Highland battles but falls in overtime

By Ted Remsnyder
Posted 9/25/19

After a tough start to the season that saw the squad unable to score a touchdown in its first two games, the Highland football team bounced back on Saturday afternoon and battled for four quarters …

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Highland battles but falls in overtime

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After a tough start to the season that saw the squad unable to score a touchdown in its first two games, the Highland football team bounced back on Saturday afternoon and battled for four quarters and beyond before they finally fell 28-27 in overtime in a home loss to Valhalla. In the first possession of the overtime period, which saw both teams begin their offensive sequence with a first down on their opponent’s 20-yard line, Highland senior quarterback Brian Joyce bulldozed his way into the end zone for a 10-yard score to put the Huskies up 27-21.

But after junior kicker Gino Mazzella’s extra point was blocked, in a play that the Highland sidelines believed should have been a penalty for the Valhalla defender jumping over the center, the door was left open for the Vikings. The Section 1 team took advantage on their first play from scrimmage, as sophomore quarterback Michael Dawson connected with junior receiver Mahari Davis on a 20-yard TD reception to tie the game. When Elias Gonzalez’s extra point sailed through the uprights, the Vikings players stormed the field as the disappointed Huskies walked off.

Highland (0-3) came out of the gates strong in the non-league game on Saturday, as they struck paydirt in the red zone on a trick play, as senior wide receiver Jagger Lisa threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver David Post to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead at the 5:02 mark of the first quarter. Valhalla (1-2) quickly responded though, as Dawson threw a 51-yard TD bomb downfield to senior receiver Sammy Mussuto to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:14 left in the first.

The Huskies then answered with the first of two big-yardage scores of the day, as Joyce (10-18, 197 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INTs) found Lisa with a laser beam pass at midfield, and the receiver subsequently took off and raced down field for a 68-yard touchdown to give the Huskies a 14-7 edge with only 7.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Vikings continued to battle Highland, however, and Davis hauled in an 18-yard touchdown reception from Dawson (14-27, 241 yards passing, 4 TDs, 2 INTs) to even the score at 14-14 with 8:21 left in the half. With the game still tied late in the second quarter, a 50-yard punt return from Highland senior receiver Matthew Champagne was wiped off the board with 36.3 seconds remaining in the half after an unnecessary roughness penalty negated the score and outraged the Highland sidelines. “We had five (touchdowns) today if you count the one that the refs called back on the punt that we returned for a touchdown with an inexplicable unsportsmanlike penalty that I still don’t even know what the call was,” Huskies head coach Josh Tatum said.

The Westchester County team took its first lead of the day late in the third quarter, as Dawson connected with Davis on a 36-yard touchdown pass that gave the Vikings a 21-14 lead at the 1:07 mark of the period. With the Huskies’ backs against the wall, they responded on the very next play, as Joyce scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns for the afternoon as he blasted through the line and galloped down the field for a 76-yard score to tie the game at 21-21 with 41.6 seconds left in the third.

That score would hold throughout regulation, though Mazzella did attempt a go-ahead 55-yard field goal attempt that landed several yards short of the uprights with 95 seconds remaining in the game. The contest then went into overtime, where Valhalla was able to eke out its first victory of the season.
After a tough start to the season, the Huskies will get to wipe the slate clean this weekend when they host Liberty on Friday night to kick off Section 9, Class B league play against a divisional opponent. While the program has yet to secure a win this season, the Class B playoff race begins in earnest on Friday.

“The mindset now is to go into division play 0-0 and go for the playoffs,” Tatum said.