Saturday, November 18, 2000
Highlands 45, Harrison County 7
Bluebirds run into state semis
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
CYNTHIANA, Ky. — Highlands reachedFriday's Class AAA Region 3 final against Harrison County by passing the football, but the Bluebirds are in the state semifinals because of their running game.
Junior running back Eamon Mueller's 151 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped the two-time defending state champions earn a 45-7 win at Harrison County.
The Bluebirds meet Rockcastle County, a 7-6 winner over Inez Sheldon Clark, in Mount Vernon in the state semifinals next Friday.
“I'm excited,” Mueller said. “I thought we played pretty well.”
As has been the case in the Bluebirds' 11 other wins, Friday's was a balanced effort.
Senior quarterback Gino Guidugli had the flu, but he was 18-for-27 for 260 yards. Senior receiver Brett Hamblen caught eight passes for 138, part of 236 all-purpose yards. The all-purpose yards include a 30-yard interception return and 42 yards in kickoff returns.
“We're still playing because of the whole team,” Highlands coach Dale Mueller said.
Then there was the Highlands defense. It allowed 266 yards, but 58 came on one play. Junior Matt Gramstad and senior Chris Schneider added interceptions.
“It was a super defensive effort,” defensive coordinator Mike Burns said.
Harrison County senior quarterback Billy Faulkner was one of the few quarterbacks who could match Guidugli in passing yardage - he came into Friday with 3,214
yards.
Five plays into the Thorobreds' first drive, he found junior Devon Dotson for 30 yards to put the ball at the Highlands 25. But three plays later, he found Highlands' Schneider in the end zone.
Harrison County's biggest play of the night came the next time the Thorobreds touched the ball.
With second-and-13 on the Harrison County 30, Highlands lost track of senior receiver Glenn Scott, who appeared to be running off the field but lined up about a foot from the sideline.
Fifty-eight yards and a pass from Faulkner to Scott later, Harrison County was on the Bluebirds 12. Two plays later, it was Faulkner to Scott from 7 yards for a 7-7 tie.
If Harrison County coach Ray Graham looks at the game film today, he might cringe at the second play of the second quarter.
With a fourth-and-5 at the Harrison County 46, the Thorobreds tried a fake punt. It didn't work - the pass from senior Daniel Kearns to senior Billy Custard fell incomplete with 11:53 left in the half.
“If you don't do it quick, call it off,” Graham said. “It's one of those things.”
The wind chill had dipped to minus-15 degrees by then, but Highlands' offense thawed out after that. And it didn't help that Kearns, Harrison County's leading tackler, went out with a broken ankle.
Mueller's 5-yard TD run with 11:01 remaining in the second quarter started the march. He followed with a 4-yard run with 4:15 to go, and Gramstad's 26-yard score with 50.3 seconds left made it 28-7. Junior kicker Derek Chuke's 42-yard field goal to end the half made it 31-7.
Eamon Mueller proved human in the third period, when he lost a fumble in the end zone. He made up for it with a 6-yard TD run with 2:46 to go in the third.
Senior Brian Barre's 4-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter ended the scoring.
Highlands ....... 7 24 7 7—45
Harrison County ....... 7 0 0 0-7
H-Hamblen 6 run (Chuke kick)
HC-Scott 7 pass from Faulkner (Scott kick)
H-E. Mueller 5 run (Chuke kick)
H-E. Mueller 4 run (Chuke kick)
H-Gramstad 26 run (Chuke kick)
H-Chuke 42 field goal
H-E. Mueller 6 run (Chuke kick)
H-Barre 4 run (Chuke kick)
Records: H 12-1, HC 12-1.
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Highlands 45, Harrison County 7