Highland escapes with win on late FG

You could hardly blame Gilbert Highland coach Pete Wahlheim for being overcome with emotion Friday night.

After his team defeated host Chandler Basha 24-21 on a last-second field goal by Noah Miller in a Division I, Section I matchup, Wahlheim was in the back of one of the end zones trying to regain his composure.

“One of the things we talk about is no white flags,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played well yet. I don’t know how good we are, but when you’ve got kids like this, you always have a chance.”

With the game tied at 21, Miller initially missed a 37yard field-goal attempt, but Basha was penalized for roughing the kicker, and No. 9 Highland was given a second chance and new set of downs. Miller redeemed himself when he kicked the decisive field goal with only 1.1 seconds remaining.

“We don’t know how to do it any other way,” Wahlheim said. “We make things hard on ourselves.”

While the score indicated a one-possession game at the break, with Basha ahead14-7, Highland (6-2 overall, 3-0 section) was limited to 69 yards of total offense in the first half.

Basha (4-4, 1-2) took its largest lead of the game late in the third quarter, when Zach Werlinger connected with Doc O’Connor on a 23-yard touchdown pass to go up 21-7.

Highland’s comeback began in the fourth quarter when Ryan McCord scored a pair of 2-yard rushing touchdowns about four minutes apart.