 1999 and 2003. Highlands
snapped Boyle County's 29-game playoff winning streak with a 22-6 win against the Rebels
in the 2004 Class 3A title game.
The
Bluebirds recorded their second shutout of the year dominating both sides of
the ball. They outgained the Titans, 476-173 in total offense. Highlands also
garnered 22 first downs to 17 for Collins.
The Titans
averaged about 40 points per game and knocked off the previously undefeated,
third-ranked Warren East Raiders, 58-7 in the state semifinals last week.
“We didn’t think (a shutout) was going to happen,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “We knew we had to play great to give
ourselves a chance to win. They have a lot of explosion on offense. We just
tried to make them drive the field with no big plays. That’s what we did.”
Collins
made its first appearance in the state championship despite forming from Shelby
County in 2010. The Titans lost to Louisville Western in the 2010 Region 2
title game before falling to Franklin-Simpson in the semifinals last year.
Highlands
once again ran the ball well behind another strong performance from the
offensive line that did not allow a quarterback sack. The Bluebirds garnered
323 yards on 41 carries and five touchdowns for an average of 7.9 a carry.
Highlands
nearly saw three players go for more than 100 yards on the ground. Colin “Frog”
Seidl led the way with 115 yards on six carries for an average of 19.2 a touch.
Quarterback Donovan McCoy followed with 15 carries for 105 yards and two
touchdowns for an average of seven a carry and Zach Harris had 14 carries for
96 yards and two touchdowns averaging 6.9 a carry.
“I couldn’t have rushed for more than 200 yards last
week against Lexington Catholic without (the offensive linemen),” McCoy said. “We
couldn’t have beat CovCath twice without them. They’re the spark of this
offense. Without them, we don’t run like we do or pass like we do.”
Highlands
added some passing to keep the Collins defense guessing. McCoy completed 10-of-15
passes for 153 yards, two touchdowns to four different receivers and two
interceptions. Luke Turner once again led the Bluebirds with four catches for
48 yards and a touchdown and Ryan Greene added three catches for 34 yards and a
touchdown.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of great, talented
athletes,” said Jason Lynch,
Highlands offensive line coach. “They
make it easy to do a lot of different things. We have some tight end formations
and four-wide formations. We throw a lot on the table to make teams prepare. It’s
a testament to the kids and the hard work they do. They put a lot of time into
it in the offseason studying film and it showed (Friday).”
On the
other side, Highlands put constant pressure on Collins quarterback Lawson Page.
Page completed just 12-of-26 passes for 106 yards. Teammate DeAndre Farris led
the Titans with 60 yards rushing on 10 carries and eight catches for 65 yards.
The
Bluebirds sacked Page seven times totaling 81 yards in losses. Defensive
lineman Seth Hope had a team-high 10 tackles and five sacks. Teammates Trevor
Kraft and Gabe Schultz had the other two sacks.
“The main thing we were trying to do was make sure he
didn’t get outside and beat us with the run,” Hope said. “We knew he wouldn’t
be able to scramble on us. All the plays we made and pressure we had were good
bonuses.”
Also on
defense for Highlands, Joey Cochran and Quentin Murry also had tackles for a
loss with Thomas Wrobleski, Connor Poston and Jackson Bardo broke up passes
with Schultz forcing Page to make one hurried pass.
Highlands
also converted better on third and fourth-down and in the Red Zone. The
Bluebirds completed their lone fourth-down attempt, all five opportunities in
the Red Zone and 6-of-9 for 67 percent on third down.
The Titans
managed just 3-for-13 on third for 23 percent and 1-of-6 on fourth down for
about 17 percent. They also did not score on either trip to the Red Zone.
Collins punted four times for an average of 33.2 yards and Highlands punted
just once for 19 yards.
The
Bluebirds won the opening kickoff and marched 57 yards on eight plays for the
only touchdown they needed to win the game. McCoy found Greene for a 14-yard
touchdown just 2:20 into the game. McCoy completed a 13-yard pass to Turner on 4th-and-9
from the Titan 33 during that drive.
On the
ensuing drive, Collins marched into Highlands territory. But Poston stuffed
Collins’ Masai Whyte for no gain on 4th-and-1 from the 41.
Two
possessions later, Highlands took a 13-0 lead. McCoy found Turner for a 21-yard
touchdown pass with 2:53 left in the quarter.
The
Bluebirds pulled away with three touchdowns on five possessions in the second
quarter to go up 33-0 at halftime. Harris stated the onslaught with an 8-yard
touchdown just three seconds into the quarter.
On its next
possession, Highlands started at its 43 and scored on five plays. Seidl broke
down the left sideline and scored from 30 yards out.
The final
touchdown of the half came with 2:03 remaining. Harris ran in from three yards
out.
The
Bluebirds added one touchdown in each of the final two quarters. McCoy scored
from seven yards out with 3:56 left in the third and added a 12-yarder with
11:01 left in the fourth.
This year’s
senior class becomes the third one to win state championships in all four years
of high school. The Bluebirds have played 90 games in the past six years. That
is more than any team in the state during that run. Louisville Trinity has
played in 89 during that same span.
Photo by G. Michael Graham/Fort Thomas Matters. The 2012 Highlands Bluebirds football team will be looking to add to the legacy on Friday against the Collins Titans. Game time is 8 p.m. EST at Western Kentucky University's Houchens/L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.
By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
It was not
until recently that the Highlands Bluebirds football team heard about the
Collins Titans.
That’s
because the Titans (11-3) broke off from Shelby County in 2010. Collins is the
last team standing in the way of history for Highlands. Class 4A’s top-ranked
Bluebirds (13-1) will take the field in search of a Kentucky record sixth
consecutive state championship Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at
Western Kentucky University’s Houchens/L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.
A win would
give Highlands its 22nd state championship overall. The Bluebirds enter the
game with an overall record of 841-225-26 since starting their program in 1915.
That win total is good for second in the country behind just Valdosta (Ga.)
with 876 victories since 1913.
Collins is
33-8 in its brief three-year history with three district championships. The
Titans have advanced one round deeper into the playoffs each year having faced
Louisville Western in three consecutive Region 2 championships. The Titans lost
to the Warriors in 2010 by a 31-26 count before edging Western, 13-12 last year
and 36-20 this year. Head Coach Jerry Lucas has led the building process for
the Titans.
“(Lucas) is doing a great job,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands co-head coach. “Those are guys that were playing football
at their previous schools. Those are some experienced football players who are
serious about it. You can see that.”
Collins
lost to 2011 runner-up Franklin-Simpson, 20-15 in the state semifinals last
year. But the Titans came back to beat undefeated and third-ranked Warren East,
58-7 in the semifinals Friday.
“It was a neat experience for myself, our coaching
staff and our kids to start a program and build it from the ground up,” Lucas said. “We
have a beautiful school, great facilities and terrific kids. Shelbyville is a
great town to live and raise a family. Our kids believe in our school and our
program and it’s been fun being part of building the tradition at Collin High
School.”
Aside from
history, depth could factor into this contest. The Bluebirds dress more than 90
players and have no one playing on both offense and defense while the Titans
dress about 50 and have several players going both directions. Highlands tends
to wear down teams that have players going both ways.
“We are certainly honored to not only be making our
first state appearance but excited to be playing a team with the history of
excellence such as Highlands,” Lucas
said. “We understand what we are up
against playing a team like that has great players on both sides of the ball
and knowing that they only play their kids on one side. At this point in the
season, we just have to go out and play and let it all hang out.”
Highlands
also played the tougher schedule having to go through ranked Ashland Blazer,
Covington Catholic and Lexington Catholic to get to this point. The only ranked
team Collins faced on its way to the state championship was Warren East. The
first five Highlands opponents made it to the third round of the playoffs. One
made it to the 6A state semifinals in Scott County, where it fell 21-14 to
Louisville Trinity in the last minute.
Collins
finished 2-2 6A competition in the regular season beating 7-5 Meade County
(21-14) and 5-7 Oldham County (28-14) and losing to 11-3 6A semifinalist
Louisville Eastern (41-29) and 6-5 Lexington Bryan Station (55-52). Aside from
Louisville Western, the other common opponent is Boyle County. The Rebels beat
the Titans, 49-26 in Danville eight days after Highlands rallied past Boyle
County, 52-31 on Aug. 17 to open the season.
“It’s just great experience for guys playing in big
games,” Mueller said. “That’s why we schedule the teams we do. It
helps us get focused for this game.”
Junior
quarterback Lawson Page completed 14-of-18 passes for 260 yards and two
touchdowns against Warren East. Like Highlands senior quarterback Donovan
McCoy, Page wears number one and is a dual-threat out of Collins’ spread
offense that mixes in some Power-I formations. Page has completed 185-of-346
passes for 2,825 yards, 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Page has also run
the ball 155 times for 730 yards and five touchdowns for an average of 4.7 a
carry.
“We’re going to try to keep (Page) inside the pocket
and in front of us like we try to do with Donovan in practice,” said Nathan Merkle, Highlands junior defensive
lineman. “If he gets outside the pocket,
he can just run all over the field then he can throw it downfield to a wide
receiver or take it to the house.”
Junior
running back Deandre Farris is a threat to catch and run the ball. He leads the
Titans with 128 rushes for 937 yards and 17 touchdowns for an average of 7.32
per carry. Farris also has 60 catches for 974 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior
wide receiver Nathan Sames leads Collins with 62 catches for 994 yards and 16
touchdowns.
Collins has
outscored the opposition, 562-349 for an average of about 40.1-25 a contest.
Highlands has outscored its 14 opponents, 734-272 for an average of about
52.4-19.4. Collins has rushed for 2,681 yards and passed for 2,825.
The
Bluebirds play a 3-4 scheme defensively. They’ve allowed 2,584 yards rushing
and 1,272 passing. Senior Quentin Murray leads Highlands with five
interceptions and brother Brady Murray, a sophomore linebacker, leads the way
with two fumble recoveries. Reid Schroeder leads Highlands with eight tackles
for a loss. Thomas Wrobleski leads the Bluebirds with 7.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles
for a loss. Seth Hope follows with 6.5 sacks.
The
Highlands offense has rushed for 3,696 yards and passed for 3,252 more. The
Bluebirds have also scored 104 touchdowns this year. McCoy leads the way with
1,039 yards rushing on 148 carries and 20 touchdowns for an average of about
seven a carry. McCoy has also completed 159-of-252 passes for 2,616 yards, 30
touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Five
Bluebirds have rushed for at least 430 yards. Junior Zach Harris follows McCoy
with 130 carries for 905 yards and 18 touchdowns for an average of about seven
a carry.
Highlands
has 12 wide receivers with at least nine catches. Senior Luke Turner leads the
way with 38 receptions for 795 yards and seven touchdowns. Junior Luke Brockett
has 21 catches for 358 yards and four touchdowns. The Bluebirds catch the ball
all over the field making life tough for defenses.
“We can beat (opponents) either way,” said Ryan Greene, Highlands junior wide receiver. “If they’re playing up, we can hit them
deep. If they’re playing deep, we’ll hit them short. We have a bunch of guys
who think about the team more than themselves. I think that’s why we win a lot
of games.”
The
Bluebirds have won the state championship in 10-of-12 appearances in the title
game since Mueller came on staff in 1994. The only years they finished
runner-up were 1995 losing 28-12 to Bowling Green and 2003 falling 44-10 to
Boyle County.
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