Highland trips Oakcrest, 21-20
Highland football coach Brian Leary was ready to kick, but he listened to his players. And they rewarded the second-year coach for his trust.
Highland football coach Brian Leary was ready to kick, but he listened to his players. And they rewarded the second-year coach for his trust.
Instead of kicking an extra point, after two penalties by the defense, Highland opted to go for the two-point conversion.
And when Brian Cooey scored two on a quarterback sneak, it gave Highland a 21-20 lead against Oakcrest, a margin that would hold.
Ranked No. 17 in South Jersey by the Inquirer, Highland (6-1) not only beat Oakcrest in a game that put the Tartans in excellent position to earn a South Jersey Group 4 playoff berth, they clinched the school's first winning record since going 7-2 in 1993.
For a Highland team that has played things close to the vest this was just business as usual. It's the second 21-20 win this season and the fourth victory by six points or fewer.
This whole season has been a roller coaster, but Highland has somehow continued to end up standing at the end of the ride.
"We were going to kick it again [after the second penalty], and my linemen ran over and said, 'Coach, run the ball, and we will get it,' " Leary said. "That is when we made the decision to go for it."
The Tartans trailed, 12-0, at the half on two touchdown passes by talented senior Kendall Elliott. Then Highland got the break it needed when Nick Mellace returned a fumble 45 yards for a score in the third quarter.
"I was in the right place at the right time," said Mellace, in what could be the story of Highland's season.
Don't tell Mellace that Highland looked buried after a difficult first half.
"We didn't practice all summer to give up," he said. "I love these guys, and we keep fighting."
One of the biggest fighters is Matt McBride, a 5-foot-9, 160-poud senior who gave the Tartans a 13-12 lead by scoring on a 15-yard jet sweep with 4 minutes, 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
Oakcrest (5-2 and No. 23) later took a 20-13 lead on a 46-yard touchdown run by senior Yaier Hinton (28 carries, 153 yards) and two-point conversion pass from Jailen Herad to Elijah Avant on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Highland then got to within 20-19 when McBride scored on a zig-zagging 31-yard punt return. It was his first return of the season.
"I was going to fair catch it, but I saw I had some room," McBride said.
And then came the two penalties as Cooey lined up for the point after kick. So, instead of kicking for the tie, Cooey's sneak for the two-point conversion was the difference.
"We were hurt by too many mistakes," said Oakcrest coach Eric Anderson, whose team is still in the running for a Group 3 playoff berth. "Give Highland credit. They played a great game."
Oakcrest's final chance ended on a fourth-down interception by McBride on a fourth-and-six from the Falcons 48.
Highland, which began football in 1967, has never won more than seven games. This year Highland has won several games that may have been lost in the past.
The Tartans believe anything is possible, and they are playing like a team that wants to be remembered as the best in school history.
Oakcrest 6 6 0 8 - 20
Highland 0 0 13 8 - 21
O: Naji Hart 24 pass from Kendall Elliott (kick failed)
O: Jailen Heard 15 pass from Elliott (run failed)
H: Nick Mellace 45 fumble return (Brian Cooey kick)
H: Matt McBride 15 run (pass failed)
O: Yaier Hinton 46 run (Elijah Avant pass from Heard)
H: McBride 31 punt return (Cooey run)
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