[Stardust]

Highlands’ high-scoring Bluebirds rolled pass Franklin-Simpson 42-14 in the Class 4A football finals in WKU’s L.T. Smith Stadium Saturday night.

The victory wrapped up an undefeated season for Highlands (15-0) and gave the Birds their 21st championship, tying them with Trinity for the state record. This was also Highlands’ fifth title in row.

Patrick Towles, a senior quarterback who has commited to UK, led the winners by passing for 183 yards and 1 TD, and rushing for 122 yards and 1 TD. This was his third title in a row as QB.

“Awesome, just awesome,” Towles said. “Words can’t describe how hard we worked to get this.”

Zach Harris ran for 90 yards and 3 TDs, and Jake True added 65 yards and a score. Donovan McCoy caught 4 passes for 69 yards and a TD.

Highlands piled up 507 yards, giving it a state-record 7,516 yards this season. It also established single-season state records for points (849) and TDs (121).

Franklin-Simpson gave the Birds a tough way to go early. It trailed 14-7 in the second quarter and was threatening to tie the game. But Darrius Wickware fumbled at the Highlands’ 1. The Birds then marched 99 yards to push the lead to 21-7 at halftime.

“The fumble was huge,” Franklin-Simpson Coach Tim Schlosser said. “If we score there, it could’ve been a different game.”

The Wildcats, who won state titles in 1979 and 1980, were in the finals for the first time since finishing runner-up in 1995. Jerrell Wickware led them with 127 yards rushing. His cousin Darrius had 97 yards.
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