[Blau Vogel]

FORT THOMAS — On a night when two of his teammates had big receiving numbers, Brandon Hergott was relatively quiet with one reception.

Hergott made the biggest play of the night, though, when his Highlands High School football team needed it the most. Hergott’s return of an onside kickoff deep into Lexington Catholic territory allowed the Bluebirds to put away the game as they beat the host Knights 49-35 in a Class 4A state semifinal Nov. 29 in Lexington.

Highlands (13-1) will face Collins (12-2) in the state championship game 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

“It’s going to be cool,” said senior quarterback Drew Houliston. “That’s been our goal. It’s finally here and we have to finish it.”

Hergott finished the Knights after LexCath had closed within seven points at 42-35 with four minutes to play, following a first half in which the Bluebirds had taken a 36-0 lead.

LexCath attempted an onside kick. Hergott picked up the ball on a high hop and sprinted upfield, nearly scoring a touchdown. Senior Zach Harris finished the drive from a yard out with two minutes to go for the final score.

Hergott had scored a touchdown in a similar situation this season. Against LexCath, he took a calculated gamble, because if he hadn’t fielded ball cleanly the Knights could have recovered.

“You never see it,” said Highlands head coach Dale Mueller. “The whole key is to attack the line, attack the ball. Brandon just played it perfectly. He’s such a heads-up athlete. He’s a three-sport athlete that makes good decisions.”

The play of the game appeared to be much earlier, when the Bluebirds had a 36-0 lead four minutes into the second quarter and the rout appeared to be on. Houliston had four TD passes at that point, the last an 86-yard bomb to Alex Veneman, who caught the ball in traffic and midfield and ran untouched the rest of the way. Veneman had three catches for 150 yards on the night. Jenson Feggins had four grabs for 127 yards and a score, and Beau Hoge had a TD grab. Houliston completed 14-of-18 passes for 368 yards on the night.
“We’ve got eight receivers who are real good,” Houliston said. “We’re running new ones out there every time. I feel comfortable with every match-up we got with all of them. You don’t have to focus on one guy. Just being able to go wherever I want with the ball is great.”

After the 86-yard bomb, Highlands went for two to start the running-clock mercy rule, and Harris cashed in on a run play. Changed this year, the magic number to start the clock dropped from 45 to 36, and by rule the clock remained going even as the Knights mounted a furious comeback in the second half. LexCath scored four unanswered touchdowns, the last coming after a successful onside kick attempt with 6:43 to play. The Knights were forced into that decision because of the running-clock rule, and played the entire second half in a hurry-up offense.

“They weren’t out of it (at 36-0),” Mueller said. “It wasn’t fair to LexCath to have a running clock in the state semifinals. If anything, you get to the playoffs, do away with the running clock. It’s not devastating to lose a game.”

Zach Harris finished the game with 94 rushing yards and three TDs, and that crucial two-point run to start the running clock. He enters the state final with 1,000 rushing yards even and 21 TDs.

Houliston has 48 TDs against just two interceptions, and 3,660 passing yards. Counting 11 TDs from Hoge and one from Austin Hergott, Highlands’ 60 passing TDs is a new school record.

Highlands has won 45 straight games against in-state opponents and will look for its seventh consecutive state title. Doing so will give the Bluebirds their 23rd championship and sole possession of first place in the state record books as co-leader Trinity did not reach the 6A final.

“We’re focused every week and we’ll be more focused than we’ve ever been,” Houliston said. “This is it. We’ve won the last six, but that’s in the past. We don’t care about that. For the seniors, it’s the last one. This is the one we want really bad.”

Collins (12-2) has lost to Simon Kenton (23-21) and Central Hardin (36-32) but has rolled through the playoffs with no game closer than 28 points, outscoring opponents by an average of 53-12.

Collins averages nearly 400 yards offense a game, led by Lawson Page, who has 2,872 yards and 34 TDs in the air. Highlands shut out a Page-led offense last season.

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