Varsity football suffers the first loss of the season

Birds fall 34-28 to Ryle in overtime

Ady Klosterman, Photo Assistant

September 16, 2024

On Friday, September 13, the Birds lost to Ryle in overtime with a score of 34-28. Highlands’ offense had 198 rushing yards and 166 passing yards, while the defense allowed 143 rushing and 170 passing yards.

Quarterback Rio Litmer (11) completed 14 of his 22 pass attempts, throwing for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jack White (12) led the rushing game with 156 yards on 22 rush attempts, while Gabe Williams (10) added 30 yards on six carries.

Williams and Devon James (12) each contributed a rushing touchdown.

“What contributed to the loss was the missed opportunities. We had times where the game could’ve swung in our favor, and it just didn’t pan out how we wanted,” said Williams.

Jackson Arnold (12) led the receiving with 89 yards on seven receptions, while Adam Surrey (12) followed closely with 74 yards on five. Both Arnold and Surrey scored receiving touchdowns.

Logan Nickelman (12) added four extra points to the scoreboard. Defensively, Isaac Niemann (11) recovered a fumble forced by Williams, while Tommy Ferring (12) and Ethan Grimm (12) each recorded a tackle.

Peyton Klosterman (11) made an interception, returning it for 14 yards.

Klosterman said, “We need to focus on us as a team and use the loss to improve.”

Highlands now has a 3-1 record and will take on Raceland at home this Friday, September 20 with kickoff at 7:30.

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About the Contributor

Ady Klosterman, Photo Assistant

Ady Klosterman is a freshman at Highlands High School. This is her first year of high school journalism, but her fourth year overall. She participated in journalism for two years at Johnson Elementary and again in her 8th grade year at the middle school. Ady used to write a lot of stories when she was younger. She would type them on a computer and print them. Even though they were just around 10 pages long, they were packed with details (and run-on sentences). While she enjoys writing, Ady's true interest is sports photography. She grew up in a household that loves sports, and you can guarantee the TV was turned on on game day. She spends a lot of her spare time at sporting events, most often on the sidelines taking pictures or yelling from the student section, and when she isn't at an event, she's usually catching up on something from the previous one or getting ready for the next one.