The Highlander football team was set to take on the Washington-Liberty Generals in their 8th game of the season. This game had positioned itself to be the hardest one of the season, and the added pressure posed by the fact that it was Washington-Liberty’s homecoming game made it even more daunting.
“This game is definitely big for both of us,” quarterbacks coach Ky Parrott said. “We have to limit the turnovers and play the field position game but the game’s not over until it’s over.”
The Generals had been a juggernaut this year, with an undefeated record and 6 games in which they scored over 40 points.
“They’re a really good, well coached, team,” Parrott said. “If we don’t come out strong, we’re gonna get punched in the mouth.”
Come out strong they did, as on the first drive of the game, the Highlanders forced a turnover on downs with the Generals inside their redzone.
A three and out ensued, and a strong drive led to a touchdown for the Generals.
This was followed by another McLean three and out, and yet another long, backbreaking drive for the Generals that ended in a field goal.
The struggle continued for the Highlander offense, as another three and out gave the Generals the ball back. A thirty yard run on third down put them in the red zone, in prime position to score. Luckily, the Highlander defense held up, causing a missed field goal, keeping the score at 10-0.
Back on offense, a fumble by McLean gave the Generals the ball in the red zone, and they scored soon after making the score 0-17.
McLean was back on offense with a few minutes left in the half, but senior quarterback Henry Behrens threw an interception that resulted in a touchdown for the Generals and a 0-24 score.
The Highlanders got the ball back quickly once again, with junior quarterback Lucas Jones stepping up in place of Behrens. The offense stalled however, and a special teams miscue led to a safety, putting the Highlanders in a 26-0 hole.
The General offense continued to drive down the field, and a trick play got them into the redzone. A play later, the Generals walked into the endzone to make the score 0-33.
But the Highlanders finally caught a spark when junior wide receiver Steven Conroy took the kickoff all the way to the endzone, and a two-point conversion to junior tight end Aidan Reid made the score 8-38.
“I was thinking back to practice when I was working on these open looks,” Conroy said. “I saw the gap open and I just shot through it.”
The Generals offense continued to dominate, bringing them inside the ten yard line, but a spectacular interception from senior Sebastian Carmentes halted the drive and ended the first half.
The second half began and the Highlanders were stopped almost immediately. Punt after punt led to 3 field goals from the Generals and little else memorable from both sides of the ball. The clock struck triple zeros and the final score was 8-47.
“It was a tough game but I was proud of my teammates,” sophomore offensive lineman Spencer May Stoffel said. “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”
McLean is set to take on Wakefield on Nov. 2 and is using this long week of practice to prepare for this game.
“We obviously have to rethink some things,” Conroy said. “But we all know that we can’t give up on this season.”
