Cruising through the opening four weeks of the season, the Macomb High football squad entered Homecoming week flying high.
But visiting Highland brought the Bombers back to earth Friday night at The Tarmac, pulling away in the second half for a 49-27 non-conference victory.
Both teams saw their respective records move to 4-1 on the season.
Macomb rallied from a first half 14-point deficit, but was unable to repeat the feat in the second half.
Turnovers proved costly for the Bombers as they finished the night with one fumble lost and three interceptions.
“I thought winning the turnover battle was huge for us,” said Highland coach Jim Warnecke.
Macomb’s first two drives ended in turnovers.
A Colby Martin fumble was recovered by Highland’s Rosarion James at the Bulldog 23.
The Bomber defense forced a three-and-out with Highland punting the ball back to Macomb.
MHS then drove from its own 45 to the Highland 15 in eight plays. But the drive ended when quarterback Kaden Knupp was intercepted by Highland’s Mason Garlich in the end zone.
“That’s the difference in the game,” said Horrell of the turnovers. “Two of our turnovers were in the red zone. We could’ve put up 14 points there.”
Highland took advantage, driving 80 yards in eight plays. Bulldog QB Jax Ohren completed three passes for 63 yards on the drive, including a 12-yard score to Jase Reinacher with 22.2 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Santiago Torres added the point-after-touchdown kick that made it 7-0.
The Bombers picked up one first down on its next possession before being forced to punt.
The Bulldogs covered 57 yards in nine plays for their second score as Ohren connected with Carter Harris for a 16-yard TD.
Torres booted the PAT that made it 14-0 with 6:13 to go before halftime.
But the Bombers battled back, scoring twice to knot the contest at 14-14 by halftime.
A 58-yard run by Martin flipped the field, moving the ball into Highland territory. Six plays later, Martin’s 4-yard run followed by Hayden Katz’s PAT kick closed the gap to 14-7 with 3:15 left before the break.
The Macomb defense forced another Highland punt and the offense answered by covering 67 yards in six plays.
Knupp and Kyler Norton connected on a 46-yard scoring strike with 12.7 seconds remaining. The Katz PAT tied the game at 14-14 as halftime arrived.
“We were really flat in the first half,” said Warnecke. “Morale was pretty down at halftime to be honest with you.”
But that changed for the visitors in the second half.
Highland opened the second half with a 71 yard drive that covered eight plays.
Ohren completed three passes for 58 yards on the drive, including a 27-yard score to Grayson Stone. The PAT kick made it 21-14 at the 9:27 mark.
The Bombers started their first drive of the second half at their own 21. They drove into Highland territory, but on a third-and-17, linebacker Collin Warnecke stepped in front of a Knupp pass and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown.
The PAT re-established Highland’s two score lead at 28-14 with 6:33 left in the third period.
“Them coming out and scoring right out of half was big for them to get the momentum back,” said Horrell. “We moved the ball right back down and the pick six.
“It wasn’t kind of a backbreaker because our kids didn’t give up,” he added. “But it put us in another 14-point hole that’s tough to climb out of twice.”
“The pick six came on a screen pass I probably shouldn’t have called,” said Horrell. “We’ve got to win the turnover battle.”
“I thought takeaways really ignited our defense and really ignited our team,” said coach Warnecke. “I think the pick six was the change around.”
“I’m a pretty proud dad on top of being a pretty proud coach,” said coach Warnecke of his son’s interception.
Macomb answered just under two minutes later as a 37-yard pass from Knupp to Norton set up Martin’s 30-yard TD run.
Katz missed the PAT, but the gap was narrowed to 28-20 at the 4:42 mark.
But with the Bomber defense pushed into playing in the second half for the first time this season, Highland picked up the offensive pace.
The Bulldogs needed less than three minutes and eight plays to cover 75 yards with Harris scoring on a 24-yard run at the 2:04 mark.
The PAT kick gave Highland a 35-20 lead entering the final period.
Macomb’s ensuing possession was ended when Knupp was intercepted by Stone, who returned the ball 24 yards to the Bombers 42.
After a 34-yard Ohren to Harris pass play, Harris scored on an 8-yard run with 10:57 left that made it 42-20.
“The second half we saw our tempo really get going,” said Warnecke. “(Macomb’s) got a lot of guys going both ways. Typically, that’s how we are. But this year we have only 1-2 guys going both ways.”
“It was just tempo,” he added. “How fast can we tempo (against Macomb) in the second half. You saw people cramping up and this and that.”
“That was really our strategy, just keep pounding, run a little bit more than we typically have,” said Warnecke. “I felt like it got us out of our element a little bit. Then we started spreading out and passing again. We were really clicking.”
“That’s the first time we’ve played four quarters,” said Horrell. “That’s tough when it’s week five.”
“That’s a playoff football team,” he added of Highland. “A (Class) 4A football team. Getting in this situation and learning what you have and what you can do against those teams is what we need. We just need more of those games.”
Carter Havens scored on a 23-yard run to cap a nine-play, 80-yard drive for Macomb with 7:09 to go.
But Highland answered with a seven-play, 54-yard drive with Ohren and Stone hooking up for a 19-yard score with 4:27 remaining that set the final score.
Macomb finished with 509 yards of total offense.
“We’ve got to win the battle up front and I thought we did that part,” said Horrell.
Knupp finished 16-of-28 for 214 yards and one TD with three INTs.
Norton recorded eight grabs for 151 yards and a score.
MHS also recorded 295 yards rushing on 42 carries. Martin finished with 126 yards and two TDs on 15 carries, while Drake May added 98 yards on 18 carries.
Defensively, May led the charge with 11 total tackles, followed by Havens and Jeshua McPheeters with five each.
“I think we learned a lot more this week than we did the last four weeks,” said Horrell. “There’s no quit. Being down 14 (points) twice and battling back.” Highland finished with 394 yards of total offense. Ohren completed 15-of-23 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns.
Harris had five catches for 81 yards and a score, while Stone added three grabs for 61 yards and two TDs. Reinacher had two catches for 42 yards and a score.
Harris added 96 yards rushing and two TDs on 18 carries.
Collin Warnecke topped the tackle chart for the Bulldogs with nine tackles. Anthony Beadle added eight, followed by Reid Burrows and Trenton Bergkoetter with six each.
The Bombers begin LincolnLand West Division play this week, hosting Farmington (3-2, 1-0).
“This is another date you circle on the calendar when the schedule comes out,” said Horrell of the upcoming contest against Farmington. “They’re going to see some things on film that they’re going to try to take advantage of and those are things that we need to clean up.”
“Macomb and Farmington is always a battle,” he added. “We’ve got to learn from this one and be ready to go next Friday.”
