Five years and a day.
It had been that long since a Highlands football team reached the third round of the Class 5A playoffs.
The Bluebirds ended the aforementioned streak Friday with a 30-7 win over North Laurel at David Cecil Memorial Stadium.
Highlands thus hosts Cooper – a 24-14 winner at Southwestern – in the state semifinals at 7 p.m., next Friday.
The Bluebirds last reached the state 5A semifinals in 2015 – a fact of which coach Bob Sphire was well aware.
“I’m a short-timer here, so I know all the history,” Sphire said. “It hadn’t been a long time for me, so I don’t dwell on those things. We just take it one day at a time, one week at a time.”
Highlands (12-1) is going again for at least three reasons: senior quarterback Brody Benke, who threw for 132 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 50 and two scores; senior Cameron Giesler, who ran for 94 yards and a touchdown; and the defense that limited North Laurel to 189 total yards.
Benke couldn’t decide whether he was a better runner or passer. Unofficially, he has thrown for 1,773 yards and 26 touchdowns and ran for 1,128 and 22 scores.
“I can’t really say,” Benke said. “Obviously, I run the ball more, but obviously I think I’m just as good as a passer.”
Giesler has run for 1,273 yards and 11 touchdowns. He said senior tight end Luke Schneider was especially effective.
“When we run counters … (Schneider) comes in motion and then is the lead blocker every time,” Giesler said. “Every single time, you get behind him, there’s gonna be something open; you just look off of him and go.”
It had also been a while since North Laurel (8-5) has played the third Friday in November – the only other trip to the quarterfinals came in 2015. The Jaguars had infinitely more important concerns – they mourned the loss of Patricia Chappell, the mother of head coach Jason Chappell, who passed away Wednesday from injuries suffered in a car accident in Clay County.
“It’s been a really tough week for me, but for our team, too,” Chappell said. “They’ve shared in this with me a little bit; I hate it ‘cause I wasn’t there more for them this week. I loved the fight we showed in the last 24 minutes.”
Highlands scored its first touchdown thanks largely to North Laurel’s 15-yard face mask penalty. Four plays later, Benke went mostly untouched for 38 yards.
On the Bluebirds’ next possession, a 32-yard pass from Benke to Jackson Arnold put the ball at the Jaguar 39. Giesler’s 12-yard run, Benke-to-Adam Surrey for 10 and the 8-yard toss to Carson Class put Highlands ahead, 14-0, with 1:28 left in the first quarter.
Benke’s 23-yard pass to Surrey and Giesler’s 9-yard run put Highlands ahead, 27-0, at halftime. Logan Nickelman hit a 33-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.
North Laurel avoided the shutout when Treyshawn Holmes-Evans scored from a yard out with 3:58 to go.
Next Friday could be a night for lots of offense – Highlands beat Cooper, 58-51, and gained 659 yards to Cooper’s 541. Benke threw for 235 and five touchdowns and ran for 190 and two more scores, and Giesler ran for 204 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s obviously a huge game, but we don’t want to just stop at the semis,” Benke said. “We want to go all the way.”
BLUEBIRDS 30, JAGUARS 7
NORTH LAUREL — 0-0-0-7 — 7
HIGHLANDS — 14-13-3-0 — 30
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(H) Brody Benke 38 run (Nickelman kick), 8:48
(H) Carson Class 8 pass from Benke (Nickelman kick), 1:28
2nd Quarter
(H) Benke 3 run (Nickelman kick), 4:18
(H) Cam Giesler 9 run (run failed), 0:16
3rd Quarter
(H) Nickelman 33 field goal, 6:55
4th Quarter
(NL) Treyshawn Holmes-Evans 1 run (Cam Anderson kick), 3:58
Game Stats
Passing Yards: North Laurel 91 (Morgan 8-16-65-0 TD, Holmes-Evans 1-1-26-0 TD); Highlands 152 (Benke 12-15-132-1 TD, Litmer 1-2-7-0 TD, Arnold 1-1-13-0 TD)
Rushing Yards: North Laurel 98 (Gregory 8-23, Holmes-Evans 8-34, Morgan 2-(minus-5), Johnson 9-46); Highlands 215 (Giesler 17-94, Benke 10-50, Surrey 3-13, Litmer 2-(minus-3, White 4-43, James 3-18)
Receiving: North Laurel 91 (Chappell 4-49, Messer 1-30, McWhorter 2-12, Gregory 3-0); Highlands 152 (Class 1-8, Surrey 5-53, Arnold 4-49, Hinegardner 2-8, Giesler 1-7, Schneider 1-13)
Turnovers: North Laurel 0, Highlands 0
Penalties: North Laurel 4-35, Highlands 6-55
Records: North Laurel 8-5, Highlands 12-1