How can you not be romantic about high school football?
On the opening Friday of the season, Highlands junior Tayden Lorenzen, son of the late Jared Lorenzen, a Bluebird and University of Kentucky football legend, delivered the storybook finish. Wearing his father’s old number, No. 22 delivered on August 22, scoring the game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion to lift Highlands past Frederick Douglass, 21-20 in double overtime at Fort Thomas.
“I have no idea what was going through my mind after that,” Lorenzen said. “I was just yelling as loud as I can and having a great time with my friends.”
It was only Week 1, but the clash carried the feel of a playoff game, maybe even a Hollywood script.
At the very least, it was enough to trigger head coach Bob Sphire’s watch, which flashed SOS and It looks like you’ve taken a hard fall. If every fan in the stadium had been wearing one too, they might have seen the same message. Because for all its storybook ending, the night didn’t start out like one.
Highlands missed two field goals, had two others blocked, and turned the ball over twice, once by interception and once by fumble. Their lone score in regulation came in the second quarter, when quarterback Rio Litmer connected with Cale Harris for a 22-yard touchdown.
Frederick Douglass answered in the third, when Carter Ross bounced outside for a 30-yard touchdown run. The Broncos, too, were plagued by mistakes, bad snaps and costly penalties, that kept the game locked at 7-7 through regulation.
Overtime brought the drama everyone expected. Both teams traded scores in the first extra period, but when Highlands’ two-point try failed, the Broncos had a chance to win it. It was the Bluebirds special teams making a positive play this time, blocking the extra point and forcing another overtime. That’s when Lorenzen answered Douglass’s score and took over, pushing across the game-winning touchdown and the deciding conversion.
Sphire said it was the kind of payoff that reflected months of preparation.
“I’m just so happy for these guys,” he said. “When we put this schedule together and had our individual meetings with every player in December, we told them if you commit to the work, you’ve got a chance. This team has really taken that to heart, and tonight it showed.”
The victory was more than just a highlight or neat story, perhaps a preview of where the Bluebirds hope to finish.
“I can only think good thoughts, because obviously we came out with the win,” Lorenzen said. “But I’m gonna get better, and our team’s gonna get better as we play this kind of competition. Just feels great to be able to get this win.”
The defense had plenty to do with it, keeping Douglass at bay when the offense faltered.
“Our defense came up huge,” Lorenzen said. “We only put up seven points at first. Our offense still played well, just got to take care of the ball. Besides that we played a really good game.”
When the momentum swung back and forth, the Bluebirds never wavered.
“Frederick Douglass is a great team,” he said. “They’re an explosive play team. We knew that was going to happen. We just had to keep our mind, keep our focus, and play the next play.”
For Highlands, the payoff was the kind of opening statement Sphire envisioned when he designed the schedule.
“If you ever want to be Alabama of high school football, which is what Highlands strives to be, then you open in the Mercedes-Benz and you play Texas,” Sphire said. “That’s just where our kids are. When they saw the schedule in the winter, they said, ‘Thank you, Coach. We want this schedule.’ They knew they could’ve come out on the wrong end tonight and still been a better football team because of it. I’m tickled to death we’re on the right end.”
The Bluebirds’ schedule doesn’t get any easier. Highlands travels to Union next Friday to face former district rival Cooper at 7:30 p.m. in a bid to start 2-0. Frederick Douglass, now 0-1, heads back home to take on Trinity.
More photos below, by Charles Bolton:
BLUEBIRDS 21, BRONCOS 20 (2OT)
HIGHLANDS — 0-7-0-0-6-8— 21
FREDRICK DOUGLASS — 0-0-7-0-6-7— 20
Scoring Plays
2nd Quarter
(H) Litmer 22-yard pass to Harris (1:25) Anderson kick
3rd Quarter
(FD) C. Ross 30-yard run (8:36) R. Barbour kick
Overtime
(H) Lorenzen 2-yard run (OT) Run failed
(FD) B. Ross 10-yard pass to Cayson (OT) R. Barbour kick failed
Double Overtime
(FD) Talbert 2-yard run (OT) R. Barbour kick
(H) Lorenzen 4-yard run (OT) Lorenzen run
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Highlands 126 (Litmer 13/17, Lorenzen 0/1), Frederick Douglass 38 (Ross 3/8)
Rushing Yards: Highlands 176 (Williams 18-84, Lorenzen 15-43, Duncan 9-28, Litmer 4-13, Kremer 4-8), Frederick Douglass 81 (Talbert 22-65, C. Ross 3-38, B. Ross 2-(minus)22)
Receiving: Frederick Douglass (Clay 3-30, Cayson 1-10 Talbert 1-(minus)2), Highlands (Harris 8-93, Williams 2-13, Lorenzen 2-12, Feldbrugge 1-11)
Turnovers: Highlands 2, Frederick Douglass 0
Penalties: Highlands 4-30, Frederick Douglass 9-60
Records: Highlands 1-0, Frederick Douglass 0-1