Rochester, MI — The Adams Highlanders passed their first test along the three-team OAA Red scheduling gauntlet that includes West Bloomfield, Clarkston, and Lake Orion in consecutive weeks. The story of the game would be that Adams was able to level up against a much larger offensive and defensive line and control the line of scrimmage when it mattered most. Along with a few key conversions and some timely takeaways, Rochester Adams was able to notch a tight 21-14 victory over one of the top-rated teams in the state. The first half was a grinding slugfest with little room to move offensively for either side. When one team would make it into the other’s territory, miscues led to turnovers and zero points on the board. Solid first quarter tackling by multiple Highlanders including Liam Kania and Matteo Humbert resulted in several punts by the Lakers. The most promising West Bloomfield drive ended in a timely interception by Dominic Beccari all the way down at the Adams 16 yard-line late in the first quarter. The Highlander offense, led by Junior quarterback Rino Watters, began their first quarter attack on the ground with multiple first-down runs combined with a 15-yard Laker personal foul penalty. With Adams knocking on the door for the first points of the game, a fumble ended the drive in West Bloomfield territory. Hard second quarter running by the Lakers brought them back into Adams territory. A long jump-ball pass from the Laker quarterback, initially ruled a touchdown, was overturned due to a line of scrimmage violation. This was the first of several key Laker mistakes, and one of the big breaks that the Highlanders would get on an evening where first-half points were hard to come by. Defensive stands by the Highlanders highlighted by sacks from Drew Szymanski and Matteo Humbert upended any chance for the Lakers to get on the board in the first half. While Adams was able to rack up a few first downs with some hard runs by Watters and Humbert along with pass catches from Tillotson and Offer, they too were unable to get into the endzone. Solid first-half defensive contributions by Battershell, Schaffner, and Dawood kept the scoring at 0-0 going into halftime. West Bloomfield came out of the gate in the second half like a lightening-bolt by returning the opening kick for the game’s first score. The 7-point deficit, however, was short lived as Coach Patritto and the Watters-led offense were able to make half-time adjustments leading to a quick tie game. The first Highlander drive of the second half was punctuated by 30-yard runs from both Watters and Humbert deep into Laker territory. As was the case most of the night, when Adams needed a key 4th and 1 conversion, they were able to get it with Humbert dashing in for the first Adams score to knot the game at 7. Another big West Bloomfield kick return down to the Adams 33 put them in position to quickly score again. On that drive, a critical 4th down passing conversion resulted in a first down to the Adams 3-yard line and ultimately, the go-ahead score with 4:29 left in the third quarter. Once again, with their backs against the wall, the Adams offense was able to punch back with a scoring drive of their own. A Laker pooch-kick harnessed by Connor Helferich combined with another defensive facemask penalty led to excellent starting field position. More hard running from Watters behind offensive tackle Rowan Kawa and guard Henry Hittle kept the grinding progress moving forward. It was a big, contested catch in a key down situation from Watters to Sam Hollenback, however, that punctuated the drive. With the Highlanders down on the 1-yard line, they were able to get the hard yard that they needed with a Watters rush up the middle. A second extra point from Daniel Seymour tied up the game at 14-14 which is where the third stanza would end. The Lakers, once again were able to make headway on the ground early in the fourth quarter pushing into the Adams red zone. However, another untimely miscue upended the drive thanks to a Baccari punch-out and Hollenback fumble recovery deep in Adams territory. This is when the Adams grit, conditioning, and will-to-win rose to the forefront. Perhaps it was the inspirational pre-game speech from coach Patritto, or the confidence gained from the late-game heroics of the Romeo contest, the Highlanders owned the last 9 minutes of the fourth quarter. With just over nine minutes left on the clock when they took posession, Adams climbed on the backs of Humbert and Watters. Largely running behind the right side of their battle tested offensive line, they were able to methodically carve up the laboring Laker defense with chunk plays on the ground. Humbert and Watters accumulated multiple first downs while burning down the clock. After West Bloomfield used the majority of their timeouts to slow the Adams offense, it came down to the play of the game… With 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, rather than going for a near-sure field goal, the Adams staff once again made the decision to rely on his offensive line and power running game. The decision didn’t disappoint as Watters was able to plunge into the endzone for the go-ahead score with just over 30 seconds left on the clock. The last-chance West Bloomfield drive, which resulted in them getting to the Adams 29-yard line with 0:06 left on the clock would lead to the final, heart-stopping play of the game. With the clock ticking down under 3 seconds, the Lakers completed a pass to the 5-yard line with space to seemingly run to the endzone. It was then that Senior Tommy Offer charged forward and made a sure-handed tackle to end the game preserving the 21-14 victory. The 3-0 Highlanders face the Clarkston Wolves at home next Friday and will try to keep their unblemished record intact.