[Frozenbird]

By John Lachmann

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Colin Seidl had never returned a kickoff for a touchdown at any level.

But the junior ran two back for scores to help Highlands advance to the Class 4A state final with a 42-21 win over Lexington Catholic on Friday.

The Bluebirds have a won four straight state titles and have a chance to tie the state record of five when they face Franklin-Simpson (13-1) at L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green at 3 p.m. on Dec. 3.

“Those were the first two I’ve ever had, and it felt pretty good,” Seidl said.

Seidl fielded the opening kickoff at the 5 yard line, ran right, faked a reverse and took off down the right side of the field, going 95 yards to give Highlands the lead 18 seconds into the game.

Not only had Seidl not returned a kickoff for a TD, the entire Highlands team had been held in check all season.

“Normally, that’s our thing,” Highlands coach Dale Mueller said. “We pride ourselves on being the best kickoff return team in the state. We normally get three for touchdowns every year, and this year we had not gotten one for a touchdown.”

The early points were especially helpful since Highlands struggled to move the ball early in the game. The Bluebirds ran just nine plays in the first 16 minutes.

Lexington Catholic possessed the ball for over 10 minutes in the first quarter, but missed field goals of 36 and 50 yards on their first two series. Finally, the Knights broke through with the tying touchdown on a 21-yard pass to junior Adam Bush from sophomore quarterback Kyle Bolin.

That seemed to awaken the Highlands offense. The Bluebirds went 80 yards on seven plays, including a 30-yard strike by senior Patrick Towles to junior David Christian and a 17-yard TD pass to junior Luke Turner on a throw down the left sideline.

LexCath went three and out on its next drive, and the Highlands offense went 90 more yards for a touchdown with 1:28 left in the first half. Towles had three carries for 46 yards on that possession, and senior Jake True scored from 15 yards out to make it 21-7.

But the Knights’ offense got them right back into the game early in the third quarter. LexCath drove 78 yards on a 13-play drive and cut the deficit to seven, 21-14.

In 13 seconds, Seidl nullified that Knights drive by returning his second kickoff of the game for a touchdown, this time for 90 yards.

“It took away all their momentum and gave us all the momentum,” Seidl said.

The LexCath offense, rejuvenated in its first drive out of the locker room, looked deflated on the sideline and the field. The Knights lost one yard on two plays before Bolin’s third-down pass was tipped and intercepted by Highlands junior defensive back Ben Streeter.

And it was Towles again ripping off large chunks of yards on the ground. Carries of 15 and 10 yards set up his eight-yard right end run that made it 35-14 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

“It got us more conservative on offense,” Mueller said. “We were looking to use some clock – we’re a passing team but we ran it a bunch – so two kickoff returns, that was big for us.”

Bolin did connect on a 35-yard touchdown strike to freshman wide receiver David Bouvier with 7:05 remaining, but Highlands answered again with a short field.

An on-side kick was recovered by the Bluebirds, and Towles’ 29-yard run on the first play eventually led to the quarterback’s one-yard plunge that iced the game with 4:11 left.

Highlands did not throw a pass in the second half, running the ball on all 24 of its plays after the break. Yet the Bluebirds still gained 130 yards on the ground in the final two quarters – an average of nearly 5½ yards per carry.

“Really, we just recognized our advantages,” Towles said. “Coming in we were better than them up front and the offensive line did a great job. When I run the ball, as opposed to a running back, we get an extra blocker, so I just saw some lanes and we gained some yards.”

Towles led all Highlands rushers with 121 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He also completed 7 of 11 passes for 108 yards and one TD.

The Bluebirds finished with 339 yards of offense, with 231 coming on the ground. Lexington Catholic gained 302 yards, but just 78 rushing.

“This is a special team,” Mueller said. “It is such a great team to coach. I can’t come off the practice field and say that was a mediocre practice because the guys are so right on it, day after day after day.”

For Towles, he has a chance to win three state titles in three seasons under center. In games the University of Kentucky commit has quarterbacked since he took over his sophomore year, Highlands is 40-1.

“It’s my senior season, and I’ve got one more high school football game left in my life, and I’m definitely not going to go out on a loss, that’s for sure,” Towles said.

HIGHLANDS 7-14-14-7—42
at LEXCATH 0-7-7-7—21
H-Seidl 95 kickoff return (New kick)
LC-Bush 21 pass from Bolin (Pumphrey kick)
H-Turner 17 pass from Towles (New kick)
H-True 15 run (New kick)
LC-Mitchell 5 pass from Bolin (Pumphrey kick)
H-Seidl


Read more: http://www.kypost.com/dpp/sports/ko-retu...z1epdEYjus