Columbus rolls over Highland 49-27

The running back tandem of Will Schwab and Kaden Amigon-Suiter combined for 303 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to lead the Columbus Wildcats to a 49-27 win at Highland on Friday night.

Coming into the game, the Wildcats were looking to bounce back from a 57-0 loss to Lisbon last week.

'Any time you get a district win against a close rival, it's a big win,” Columbus head coach Dave Lekwa said. 'We got really thumped last week, and we needed to get back on track. The boys responded very well in practice all week and certainly responded well tonight.”

It was the Huskies, however, who got off to a quick start, with Owen Donovan taking the game-opening kickoff the distance to put Highland on the board just 12 seconds into the game.

Highland extended its lead to 14-0 on Connor Grinstead's two-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter.

With just over two minutes to go in the first period, Schwab scored on a 58-yard run.

Before Highland would score again, Columbus put 42 unanswered points on the board.

'They played a whale of a game,” Highland co-head coach Scott Morel said. 'We always say that it's the little things – miss a tackle here or miss an assignment there. It's a matter of executing.”

The Wildcats scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, including a four-yard run by Amigon-Suiter and a 48-yard punt return for a touchdown by Triston Miller.

The final score of the quarter came when the Wildcats were facing a fourth-and-goal from the Highland five-yard line.

Schwab plowed into the end zone as the half expired to put the Wildcats up 28-14.

Less than a minute into the third quarter, Amigon-Suiter sprinted for a 48-yard touchdown run.

With about two and a half minutes left in the period, the Wildcats' fourth-down mojo worked again as quarterback Jeff Hoback hit Tucker Bright with a 32-yard touchdown pass on fourth and 27.

With Columbus leading 42-14 in the fourth quarter, Donovan scored on a six-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 42-21.

Late in the fourth, fourth-down lightning struck again for Columbus as they converted two fourth downs – including a fake punt that became a 15-yard pass from Bright to Schwab – on a drive capped by Schwab's 20-yard touchdown run.

'Believe it or not, that was not a fake punt call from the sideline,” Lekwa said. 'He's done that a couple of times this year. If the snap doesn't get to him the way he wants, he tries to improvise.”

Donovan closed the scoring with a 75-yard touchdown run for the Huskies with a minute and a half remaining in the game.

Schwab finished with 196 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Wildcats.

Amigon-Suiter rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns. He led the defense with 8.5 tackles and a sack.

For the Huskies, Donovan finished the night with 168 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The win moves Columbus to a 2-2 record, while Highland falls to 0-3 on the season.