DEFENSE! Lake Highlands 13, Berkner 16

From 2011 Football

In the battle for annual naming rights to their shared Wildcat-Ram Stadium, Berkner upset Lake Highlands 16-13 Friday night. Games don't get more exciting than this one. Berkner seemingly had victory in hand when they pushed their lead to 16-6 with a field goal with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game. But Lake Highlands marched 70 yards in less than a minute to cut the lead to 16-13. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, when Berkner couldn't handle the elusive bouncing ball, Lake Highlands recovered and was poised to score again to take the lead and, incredibly, the win.

The Wildcats had a first down at the Berkner 4 yard line. The Ram defense, who had played well all game, saved their best for last. Four times Lake Highlands ran into the Berkner line, the last three downs from inside the one yard line. Four times the Berkner line held. The goal line stand with less than a minute to play in the game gave Berkner the victory, their first in this cross-district rivalry in five years. It was a heart-breaking loss for the Wildcats and a great time to be a Ram!

More photos from this game, and all of the 2011 season, including the bands and color guards and drill teams and cheerleaders and everything else that goes into making high school football the best value in Friday night entertainment, can be found here.