I’m sure Lake Highlands and head coach Scott Smith are catching some heat for scoring 68 points against Sunset. That just happens when you put up that many points against an outmanned opponent.
But anyone who was there, and anyone who understands football, knows that LH and Smith were taking proper action to keep the game from becoming any more embarrassing for Sunset than it had to be. As someone who has covered football professionally for more than 20 years, LH easily could have scored 100 points. Or 120 if it really wanted to.
The only possible quibble anyone could have is that LH played its starters at the beginning of the first half, up 49-0. But here’s the thing: LH ran only 15 offensive plays in the first half. Smith’s first responsibility is to his own players, and they need to play to stay sharp for the rest of the district schedule.
You also have to take into account the way Sunset approached the game. Their players fought hard and never gave up – but only to a point. On many of LH’s long touchdowns, the ballcarrier was never touched. Once an LH runner broke into the secondary, Sunset basically let him go.
In the end, Sunset’s players were treated with respect by the LH players. For one thing, you never saw a Sunset player try to retaliate out of frustration – which is a tribute to both teams. LH subbed in young, untested players and they never showed up their opponent, despite many chances to do so. The handshake line at the end of the game went without incident.
Although it was a runaway, it was impressive to see LH’s starters perform to near-perfection. It wasn’t just a talent disparity that led to the 68-0 score. Seeing LH execute with such precision the way it did reminds you just how hard the players and coaches work to perform at their very best. That’s all you can ask them to do, no matter the opponent.
