By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Bob Sphire won his first game as head coach of the Highlands football team on Saturday with a sophomore quarterback making his varsity debut and a defensive unit that made several big plays.
Highlands defeated defending Class 5A state champion Bowling Green, 21-18, in a season-opening bowl game at Western Kentucky University that wasn’t decided until the final minutes.
The Bluebirds did all of their scoring in the first half when sophomore quarterback Brodie Benke threw two touchdown passes and junior linebacker Sam Robinson returned an interception to the end zone.
In the second half, the Highlands defense forced Bowling Green to turn the ball over on downs at the 23 and 27-yard lines and clinched the victory when Robinson intercepted a defected pass inside the 20-yard line with 2:20 left to play.
After that interception, Highlands got a crucial first down on an offside penalty called against Bowling Green’s defense and was able to run out the clock.
Benke was a surprise starter for the Bluebirds. He replaced junior Charlie Noon, the team’s offensive leader last season, for an undisclosed reason. Stepping up to the challenge, the sophomore completed 11 of 21 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns while also picking up 28 of the team’s 56 rushing yards.
Bowling Green finished with 295 total yards (204 passing, 91 rushing), but four turnovers and fourth-down failures hampered the Purples’ scoring ability.
After Bowling Green took a 3-0 lead on a field goal, Highlands scored 21 straight points. The run started when Benke connected with sophomore Carson Class on a 69-yard touchdown pass play with 7:07 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, junior Brennan Kelsay caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Benke. Less than two minutes later, Robinson picked off a pass and returned it 30 yards into the end zone to extend the Bluebirds’ lead to 21-3.
Bowling Green’s first touchdown came on a 6-yard run by senior Tyler Moore with 2:25 left in the first half. The Bluebirds missed a field goal attempt in the final seconds and went into halftime with a 21-10 lead.
With 5:20 left in the fourth quarter, the Purples were able to score on a 9-yard pass from Spencer Newman to Bryer Bice to pull within 21-16, but the two-point conversion failed.
Highlands wasn’t able to get a first down on its next possession. Instead of punting, the Bluebirds ran the ball out of the end zone for an intentional two-point safety to set up a kickoff.
Bowling Green returned the kickoff to the 32-yard-line with 3:19 left on the clock, but the Purples’ final scoring opportunity ended when Robinson pulled down a deflected pass for his team’s third interception of the game.