A game so good against Elder, Highlands could almost be proud of one that went down to final four seconds

By Dane Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter

If only . . .

Fill in the blank. There were so many “if only” moments in this one, maybe none more so than knowing whoever lost this heartbreaker in Ft. Thomas would be saying “if only” we had one more chance to make the last play ourselves.

Here come the Bluebirds. (Photo by Dan Weber)

And give this cheered-out standing-room-only crowd one final thrill Friday as Highlands hosted Cincinnati power Elder and at the end knowing only one of these teams would get the chance to win this one at the buzzer.

As they both deserved to.

“You don’t get to be proud at Highlands if it’s not a W,” Bob Sphire said after his Bluebirds’ 30-27 loss on a 30-yard field goal with :04 on the clock in a thriller that had Sphire saying, “the only people I feel sorry for were the ones who missed this game.”

Highlands’ fans were enjoying themselves the first 25 minutes with a 9-0 lead thanks to a punt snap safety and a 69-yard Bryce Armstrong-to-John Feldbrugge perfectly thrown pass and perfectly run route that would make Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase envious.

But then a loss of poise with a penalty at the Elder 5 and a missed makeable field goal, cost the Birds a chance to go ahead by two scores and then back-to-back 15-yard penalties allowed Elder to go 69 yards on three plays in the blink of an eye for a 14-9 halftime lead when Highlands could have led 16-7.

But even after falling behind 20-7, the Birds did not quit. “They’re really good,” Elder coach Doug Ramsey said after back-to-back games against fellow Cincinnati powers Moeller and St. Xavier that came down to the final possession. And unlike those close losses, “We had enough time in this one,” Ramsey said. “If we had this much time last week (against Moeller), we’d have won that one.”

Highlands and Elder in a post-coin toss handshake. (Photo by Dan Weber)

But Highlands went ahead 24-20 with 5:32 left on a Bryce Armstrong/Tayden Lorenzen/John Feldbrugge-led comeback, and then after a drive to the Elder 4 with 2:27 left, the Birds were forced to kick a 32-yard Kai Anderson field goal to tie it at 27.

But that left 1:18 on the clock and with senior quarterback Kaden Estep running the show, that was too much. An Estep 53-uard bomb set up the game-winner and probably should have been no surprise. He’s been doing it his entire career and on this night hit on 22 of 33 passes for 383 yards and a pair of TDs to speedy senior transfer Andrew Lyman.

Lyman this week got a settlement from the OHSAA to allow him to finish the season after earlier declaring him ineligible the second half of the season. And play he did with six catches for 187 yards and two TDs – one from 83 yards out and the other from 35. He was simply too fast for the Birds’ secondary.

But Estep and Lyman weren’t the only offensive stars in this one. Highlands’ sophomore Armstrong hit on 11 of 18 passing for 220 yards and a TD while running for the go-ahead TD on a nine-yard sprint up the gut of the Elder defense.

Highlands’ Bryce Armstrong starting to get noticed by the big power schools. (Photo by Dan Weber)

“That’s a good defense,” Sphire said. And “He’s (Armstrong) starting to get recognized . . . Wisconsin offered him last week. And Alabama and Georgia are lining up with Indiana to talk to him.”

“What I’m going to take away from this game is to just get better,” Armstrong said. “In that third and fourth quarter, I was really locked in.” As was Feldbrugge, who caught five passes for 168 yards and a TD.

Also with a TD was Tayden Lorenzen who led Highlands with 71 yards on 10 carries. “We fought to the end, that’s what we do,” Lorenzen said. “One team was going to walk away victorious. Sadly, it wasn’t us.”

But for Elder’s Ramsey, it was a terrific trip across the Ohio River: “What a great atmosphere.”

As for Highlands: “I am really proud of our guys,” Sphire said, “I’m glad we played this game, we’ll be better for it.”

SCORING SUMMARY

ELDER 0 14 6 10 — 30

HIGHLANDS 2 7 8 10 — 27

Highlands: Elder punt snap out of end zone for a safety

Highlands: Feldbrugge 69 pass from Armstrong (Anderson PAT kick good)

Elder: Estep 4 run (Homan PAT kick good)

Elder: Lyman 35 pass from Estep (Homan PAT kick good)

Elder: Bier 2 run (Bier PAT run fails)

Highlands: Lorenzen 1 run (Armstrong pass to G. Benke for 2)

Highlands: Armstrong 9 run (Anderson PAT kick good)