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By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
When the Highlands football team opened up a 17-point lead in the third quarter of its Class 5A state semifinal game against Pulaski County on Friday, it looked like the Bluebirds would advance to the state championship finals for the ninth consecutive year.
But Pulaski County snapped that successful streak by scoring 27 straight points to knock off Highlands, 41-31, in Ft. Thomas.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” said Pulaski County coach John Hines. “This group has been behind several times this year and come back to win, but to come back against this team in this stadium is a huge deal.”
Pulaski County (13-1) will get a chance to repeat as Class 5A state champions when it takes on Bowling Green in the title game next week at Western Kentucky University. Highlands, last year’s Class 4A state champion, ends the season with an 8-6 record.
After Highlands senior Jared Dougherty kicked a 27-yard field goal that gave his team a 31-14 lead with 7:51 left in the third quarter, the Bluebirds weren’t able to score on their last five offensive possessions.
None of those possessions lasted more than eight plays. The Bluebirds turned the ball over on downs twice, had two passes intercepted and punted once.
“Things that we thought were there just weren’t there anymore,” Highlands coach Brian Weinrich said of his team’s offensive breakdown in the second half. “I don’t know what they did different defensively. They made a couple of adjustments that were giving us fits. We tried to counter it the best we could and ran out of time.”
Pulaski County was much more efficient on offense in the second half. The Maroons scored on four of their last five possessions, including three drives that covered 80, 51 and 76 yards.
After getting just 73 rushing yards in the first half, Pulaski County picked up 170 in the second half with senior George Gregory leading the way. He ended up with 130 yards on 23 carries and scored his team’s last three touchdowns.
“I think we were wearing them down a little bit up front and that’s why we were able to run the ball a lot better in the second half than we did in the first half because their defense was getting a little gassed,” coach Hines said.
The Highlands offense was limited to 110 yards and no touchdowns in the second half because it couldn’t run the football. Senior running back Nick Kendall rushed for 131 yards and two TDs in the first half, but he was limited to 15 yards after the break.
“There was no secret that he was our key in the playoffs,” Weinrich said of Kendall “They just did a good job on him.”
Highlands senior quarterback Austin Hergott tried to pick up slack in the second half. He completed eight of 14 passes for 110 yards after the break, but two of his passes were intercepted.
After the first interception, Pulaski County picked up 30 yards in seven plays and Gregory scored on a 1-yard run to give the Maroons their first lead of the game, 35-31, with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter. Gregory scored again with 1:31 remaining to secure the victory.
Pulaski County quarterback Riley Hall completed 26 of 33 passes for 305 yards. His main target was wide receiver Jake Johnson, who had 10 catches for 113 yards and one TD.
HIGHLANDS 14 14 3 0 — 31
PULASKI CO. 7 7 14 13 – 41
H – Kendall 1 run (Dougherty kick)
H – Kendall 3 run (Dougherty kick)
PC – Hall 3 run (Burgett kick)
H – Hergott 4 run (Dougherty kick)
PC – Gregory 3 run (Burgett kick)
H – Miller 39 pass from Hergott (Dougherty kick)
H – Dougherty 27 FG
PC – Johnson 17 pass from Hall (Burgett kick)
PC – Gregory 8 run (Burgett kick)
PC – Gregory 1 run (Burgett kick)
PC – Gregory 3 run (kick failed)
RECORDS: Highlands 8-6, Pulaski County 13-1