ANDERSON — Kokomo needed just two plays from scrimmage in the first quarter Friday night to put Highland in a 14-0 hole that the home team couldn’t dig out of as the visiting Wildkats went on to beat the Scots 40-14 at Highland Stadium.
The win for the Wildkats was their first win in a sectional football game since 1997, when they defeated Anderson, 28-20.
The ’Kats opened their first offensive play after their defense stalled a Highland drive at the Kokomo 42-year line. From there, the Wildkats’ Wing-T offense put them on the board first as running back Braxton Shelton rushed 58 yards off the right side for the opening score and a 6-0 lead with 7:50 to go in the first quarter.
Highland turned the ball over on downs on their ensuing possession at their own 49-yard line. This time, it was ’Kats tailback Casey Shipley who went off the left side of the line for the 49-yard scoring romp. A two-point conversion reception by Devin Schacht from T.J. Weir and the visitors held a 14-0 lead with 5:58 remaining in the opening period.
“We started out slow and that hurt us,” Scots head coach Randy Albano said. “They jumped on us early in the first half and just whooped us.”
Things stayed in the Wildkats’ favor in the second quarter as Shipley would score on runs of two and eight yards to give Kokomo a commanding lead 26-0 at halftime.
Highland made things interesting in the third quarter.
The Scots’ defense forced a Kokomo punt and took the ball at the Wildkats’ 48-yard line.
Highland running back Nathan Walters picked up six yards on first down, and on second down, he took the ball the remaining 42 for the Scots’ first score of the game.
Kokomo would be forced to punt later in the third period, giving the Scots first and 10 at their own 9-yard line.
Jordan Segner gave the Scots some breathing room with a 19-yard pickup. Walters would take a dive play and turn it into a 72-yard touchdown run to make the score 26-14 in Kokomo’s favor going into the final 12 minutes.
“We came out smokin’ in the third quarter,” Albano said. “We adjusted (our running game) by using quick dives without a lead back for Nathan.”
Highland recovered a Kokomo fumble at the Scots’ 18-yard line on the ensuing possession and the beginnings of a momentum shift could be felt on the home sideline.
Highland drove the ball into Wildkat territory, highlighted by a 25-yard gain by Walters. The Scots were faced with a fourth-and-two from the Kats’ 41-yard line after three short runs by Segner, Walters and Ogden.
On the critical fourth-down play, the Scots ran the fullback dive with Segner going for it on the left side, but the Kokomo defense held and forced a turnover on downs.
“I thought that fourth down we didn’t get was the big play,” Albano said. “We just didn’t have it tonight. They’re a good team.”
One area in which Highland couldn’t seem to make the adjustment was its pass protection. Quarterback Kaleb Ogden was consistently harassed by the Kokomo front-seven and was called for two intentional grounding penalties.
“We couldn’t get the protection in the second half,” Albano said. “We’d keep a back in there to help, and Kaleb was still being pressured.”
The Wildkats sacked Ogden five times overall.
Ogden finished the night completing nine of 23 passes in the contest for 72 yards.
Walters, Highland’s all-time leader in rushing yardage, finished his prep career with 211 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. He finished the season with 1,973 yards rushing.
Senior safety Austin Weaver led the Scots’ defense with 10 tackles in the game.
Highland finishes the 2008 season with a record of 7-3 and as the champions of the Olympic Athletic Conference.
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