Huskies become students of the game

For the first time since 2012 and just the fifth time since the mid-1980s, the Highland football team is going to the Iowa High School Athletic Association playoffs.

Highland plays at Durant Friday at 7 p.m.

Being in a playoff game involves a combination of things, mainly a commitment.

Players have to show up in the weight room, have to know the plays, have to sacrifice personal things.

'They have to be willing to sacrifice for the team,” Highland co-head coach Joe Donovan said. 'Maybe play a different position than they want to and they have to understand their roles.”

Sacrifice started during the summer very early in the morning.

'Coach (Derick) Ball and Coach Mo (Co-head coach Scott Morel) did a really good job of opening up the weight room for us every day,” said Trey Lasek, who plays quarterback and defensive back. 'I think we had close to perfect attendance from everybody in the weight room this summer. I think it made all the difference on how we can go from 2-7 to 7-2.”

That was the Huskies record last year. Another big difference from last year was a game against Columbus. The Huskies lost, then played the Wildcats in the first game this year and ran up a 48-16 win.

'We knew we had to take care of business this season,” Lasek said. 'Week 1 we know we had potential to be a good team. We had a really good time at team camp, so a lot of us were expecting good things to happen. We were already talking about going to the dome.”

The UNI-Dome is where the semifinals and finals are played. Highland has made it there previously when it shared a program with Lone Tree and lost in the title game in 1997. The Huskies also played in the postseason in 1987, 1989 and 2001.

'I think as the year has gone on, the kids have become students of the game and that makes them better players of the game,” Donovan said. 'Things others may see as trivial make a big difference in the overall results. Having your head in a certain position when you're blocking or how big the split is along the line. All those little things accumulate to make a big difference.”

The Columbus' win told Highland's players a lot about their potential.

'It told us a lot about our character,” said Brody Burton, the team's center and outside linebacker.

The character continued to show as they beat two ranked teams in the next two weeks, including a last-minute 25-22 win over then-third-ranked Lynville-Sully.

'Fourth and goal and coach called a field goal and I was crapping my pants,” Burton said. 'Right when I kicked it, I knew it was good because it was dead center.”

Burton leads the team in tackles for loss.

'I like to go right off the edge and get in the backfield as fast as I can,” he said.

The Huskies are using a new scheme on the offensive line this season.

'It's a lot easier for us to remember,” Burton said. 'We did not want to be 2-7 this year so we are just going to give Trey the ball and let him run.”

Lasek did that last year when he had 145 carries for 561 yards. This year he has 141 carries but 1,055 yards. Last year he completed 79 of 201 passes for 1,218 yards. This year, 50 of 99 for 904 yards.

'I like to run the ball because I have a lot more freedom this year on those plays,” Lasek said. 'I think we have a better line this year and we have more talent on the perimeter. Plus the work we put in during the off-season has made a difference.”

A difference-maker in team chemistry is the three sets of brothers -- Trey and Zack Lasek, Dan and Brody Burton, Jordan and Justin Sosa.

'They all ride in to school together,” Morel said.

There have been challenges.

The Huskies first loss was to BGM despite a scoring drive and another big play early, the Huskies were not able to capitalize when a penalty set them back. Then an injury preceded BGM scoring on the next play.

Sometimes when things were going good, the Huskies got on each other.

'We can't do that. We have to believe in each other,” Lasek said. 'We have to play Highland football.”

Playing Highland football includes relegating personal gain for the good of the whole, commitment and attention to detail.

'It is a combination of all of that, sacrificing self for the team,” Donovan said. 'This team really exemplifies that. They understand maybe you won't get 10 tackles a game but if you set the edge, somebody else will get 10 tackles and the team will be better for it.”

Knowing how that concept works and implemeting it with teammates can only make a team stronger. That knowledge pushes them from just playing the game to being a student of it.

'These kids are committed to the game of football and they want to be good at it,” Donovan said. 'They were more attentive in practice and were listening instead of just running plays. Ten more minutes of film study can make a difference on game night because instead of going through a thought process you have an instant reaction.”