BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
FORT THOMAS - Highlands coach Dale Mueller went to a crowd of Bluebird fans near the end of Friday's Class AAA second-round game against Dixie Heights to plead with them to not harass the officials.
"We've got this game won," Mueller said.
But it wasn't easy. Senior tailback Brian Ulbricht scored three touchdowns - including two off turnovers in the fourth quarter - to give Highlands a 34-10 victory.
The Bluebirds play host Friday to the winner of today's Covington Catholic-Ryle game for the regional title.
"They've got a good team, and they came out to play," Ulbricht said of Dixie. "In a way, I think that kind of helped us a little bit. Next week we're going to be ready to play close games and play four quarters."
Highlands (12-0) fell well short of its averages of 57.3 points and 535.4 yards per game (the Bluebirds gained 341 Friday), but Mueller wasn't worried that teams are starting to catch on to his offense.
"If scoring 34 points is containing us, then I think that's a real compliment to the players that we have on this team," Mueller said.
Said quarterback Jared Lorenzen: "We're not invincible, as much as I'd like to think we are. They ran the ball; they passed the ball; they did a balance of it. They threw some weird defenses at us; they blitzed; and they stopped us."
Ulbricht scored from nine, six and 10 yards. Lorenzen was 12-of-24 passing for 150 yards and a 10-yard TD to senior tight end Derek Smith. He ran 11 times for 94 yards.
Highlands, the top team in Class AAA and No. 20 in the nation according to USA Today, led 14-10 with 4:55 left in the third quarter after Dixie senior David Spaulding's 30-yard field goal. But Dixie threw four interceptions and lost two fumbles for the night.
"They're quicker than us, and we had trouble protecting our quarterback," Dixie coach Tom Spritzky said. "I'm proud of our kids. They played hard. They gave them a run for their money."
Dixie made the first mistake, when Highlands recovered junior Jason Soden's fumble at the Colonel 28 just 13 seconds into the game. After Bluebird senior Noah Gibson ran for seven yards and Ulbricht carried for 11 more to the 10, Lorenzen found Smith for the TD pass with 10:33 to go in the first quarter.
Dixie junior quarterback Chris Unkraut's passing was effective on the Colonels' next possession. Junior Andy Schneider caught two passes to move the ball to midfield. Four plays later, junior Scott Stamper scored on a 40-yard pass to tie the game 7-7 after 12 minutes.
Highlands' next possession alternated between awesome and awful. Ulbricht ran 38 yards to move the ball from the Bluebird 28 to the Dixie 34, but two plays later Stamper sacked Lorenzen for a 15-yard loss, and the drive ended with sophomore Brent Grover's five-yard punt.
Interceptions by sophomore Brett Hamblen and junior Frank Benton set up Highlands' final two TDs.
Dixie (7-5) finished with 334 yards total offense.
Dixie Heights 7 0 3 0-10
Highlands 7 7 6 14-34
H-Smith 10 pass from Lorenzen (Jones kick)
D-Stamper 40 pass from C. Unkraut (Spaulding kick)
H-Ulbricht 9 run (Jones kick)
D-Spaulding 30 field goal
H-Lorenzen 2 run (pass failed)
H-Ulbricht 6 run (Jones kick)
H-Ulbricht 10 run (Jones kick)
Records: DH 7-5, H 12-0.
