High School Football:
Highland In Control For Victory Against Edgewood

Saturday, October 9, 1999

By Art Redd
SJSports Staff Writer

Today's lesson of the day was to study hard and you will succeed in life. Most of South Jersey's High Schools were busy taking the Scholastic Achievement Test this morning and pushed those classic football battles into the afternoon. It seemed as if Highland did their homework on their opponents as they were in control the whole game. The Tartans eliminated all of the Edgewood Eagles' strengths and went on to a 24-9 Olympic Conference Patriot Division victory.

Edgewood was riding high on their early success this season with impressive wins against very tough opponents. They have managed to catch the eye of area schools with their accomplishments and were ready to give themselves to another test. With the home team receiving the ball on the opening series, the Eagles defense got things started with their "A" defensive game. Highland was unable to move the ball and punted it away after three plays. With Edgewood's junior quarterback Nick Rosetti was faced with a third and eight from their own 38-yard line, he completed a short pass to Brandon Osborne who tacked on extra yardage. The Eagles managed to get into field goal range but the kick went wide left. The Tartans on their second series had more success moving the ball. A key reception by Andrew Frazer and the running of Bob Welker and Brent Tyson got Highland into the redzone. That's when Edgewood tightened up their defense and force Highland to kick a successful 22-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Jason Sapp provided Edgewood with excellent field position when he returned the kickoff to the Highland 40-yard line. Sapp seemed to make things happen every time he touched the ball on a punt or kickoff. Highland was given a lesson plan on their opponent and stopped the Eagles offense from capitalizing on a good return. When the Tartans got the ball back, they took advantage of excellent teamwork for their next scoring drive. After Edgewood turned the ball over when their forth down play failed, the running combination of Ayo Saba and Brent Tyson took over. Saba got the ball to the 44-yard line of the Eagles after a tough eight yard run. On the next play, Tyson was handed the ball and began to sweep right. A key block by wide receiver Andrew Frazer sealed the corner allowing Tyson to rumble for the touchdown and a 10-0 lead with 9:50 remaining in the half. Edgewood did put points on the board before the half with a 36-yard field goal by Abner Tsadick.

In the second half, Coach Larry Ziemba elected not to kick the ball deep to return specialists Sapp and Dennis Davis. This strategy eliminated any chances of the Eagles' special teams from gaining any momentum. When Highland got the ball, the ground game continued when Saba used first, second and third efforts to score a goal line touchdown with 10:43 remaining in the third quarter. Tyson scored on a sweep left from 7 yards out to post a 24-3 lead on their very next possession. Edgewood managed to score on a play where Kyle Murray was wide open for a 32-yard touchdown reception. The extra point was blocked and the game ended with the score of 24-9 in favor of the Tartans.

Photos by Art Redd