Highland dismantles East Knox in crucial late-season matchup

MARENGO – On paper, Friday night should’ve been a battle.

East Knox and Highland had identical overall records (7-1) coming into Week 9. They averaged nearly the same amount of points per game and points allowed. They sat just one game apart atop the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference leaderboard with two weeks left. Conference title and playoff aspirations were on the line.

But what played out on Friday was anything but a dogfight.

Highland steamrolled East Knox, 50-7, behind a 401-yard, first-half explosion. The Scots (8-1, 6-0 KMAC) will play Northmor (9-0, 6-0 KMAC) next week for the KMAC title. They rose from 10th to seventh in Joe Eitel’s unofficial Division IV Region 14 ratings with the win, returning to the playoff picture with one week remaining.

East Knox (7-2, 4-2 KMAC), meanwhile, was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, according to Joe Eitel’s unofficial Division VI Region 23 ratings. The Bulldogs were 11th in the region heading into Week 9 and likely needed to win their last two games to make the postseason.

Highland’s quick start Friday was driven by senior running back Brock Veley and his monstrous offensive line. Veley scored four touchdowns in the first half – of 10, 65, 62 and 38 yards – and tallied 215 yards on eight carries.

Highland took a 36-0 lead into the locker room. Veley had no carries in the second half.

“The guys just came ready to play tonight. We played really physical on both sides of the ball,” Highland head coach Chad Carpenter said after the game. “The guys up front did an amazing job, backs ran extremely hard. It just seemed like we were clicking on all cylinders.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Highland’s air-tight man coverage stifled the East Knox passing attack. Bulldog quarterback Kadden Lester, who had thrown for over 2,000 yards this season coming into Friday night’s contest, completed 8 of his 21 passes for 66 yards. He also threw an interception, just his fourth of the season.

The Bulldogs’ leading receiver this year, Caleb Gallwitz, had 2 receptions for 3 yards. East Knox recorded 165 yards of total offense on a cold, rain-swept night across the county line.

Senior tailback Kasson Krownapple led the way with 55 yards on 14 carries. He scored the team’s lone touchdown with 43 seconds left in the third quarter, a 5-yard scamper off the left tackle.

“They did a good job in their man coverage. We knew it was going to present us with situations that would make it tough, but we didn’t execute the way we needed to,” East Knox head coach Cody Reese said. “They had a good defensive plan. We just needed to make sure that we execute at a higher level and we didn’t do that. Hats off to them, but we needed to be better.”

In reality, the game was never close. On the first play from scrimmage, Highland delivered a startling wake-up punch, as junior tailback Jack Weaver sprinted 61 yards to the East Knox 7-yard line. On the next play, fullback Tate Tobin bulldozed into the end zone.

The East Knox sideline fell silent while the jam-packed home stands roared, and the rout was on.

After a Bulldog punt, Highland’s next two runs – a Veley sweep and a 42-yard burst from Brody Matthews – took the Scots deep into Bulldog territory. Three plays later, Veley began his scoring spree with a 10-yard jet sweep in which he beat all Bulldogs to the pylon.

Within its first seven plays from scrimmage, Highland scored two touchdowns.

“With their four backs – they have four good running backs – we knew that at any time, they could take it to the house,” Reese said. “And unfortunately, they did that more than we had hoped would occur, and we weren’t able to avoid that.”

The rest of the first half was all Veley, while East Knox struggled to answer offensively.

The Bulldogs suffered two three-and-outs and an interception before advancing the ball to the Highland 18-yard line to begin the second quarter. But on fourth-and-three, Krownapple was tackled in the backfield by Highland defensive lineman Cam Cutrone, giving the ball back to the Scots.

Highland proceeded to score again two plays later on a 65-yard touchdown carry by Veley, which included several pancake blocks from the Scots’ offensive line, putting the home team up 28-0 after a two-point conversion.

Veley scored again on fourth-and-seven from the East Knox 38-yard line, on what appeared to be a nearly identical play. He received a handoff from quarterback Ian Taylor and followed his blockers off the left side of the line. By the time he reached the secondary, no Bulldog had touched him – and none could catch him.

“Chase Carpenter, my left guard, he pulls. So I just followed right behind him. And then the whole line and everybody just sealed the edge for me so I was able to just cut off of them,” said Veley, the 5-foot-8, 155-pound speedster.

“It all starts up front. I mean, I don’t get the yards without the O-line. I follow right behind them and just make the most of it, give it my all.”

The clock ran the entire second half, as Highland took a 43-0 lead before Krownapple scored from five yards out. The Scots’ second-stringers played most of the second half, with the final score coming on a 6-yard end zone dive from freshman tailback Jon Jensen midway through the fourth quarter.

Highland finished with 468 yards of total offense, including 454 rushing yards. After Veley, Matthews finished with 117 yards, while Weaver tallied 107 yards and a score. Tobin rounded out Highland’s four-pronged rushing attack with 15 yards on four carries.

Reese said his team simply couldn’t match Highland’s physicality, which played a huge role in the end result.

“It was huge. We didn’t match it all night long. That’s why the score ended up being 50-7,” Reese said. “They took it to us, we got our butts kicked.”

Carpenter lauded his team’s focus heading into Friday night’s matchup, which he said was player-driven.

“Our kids just played really hard tonight, I was just really proud of them. I mean, I liked their whole approach all week,” Carpenter said. “It just seemed like it was just different this week and it wasn’t something that we had to get them up for. They just understood the magnitude of the game and they rose to the challenge.”

Highland continued its streak of first-half dominance, as eye-opening halftime leads are nothing new for the Scots this season. Over the last four weeks, they have led by a combined score of 165-0 at halftime (including Friday night’s game). They haven’t surrendered a first-half point since Week 5, when Centerburg scored its lone touchdown in a 36-6 rout.

On Friday, in Highland’s biggest game of the season to-date, that trend only amplified.

“The coaches just challenge us to come out fast and physical from the start. Just put the throttle down because when you hit them, they don’t have time to think,” Veley said. “But East Knox is a good team, so we knew we had to come out and play to the best of our abilities, and it all played out for us.”

East Knox will have to regroup quickly before facing rival Danville next week. The Blue Devils won their fourth straight game on Friday after beginning the season 0-5. According to Joe Eitel’s unofficial Division VII Region 27 ratings, they are 11th in the region after Week 9, although a win over East Knox could propel Danville into the playoff mix.

“All we can do is bounce back, learn from our mistakes and get ready for another week,” Reese said. “We still have a lot to play for and we obviously have a rivalry game next week, so we need to get ready for that.”

Danville is coming off of shutout wins over Centerburg (42-0) and Mount Gilead (48-0) in the last two weeks, respectively. The Blue Devils have scored 40 points per game during their four-game winning streak and have been aided in regional ratings by their early-season strength of schedule, as their first five opponents had a combined record of 35-5 heading into Week 9.

Meanwhile, Highland will turn around to host another KMAC juggernaut next Friday in Northmor. The winner of that game will be this year’s KMAC champion.

Last year, Highland had the league won outright before it lost to Northmor in Week 10, 34-12. The Scots had to share the conference title with Danville because of the loss, which Carpenter said is still fresh in the minds of his players.

“I think the guys understand the magnitude. Northmor knocked us off last year, nobody’s forgotten that. It’s just one of those things that, I don’t think we’re going to have to remind our kids of the magnitude of this game coming up,” Carpenter said.

“You know, it’s big. This is for the conference championship and possibly the opportunity to play in Week 11. So we’ve got a lot on the line and again, I think our kids will be ready to play.”

AROUND THE KMAC