Bright lights shine down on the turf-speckled field. The crowd is holding their breath as the clock ticks down. Sweat glistens off the foreheads of the exhausted players as they heave in and out. In the back of their mind lies a thread of pressure to make all of past athletes and Highlands Alumni proud with this next play, next throw, next touchdown, and next win.

Athletic director Kevin Nieporte stood in the packed stands along with principal Matthew Bertasso. Varsity football coach Brian Weinrich stood at the sidelines. They were all holding their breath as they knew exactly what the Bluebirds were about to achieve.

On October 11th, the Highlands High School varsity football team went up against the Boone County High School Rebels and won with an overall score of 49 to 0. However, this wasn’t an ordinary game. In fact, it marked the Bluebirds 900th win.

Highlands was already a team to beat. Ranked 1565th in the nation, 14th in the state, and 3rd in our region, we already had a high reputation.

Highlands also “is only the 2nd school in the nation to reach 100 All-time wins in football and is Kentucky’s all-time leader in wins,” according to athletic director Kevin Nieporte.

Leading up to the game, the atmosphere around the team was upbeat and energetic. Teammates were jumping up and down to keep their body warmed up as excitement pulsed through their veins. They couldn’t hold back. The only thing they wanted to do was prove that they could dominate teams whether it be Boone County or their rivals, Covington Catholic.

During the game, this was the last thing on the athletes minds. While the game went on, the Bluebirds kept their focus on one thing: beating the Rebels.

In fact, most players don’t even realize this goal has been reached. While walking out of the locker room, getting ready to go home, most didn’t even bat an eye towards this great achievement.

Junior Jake Fahlbush, a quarterback for the HHS football team, was one who didn’t even realize what he and his team had accomplished. Fahlbush stated, “To be quite honest I didn’t really know that we just hit 900. Our team was mainly focus on the game against Boone. But I feel like after Friday and huge target has been put on our backs.”

Winning their 900th game is surely a proud, record-setting achievement to be a part of, but the Highlands varsity football team still has the same mentality and goals: Beat Covington Catholic and win state!