Highlands travels to Trinity for annual scrimmage; NC faces Holmes

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It may be just a scrimmage.

But the Highlands Bluebirds will be taking the trip to Louisville Trinity seriously. After all, it will feature the two teams tied for the Kentucky state record of 22 state championships each for the fourth consecutive season.

Highlands is looking for its first win in the series. The Shamrocks won the previous three scrimmages, including a 63-31 verdict last year in Fort Thomas. Trinity led 51-0 at halftime. The closest Highlands came to beating Trinity was 2010 when the Shamrocks edged the Bluebirds, 49-42 in Fort Thomas. That may have some people concerned that some of the Highlands players may go down there intimidated.

“We can’t be nervous. We can’t go in there scared,” said Seth Hope, Highlands senior defensive end. “We just need to do what we do. We want to get everyone ready to play varsity football and use it to prepare for the rest of the season.”

The varsity teams played four quarters last year to simulate a game before the junior varsity and freshmen teams played on two sides of the field. The varsity teams will play for three quarters before the junior varsity and freshmen teams take over for three quarters.

“It’s a great experience playing Trinity who is one of the best teams in the country,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator. “It really helps us for the rest of the season. Although it’s just a scrimmage, our guys get fired up for it. They have a lot of good football players and we have a lot of good football players. They just have to get the feel of going out and playing a football game.”

Trinity comes into the season ranked second in the USA Today Preseason Top 25 poll despite heavy losses to graduation. But the Shamrocks tend to reload every year. They’ve won seven of the past eight large-class state championships. The last time Trinity did not win it was 2009 when arch-rival Louisville St. Xavier beat them in the 6A title game, 34-10.

The Shamrocks have played for a state championship every year since 2000 except 2004. Dixie Heights beat Trinity, 14-10 in the second round of the 4A playoffs that year.

“In any football game, you have to do your job each time and you have to get a win in your job,” Mueller said. “You also have to do your job the best you can. If you play a good team like Trinity, you have more battles. It’s harder to win all those battles. Football is such a unique game. There are 11 guys on the field and all 11 of those guys count. They’re all involved in making the play go.”

Offensively, Trinity graduated its top passer, receiver and running back in Travis Wright, James Quick and Daylyn Dawkins. Quick took his talents to nearby University of Louisville.

But the Shamrocks do return Reggie Bonnafon. He will move from wide receiver to quarterback where the Shamrocks expect him to lead as a dual-threat. Bonnafon completed 4-of-4 passing attempts for 42 yards and three touchdowns last year and caught 27 passes for 394 yards and five touchdowns.

“As a Highlands defense, we shouldn’t have any problems (with dual-threat quarterbacks) if we do what we do,” Hope said. “As long as everyone stays in his gap, gets his assignment right and does what he needs to do, our defense is built so that we shouldn’t have problems with that.”

Bonnafon will throw to seniors Cody Swabek, Drew Chandler and sophomore Robert Jones. Donald Brooks returns as the top running back with Woody Campbell and Scott Liebert leading the Shamrock offensive line.

Hope leads the Highlands defense. The Bluebirds gave up an average of about 18 points per game last year.

The Highlands offense will face a Trinity defense hit heavily by graduation. Defensive end Jason Hatcher took his talents to the University of Kentucky. But Aaron Roseberry, David Bowling, Adam King and Connor Foos expect to contribute on the defensive line with Jake Savage, Jack Harrison looking to make an impact at linebacker and William Washle and Canon Jackson looking to make noise in the defensive backfield.

“They’re more athletic and fast than most of the teams we play,” said Jaylen Hayes, Highlands senior running back. “They’re returning a few linebackers who are fast. We’re just going to go down there and play our hardest.”

Drew Houliston will take over at quarterback this year. He will be surrounded by plenty of weapons in the Bluebirds Spead offense.  

Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Louisville.

Hope verbally commits to Cornell:

Hope recently verbally committed to play college football for the Cornell Big Red of the Ivy League. That’s the alma mater of Mueller and local restaurant owner Jeff Ruby. It is located in Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell finished 4-6 overall and 2-5 in Ivy League action last year.

The Big Red just hired a new head coach in Jeff Archer. He graduated from Cornell in 2005.

“With Cornell, I was definitely thinking about my future,” Hope said. “I had a few full scholarship offers but I thought in the long-run I had a choice with what I wanted to do with my life. I thought Ivy League was the way to go. After I had the Ivy League decision made, I chose Cornell because I like the campus. It looked like a lot of cool things to do up there. It was a lot less preppy than the other Ivy League schools I saw. It will be the beginning of a new era and I’m glad to part of the new era.”

Field Updates:

Mueller said David Cecil Memorial Stadium will be ready by the season-opener against University Christian out of Jacksonville (Fla.) on Aug. 24. That game starts at 3:30 p.m.

Fans will notice a new press box and scoreboard. Crews have worked diligently throughout the summer to prepare it for the season. The Bluebirds have six home games this year.

“I can’t say enough about our administration,” Mueller said. “They have done a phenomenal job of getting everything ready. I am so pleased the way everything has gone.”

NC scrimmages Holmes:

The Thoroughbreds scrimmage the Bulldogs on Friday at Thomas More College.

Newport Central Catholic scrimmaged Cooper last year and played Holmes in the regular season last year. The schools swapped on the NewCath schedule this year.

The Bulldogs won that contest, 12-7 on Sept. 28. But the Thoroughbreds did not lose game posting nine straight wins on the way to their fifth state championship.

NewCath will be breaking in many new faces fulltime this year after 15 seniors graduated from that team. The vaunted spread offense and 4-4 defenses will return with some tweaks.

“We have a lot of (positions) to replace,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “It’s nice because they’re familiar with us and know what we want to do.”

The NewCath defense faces Holmes running back Jonathon Scruggs. He was a key piece to the Bulldogs’ Diamond formation offense last year and new Holmes head Coach Ben Nevels will probably build the offense around him.

“It will be good to face a running back the quality of Scruggs,” Wagner said. “It is a challenge and it will give a good idea of how to handle a back of his caliber.”

Game time is 7 p.m.

Highlands takes care of business in first round of playoffs

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

Junior Jaylen Hayes epitomized the way the Highlands Bluebirds football team has dominated the competition over the years.

On his first of three touchdowns, Hayes took the ball out of the Highland spread offense and ran left from the Bluebird 30-yard line. Three Boyd County Lion defenders tried to tackle him at about the Bluebird 45. But Hayes lowered his center of gravity, broke free of all three tackles and ran 70 yards for a touchdown.

Three minutes later in the second quarter, Hayes took another handoff left and stiff-armed two Lion defenders for a 35-yard score before adding a 5-yarder 37 seconds after Highlands recovered an onside kick.

Hayes finished with an amazing 110 yards on those three touchdown runs for an average of about 36.7 yards a carry. But more importantly, the runs gave Highlands a 42-7 lead with 7:51 left in the half as the Bluebirds put away another opponent in a 56-14 Class 4A first-round playoff victory Friday at David Cecil Memorial Stadium. That again let Highlands play some reserves in the second half and get some of them their first taste of the playoffs (see sidebar).

“I’m just trying as hard as I can to get into the end zone,” Hayes said. “I’ve been practicing squats (to strengthen the upper body) lately and working more on my power than my speed. That’s a big part of the winter weights we do. We started in January and continued through spring football. Even after that, we still lifted weights and continued what we call getting big.”

Top-ranked Highlands (10-1) moved to 83-3 since the start of 2007, including a 78-1 mark against Kentucky competition. The Bluebirds won their 26th consecutive playoff game and 45th in a row against Kentucky opponents at home.

“They just played great,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “They executed so well. Defensively, we executed how we wanted to. It went exactly how we hoped.”

Highlands now faces the Ashland Blazer Tomcats (9-2) in the second round Friday back in Fort Thomas. Blazer downed Covington Holmes, 41-14 Friday in Ashland.

Boyd County finished the season 5-6 for the second consecutive season and will graduate 13 seniors from the team. The Lions came into the game on a three-game winning streak following a four-game losing streak.

The Lions hired a new head coach in Ray Brooks in the offseason. They finished 2-8 two seasons ago and have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since beating McCreary Central, 34-6 in 2008.

“When you play a team like this, all you can do is focus on what you can do,” Brooks said. “You can’t get worried about Highlands is going to do this or Highlands is going to do that. I’m so proud of the kids (overall). All you can do is work hard.”

Highlands outgained Boyd County, 464-270 in total offense. That included 262-105 through the air. Donovan McCoy completed 8-of-9 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns before Drew Houliston took over midway through the second quarter. Houliston completed 8-of-13 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

After Hayes, senior Ryan Donovan added 77 yards rushing on nine carries for an average of just more than 8.5 a touch. The Bluebird offensive linemen, tight ends and wide receivers blocked well again.

“We’re glad we played well,” said Jack Telek, Highlands sophomore tight end. “We had to block (teammates) all week so we’re glad we were able to execute.”

David Christian led Highlands with three catches for 61 yards. He’d been trying to get back all season from an injury. Luke Turner, Brandon Hergott, Beau Hoge and Alex Veneman followed with two catches a piece. Turner and Hergott had 51 and 43 yards receiving respectively.

Some other stats showed how well Highlands executed offensively. The Bluebirds scored on all six trips to the red zone. They also converted on 4-of-7 third-down opportunities compared to 4-of-13 for the Lions.

Boyd County also scored touchdowns on 1-of-2 trips to the red zone. The Lions lost a fumble on the other.

The Bluebirds led 21-0 after the first quarter scoring three quick touchdowns. McCoy scored on a 17-yard touchdown before throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Greene and a 7-yarder to Nick True.

The Lions did have some hope to start the second quarter. Jacob Barnwell leaped over a Highlands defensive back and rambled 50 yards down the right side for a touchdown with 11:51 left in the second quarter.

But Hayes scored his three touchdowns and Hergott hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Houliston to give the Bluebirds a 49-7 halftime lead. Highlands’ final touchdown came with 4:05 left in the third quarter. Hoge hauled in a 21-yard touchdown on 4th-and-goal.

The Lions scored their second touchdown with 10:15 remaining in the final stanza. Reid Dearfield had a 5-yard touchdown score.

Dearfield led the Lions with 70 yards rushing on 16 carries for an average of 4.4 a touch. Boyd County ran the Double Slot Wing-T and often pitched it to him going outside or up the middle with quarterback Billy McCoy or Gaje Ayers. Ayers finished with 53 yards rushing on 12 carries for an average of 4.4 a touch.

Billy McCoy completed 6-of-11 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Barnwell had two receptions for 55 yards.

Highlands moved to 19-0 in first-round playoff games since Mueller took over as head coach. The Bluebirds are 838-225-26 since starting the program in 1915, including an 18-5-1 mark against Blazer.

Highlands continues District 7 action against Pendleton County

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It is a case of the seeds of confidence against the seeds of doubt.

The top-ranked, undefeated Highlands Bluebirds football team comes into another Class 4A, District 7 contest heavily favored against the struggling Pendleton County Wildcats (1-6 overall, 0-2 district) Friday. Highlands (6-0, 2-0) smashed the Wildcats, 79-0 in Falmouth last year and a similar score could occur this year based on the way Highlands tends to take care of business against either solid, average or struggling opponents.

The Bluebirds enter the contest fresh off a 69-10 domination of Harrison County in district action last week. Highlands used a hurry-up offense and scored on the first play of the possession three times in the first quarter in the victory. The Bluebirds led 21-3 after the first quarter and 42-10 at halftime. They hope to jump out to another big lead in this game by just being themselves.

“The whole focus this week is to play good football – to block well, to get off blocks and tackle well, to throw (the football) and catch it well, to kick and field kicks well,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “So it’s really a matter of us playing to the standards that we want to play more than the standards to beat the other team.”

Pendleton County has been outscored a combined 134-7 in its two district games against Covington Holmes (64-7) and Covington Catholic (70-0). The Colonels outgained the Wildcats, 433-63 in total offense. CovCath scored on its first seven possessions before the starters came out of the game. Opponents have outscored Pendleton County, 51-19.3 on average.

The Wildcats like to run a Spread offense with four wide receivers and a 4-3 defense. They have just 29 players on the roster listed on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association web site compared to 91 for Highlands. They are led by senior wide receiver/defensive back Jacob Kells.

Pendleton County started its program in 2002 and is on its third head coach since then in third-year Newport Central Catholic graduate Terry Brown. The Wildcats are 6-21 in Brown’s tenure. They’ve been to the playoffs three times in school history losing in the 4A first round in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Pendleton County’s only winning seasons in school history came in 2009 (7-4) and 2005 (6-4).

Highlands prepares for another big game vs. CovCath

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The date of Nov. 11, 2006 seems like ages ago.

The Highlands Bluebirds ventured to Covington Catholic and fell 25-15 in the second round of the Class AAA playoffs. The Colonels won the state championship weeks later in the final year before the Kentucky football playoffs expanded to six classes.

But since then, it has been all Blue and White. The Bluebirds have racked up seven consecutive over their arch-rivals going 77-2 since that day just more than 70 months ago. This includes two victories last year, 42-39 at CovCath in the regular season and 42-14 in Fort Thomas in the state quarterfinals en route to a fifth straight state championship. Highlands increased its all-time record to 41-17 against CovCath with those two wins.

The atmosphere at David Cecil Memorial Stadium should again be rocking Friday when the two Northern Kentucky football powers meet again. The Bluebirds enter the game with a perfect 4-0 mark and the Colonels come in at 4-1 in the Class 4A, Region 4, District 7 opener for both squads.

Covington Catholic’s lone loss came on Aug. 31, 27-11 at Cincinnati La Salle of the Greater Catholic League South Division. The Lancers used stellar defense to win the game and scored when senior defensive back Jaleel Hytchye intercepted CovCath quarterback Blake Bir and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown.

La Salle forced four Colonel turnovers in that game. Freshman running back Jeremy Larkin returned a punt 65 yards and defensive back Lemuel Weyer picked up a fumble and brought it back another 10 yards for two more Lancer touchdowns.

Playing in big games is nothing new for either squad. During the 77-2 run, Highlands also has huge wins over Greater Catholic League South powers Cincinnati Elder and Cincinnati St. Xavier. The Bluebirds opened the year with huge wins over Boyle County and Scott County. Since losing 60-37 in Fort Thomas on Aug. 24, Scott County has won three in a row over Harrison County (61-6), Madison Central (41-16) and Tates Creek (71-13) to move to 4-1 overall.

“We purposely try to play in big games to get ready for the big games,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands head coach. “So many guys on our team have been playing sports for so long. They’ve been good athletes and have played in championship games so they’re used to playing in big games.”

The best news for Highlands is the Bluebirds come in after playing their most complete game of the year in a 61-3 Homecoming domination of Mason County. Highlands increased its season averages to eight touchdowns, 56 points and 529 yards of offense per contest and also increased its average margin of victory to 32.5 points.

The Bluebirds hope to use their depth to win another big contest. Out of their spread offense, the Bluebirds have run for 1,164 yards and passed for another 952. Quarterback Donovan McCoy leads the balanced attack with 326 yards rushing on 35 carries with nine touchdowns for an average of just more than 9.3 a carry. He’s also completed 58-of-98 passes for 864 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Bluebirds fine-tuned their passing game against the Royals. McCoy completed 33-of-44 passes for 400 yards and six touchdowns. Highlands did not run the ball much until late in the game. The offensive line gave McCoy plenty of time to throw.

Fourteen different receives have catches for the Bluebirds. Luke Turner leads the way with 10 catches for 193 yards and Colin Seidl has nine for 136. Turner, Ryan Greene and Nick True have two touchdown receptions each.

“It throws (defenses) off a lot because they have to worry about the run and the pass,” said Brandon Hergott, Highlands junior wide receiver. “When we’re running up the middle, it makes teams tighten up their defense so we can throw the ball over the top. We go as hard as we can every play. That makes us so successful.”

Highlands ran the ball well against Boyle County and Scott County before reverting to a balanced attack against Louisville Western. The Bluebirds have four guys with more than 200 yards rushing. After McCoy, they are Zach Harris with 320 yards rushing on 50 carries with six touchdowns for an average of 6.4 per touch; Ryan Donovan, 217 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns for just more than 12 yards a carry; and Jaylen Hayes, 208 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns for an average of just more than 12.2 a carry.

Highlands will face a stingy Covington Catholic 3-3 stack defense. The Colonels have blanked three opponents allowing just 33 points this year for an average of 6.6 a contest. Sophomore linebacker Sam Burchell leads the Colonels with 41 tackles and senior defensive lineman Dan Hellman has 32. The Colonels have picked off four passes and recovered two fumbles.

“I’ve been real impressed with how they’ve played,” Mueller said. “Each guy is quick on the field and has been doing his job. They’re playing a great as a team. You can see football means a lot to them.”

The Bluebird 3-4 defense squares off against a prolific CovCath spread offense led by Bir. Bir is being recruited by Northwestern University, Duke Univeristy, Indiana University and Mississippi State. Bir has completed 82-of-144 passes for 1,315 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“We just have to keep our depth and keep everything in front of us,” said Griffin Urlage, Highlands sophomore defensive back. “Their receivers are very good and (Bir) is really good. (Bir) has a really good arm and he’s really accurate. We have to know who we’re covering and know our keys.”

Eleven different receivers have catches for CovCath. Junior Evan Braun leads the way with 19 catches for 328 yards with three touchdowns and senior Ethan Egbers has five catches for 305 yards and three touchdowns.

Bir is also dangerous on the ground. He ran some quarterback draws against Campbell County. He has 120 yards rushing on 25 carries for an average of 4.8 per carry.

“It’s difficult when you’re playing a quarterback who can do so many things,” Mueller said. “He throws it short and deep well. He also runs it well so you have to play great team defense.”

The Colonels thought Sam Dressman would emerge as a solid running threat in place of the graduated Gabe Gray. Dressman has just 40 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. Bir’s younger brother Luke and Bobby Beatrice have carried the load so far running the ball. Beatrice has 214 yards on 42 rushes and a touchdown averaging just more than five per attempt and Luke Bir has 208 yards on 29 carries for an average of just more than 7.1 per attempt. Beatrice and Luke Bir have one rushing touchdown a piece.

The Highlands defense has done a good job recording turnovers all season. The offense constantly turns the turnovers into points. The Bluebirds scored a combined 39 points off turnovers against Boyle County and Scott County.

Blake Schutte leads Highlands with two interceptions. Urlage had one against Mason County last week.

Game time is 7 p.m. in Fort Thomas.

Bluebirds welcome Mason County for Homecoming

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

Even though they are putting up jaw-dropping numbers, any of the coaches and players for the top-ranked football team in Class 4A would tell you they can play better.

The Highlands Bluebirds enter tonight’s Homecoming contest against Mason County at 3-0 overall fresh off their biggest win of the season, 51-23 at Louisville Western. The Bluebirds are outscoring teams 54.3-30.3. They are also outgaining opponents, 512.3-370.3 in total offense including 336.3-264.3 rushing and have a plus-five turnover ratio.

But the Bluebirds were not happy with the slow start, the defense against the running game up the middle and the special teams play against Western. Highlands hopes to clean those things up against an improving Royals team that comes in 1-3 off a 37-22 victory against Harrison County, a Class 4A, District 7 opponent of Highlands. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Royals.

The Bluebirds led just 10-0 at halftime before Western scored eight straight to pull within two at 10-8. The Bluebirds recorded an interception and scored. After that touchdown, Highlands senior center Mitch Dee. shouted, “We score every time, not just once.” The Bluebirds led 30-8 at halftime and did not put the game away until the fourth quarter.

In the win over Western, Highlands allowed 279 yards rushing on 44 attempts for 6.3 a carry. The Bluebirds also gave up 278 yards on nine kickoff returns for an average of 31 per return and had four turnovers.

Two running backs rushed for more than 100 yards for Western. Cory Durham ran for 147 yards on 18 carries for an average of just more than 8.1 a touch and Dion Sutton ran for 123 yards on 16 carries for an average of just more than 7.6 a touch.

The Bluebirds will line up their 3-4 defense against another offense capable of putting up big numbers on the ground. The Royals line up in an I-formation set and ran for 247 yards against Harrison County. Junior Rashon Nelson had 191 yards on 35 carries for an average of just under 5.5 a carry and two touchdowns to lead Mason County.

“The key is playing great team defense,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands head coach of defending Nelson. “It’s about everyone doing their job.”

While Highlands focuses on those things, Mason County knows it could be overmatched against the deeply talented Bluebirds. Highlands is 76-2 since the start of 2007 and owns a 41-game home winning streak with 23 straight wins overall.

“We are really impressed with them,” said David Buchanan, Mason County head coach. “We are going to try to be sound and get the best keys and reads we can get. They have great players and their schemes are very good as well.”

Highlands ran for 798 yards total in home wins over Boyle County and Scott County. But the Bluebirds passed for a season-high 256 yards at Western out of their spread offense. Quarterback Donovan McCoy completed 16-of-35 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns to nine different receivers. McCoy also ran for 94 yards on 11 carries.

Overall, McCoy has completed 25-of-54 passes for 456 yards and four touchdowns. Luke Turner and Colin Seidl lead the Bluebirds with seven catches each for 121 and 120 yards respectively.

McCoy, Zach Harris and Jaylen Hayes have rushed for more than 200 yards. Harris has 320 yards on 50 carries with six touchdowns for an average of 6.4 a carry and McCoy has 296 yards on 32 rushes for an average of 9.25 a run and eight touchdowns. Hayes did not have any carries against Western but still has 208 yards on 17 carries for just more than 12.2 a carry and four scores.

Mason County mixes up its coverages on defense. Western keyed on the running attack. But that did not bother Highlands.

“We plan on doing whatever the defense gives us and being good enough to take advantage of it,” Mueller said. “They are a well-coached team with 11 good defensive players.”

Mason County struggled to a 2-8 campaign last year after going 10-2 in 2010 losing to eastern Kentucky power Belfry, 27-14 in the second round of the 3A playoffs. Highlands beat Mason County, 71-8 last year in Maysville.

The Royals went 11-1 with an undefeated regular season in 2009 before losing 26-23 to Pike County Central in the second round of the 3A playoffs. Mason County is in Class 3A, District 6 with Fleming County, East Carter, West Carter, Russell and Lewis County. Buchanan has been the head coach since 1996.

“It is the same formula as always,” Buchanan said. “We try to get better on a daily basis and we try to play one play at a time the best we can. We still have a long way to go, but we really like this group.”

Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Fort Thomas.

Highlands heads to Louisville for first road game Friday



By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
The deep talent pool does not just help Class 4A's top-ranked Highlands Bluebirds football team physically.
It also helps the Bluebirds' mental approach in games they're supposed to win handily. If a player goes in thinking, "They're no good, so we can take the night off," that player will come out. But generally, Highlands has not had this issue over the years.
"Our guys work at football year-round," said Dale Mueller, Highlands head coach. "We have maybe 200 practices a year and we only have 15 games so when they get a chance to play a game, they're looking forward to that game. So we never have a problem overlooking anybody."
The 2-0 Bluebirds hit the road for the first time to take on the Louisville Western Warriors of District 4. Western is also in Class 4A with Highlands. The Warriors finished 7-6 last year losing 13-12 in the regional title game to Collins, including a 56-0 loss in Fort Thomas.
Western is 0-2 in two home games so far this year under new head coach Torrey Shinholster. The Warriors fell 20-6 to Louisville Ballard on Aug. 17 before losing 28-0 to Louisville Male.
Male happens to be the second-winningest program in Kentucky with 818 wins all-time behind Highlands' 830. Highlands and Male rank second and third in the country behind Valdosta (Ga.) with 870 wins.
The Warriors have struggled finding an offensive identity in the first two games. They've tried a number of formations like the Power-I and the Spread.
"They have some good players on (offense)," Mueller said. "When they find what they're good at, they're going to be dangerous."
Highlands will counter with its 3-4 defense. The Bluebirds have allowed 815 yards of total offense, including 514 on the ground. Scott County ran for 253 yards as a team, but most of that came in the second half with the Bluebirds up comfortably.
The Bluebirds constantly disrupted the Scott County Traditional Wing-T attack in the first half. The Cardinals had to take to the air down big and Blake Schutte and Ben Streeter picked off passes to set up Highlands scores. Schutte also recovered a Cardinal fumble. The Bluebirds have a plus-4 turnover margin and have scored 39 points off those turnovers to none off two turnovers for opponents.
"(Pressure on quarterbacks) definitely helps because the quarterback has to make a quick decision," Streeter said. "Many times, he ends up throwing it to the wrong guy so you get interceptions. If it is a run, defensive penetration helps linebackers because the running back will bounce outside or cut in (to the other defenders)."
The Highlands offense will face a Western 5-3 defense that likes to stunt a lot. Male quarterback Tyler Erny threw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns in Male's win Friday.
"They're difficult to block," Mueller said. "They're really looking to disrupt your game because they'll bring eight different guys. They put you in bad field position. They've made a lot of teams go three-and-out regularly."
The Bluebirds will bring their prolific spread offense to Western. They average eight touchdowns, 535 yards and 56 points per game.
Highlands has averaged 399 yards per contest rushing the ball. Zach Harris leads the Bluebirds with 36 carries for 234 yards with Jaylen Hayes going for 208 yards on 17 carries and quarterback Donovan McCoy running for 202 yards on 21 touches. McCoy has six touchdowns with Harris and Jayes running for four each.
Highlands' offensive line has done a good job opening up holes. The linemen constantly push defensive linemen upfield. But their job does not stop when the runner gets 20 yards or more up the field.
"We are conditioned to run down the field and follow the ball because anything can happen," said Scott Turner, Highlands offensive lineman. "Balls can pop out or helmets get on the ball and the ball goes flying. You just have to be there to get the ball."
The Bluebirds can throw the ball if necessary. McCoy also has completed 9-of-19 passes for 200 yards and a 33-yard touchdown pass to Luke Turner. Senior wide receiver Jac Collinsworth said he hopes to make his season debut after sitting out the first two games with a hamstring injury.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Louisville.