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Elizabeth Forward beats Highlands in wild offensive shootout

 
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| November 7, 2026

When the brackets came out last Saturday the matchup between Elizabeth Forward and Highlands stuck out. It lived up to expectations as both offenses put on a show in the 54-38 Elizabeth Forward win.

Elizabeth Forward got the ball to start the game and it was a good looking drive a big run got them into Highlands territory and eventually Elizabeth Forward attempted a field goal which was no good.

Highlands started their first possession on their own 20 yard line. On the second play Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg was off to the races and scored on a 76 yard run. That gave Highlands a 7-o lead with 5:34 in the first quarter.

Elizabeth Forward started their second possession on their own 17 yard line. A big run by Rocco Thompson got them into Highlands territory and he finished off the drive a few plays later when he scored on a 4 yard run, after a blocked extra point, Highlands still had a 7-6 lead with  3:22 in the first quarter.

Early on in the second quarter a bad snap gave Highlands the ball at the Elizabeth Forward 10 yard line. After that Elizabeth Forward’s defense came up big and held Highlands to a field goal. The 24 yard field goal by Jackson Babinsack extended their lead to 10-6 with 10:51 in the second quarter.

Elizabeth Forward had decent field position to start their next drive and only took one play to get into Highlands territory. A few plays later Kaden Allen found Ryan Dolekary on a 29 yard touchdown pass that gave Elizabeth Forward a 13-10 lead with 9:07 in the second quarter.

Kaden Allen and Rocco Thompson were the 2 headed monster for Elizabeth Forward in their win. Allen was 11 of 16 for 169 yards passing and also had 163 yards rushing. Thompson had 226 yards rushing. “They’ve been big all year” said Coach Demarco.

Highlands started their next drive at their own 29 yard line and only took one the very first play Logan Thies found Christian Pearson on a 71 yard touchdown pass. That gave Highlands the lead again at 17-13 with 8:48 in the second quarter.

The back and forth affair continued on the next drive. Elizabeth Forward quickly got into Highlands territory and a couple plays after that Geo Thompson scored on a 21 yard run. Elizabeth Forward now had a 20-17 lead with 5:57 in the second quarter.

Highlands went three and out on their next drive and they punted it back to Elizabeth Forward, on the third play of the next drive Kaden Allen scored on a 27 yard run which extended the Elizabeth Forward lead to 27-17 with 2:34 in the second quarter.

Highlands started their next drive with great field position thanks to a kick return at the Elizabeth Forward 42 yard line. They capitalized on the great field position when Logan Thies found Christian Pearson on a 27 yard touchdown. That made the score 27-24 Elizabeth Forward with 51 seconds in the second quarter.

 

Despite not having a lot of the time that didn’t stop Elizabeth Forward’s high octane offense. On the fifth play of the drive Kaden Allen found Logan Rider on a 20 yard pass which gave Elizabeth Forward a 34-24 lead with 3 seconds left in the first half. “That was huge” said Coach Demarco.

Highlands got the ball to start the second half and the game picked up where it left off in the first half. They marched right down the field and the drive was finished off when Logan Thies completed it to Christian Pearson to give him the hat trick. It was a 34 yard pass. That made the score 34-31 Elizabeth Forward with 10:24 in the third quarter.

Thies and Pearson both had big nights. Thies was 6 of 10 for 164 yards and Pearson had 4 catches for 156 yards.

 

The next drive for Elizabeth Forward was a long drive which took up a good chunk of the third quarter. Eventually Kaden Allen scored on a 1 yard run. That made the score 41-31 Elizabeth Forward with 4:56 in the third quarter.

 

Highlands started their next drive at their own 27 yard and just like Elizabeth Forward’s last drive this one took up a lot of time. The drive was finished off on a 6 yard run by Logan Thies. That made the score 41-38 Elizabeth Forward 11:54 in the fourth quarter.

 

Elizabeth Forward got the ball once again and the offense just continued to roll. Eventually Rocco Thompson scored on a 1 yard run and that made the score 48-38 Elizabeth Forward with 9:13 in the fourth quarter.

 

On the next drive for Highlands the moment that decided the game happened when the ball was intercepted on the first play of the drive. Elizabeth Forward capitalized on the turnover on a 2 yard run by Geo Thompson. That made the score 54-38 Elizabeth Forward 4:27 remaining in the game. “We needed to get a stop or a turnover so that was definitely a big play for us” said Coach Demarco.

 

The Elizabeth Forward win sets up a big time rematch against Belle Vernon next week at a location to be determined.

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