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Carter Harris鈥� 29-yard touchdown catch from Jax Ohren with 21 seconds left capped a 15-touchdown, 108-point extravaganza and enabled the Bulldogs to pull out a 56-52 nonconference victory that will be remembered not just years from now, but centuries later.

The game-winning score capped a 94-yard drive for Highland (2-1) after Noah Collins put the Indians (2-1) up 52-49 with 1:50 left on a 7-yard run. Ohren completed 7 of 9 passes on the drive, including a 14-yarder to Jase Reinacher on 3rd-and-10 in the last minute to keep the drive alive.

Four plays later, Ohren recognized a mismatch.

鈥淚t was the same play we had in one of our 7-on-7 camps,鈥� he said. 鈥淐arter against a linebacker, I know he鈥檚 got the speed to beat him.鈥�

Said Harris: 鈥淚 just had to make a play.鈥�

That鈥檚 all he did, all night. Earning game most valuable player honors, Harris ran for 266 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries while catching seven passes for 98 yards.

Ironically, defense just about won the game for Mascoutah. Nygel Bowers made a great, leaping interception of Ohren鈥檚 third-down pass for Harris and returned it to the Highland 42 with 5:01 left. Collins scored seven plays later for the eighth of nine lead changes in this scorefest.

The teams combined for six straight touchdowns during a 42-point third quarter. Harris peeled off scoring jaunts of 66 and 71 yards, while Sean Murphy zoomed 77 yards for one Indians touchdown. Jack Hilgendorf and Collins also tallied in the third.

They teamed up to gain an outrageous 1,264 yards聽鈥� 648 by Highland.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 football,鈥� said Harris. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how the game is played.鈥�

Murphy finished with 178 yards on 19 attempts for Mascoutah.

The only thing hotter than 93-degree temperatures and the 104-degree index at kickoff were both teams鈥� offenses in a first half that saw them combine for 52 points, or 29 more than they scored last year when Highland pulled out a 13-10 win.

It took the Bulldogs only 3:05 to initiate scoring as Ohren found Grayson Stone for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Just over 2陆 minutes later, Mascoutah equalized when Sean Murphy powered into a scrum and came out the other side for a 9-yard score.

That was followed by Gavin Maroon鈥檚 12-yard touchdown run for Highland, then a 74-yard hookup from Jack Hilgendorf to Jayden Seitz on which the Indians receiver took a slant over the middle and outran multiple defenders.

Jerell Crumble gave Mascoutah its first lead at 21-14 with 2:43 left in the first quarter with a 73-yard run on a jet sweep right that saw him blaze past a defender with an angle. However, Harris鈥� 1-yard plunge tied it at 21 just 49 seconds into the second quarter.

The Indians regained a 24-21 edge when Tyson Rowe booted a 26-yard field goal with 2:52 remaining in the half, capping a 16-play drive that lasted nearly 8陆 minutes. However, the Bulldogs got the last word in the half when Ohren found Napolean Nixon yards behind any defender for a 37-yard touchdown strike at the 1:04 mark.

The teams combined for a whopping 621 total yards in the half, with Mascoutah accounting for 313.

Neither team cooled off in the second half, teeing up a finish that will be talked about for years and years. Especially in Highland.

鈥淲e want to be a team everyone remembers,鈥� said Ohren.

They certainly played a game no one will forget.