Giants’ win in dramatic fashion to end season on three-game winning streak – The Record

For posting a forgettable 3-6 record, Highland Park football had a season to remember.

From a 1,000-yard wide receiver and a first-year football player who became a star to the upset of playoff-bound Niles West and a three-game winning streak, the Giants’ memorable moments were aplenty in 2024.

But they saved their best for last.

A 4-yard touchdown pass from senior Michael Bryant to senior Spencer Auslander with 21 seconds to play gave Highland Park a dramatic 43-36 victory on Friday, Oct. 25, at Wolters Field.

“We kept on fighting,” Giants’ coach Anthony Kopp said. “We learned throughout the year and were comfortable in that type of situation.”

In control most of the contest, Highland Park coughed up a 14-point lead in the final quarter. Vernon Hills put the pressure on by converting a two-point conversion as well, taking a 36-35 lead with only 2:26 to play.

After a strong kickoff return to their 39-yard line, the Giants put the ball in the hands of their stars. JT Killeen, who amassed 245 yards rushing on the evening, picked up gains of 11 and 17 yards, while Lucas Gordon caught two balls for a combined 14 yards to get Highland Park inside the red zone.

The Giants’ 30-yard field goal attempt was a touch wide; however, Vernon Hills committed two infractions, which was good and bad news for the Giants. The Giants could repeat fourth down and from the 4-yard line, but their kicker, Max Dubin, was injured on the play and helped off the field.

“Basically, we had to go for it,” Kopp said. “We looked to get the ball to Lucas (Gordon) and they had him covered and Michael (Bryant) did a great job of finding someone else.”

That someone else was Auslander, who had streaked across the near middle just over the goal line. Bryant found him with a bullet of a pass and Auslander held on through contact.

“These are the plays you remember,” Auslander said. “I don’t think I felt anything. .. You think about this since you were a kid — scoring a touchdown on your last ever high school drive.”

Killeen’s rush was good for a two-point conversion, and the Giants halted any last-ditch effort from the visiting Cougars to seal the victory.

Coming off back-to-back victories, Highland Park appeared in control for much of the contest.

Bryant threw for two touchdowns — both to Gordon, covering 71 and 75 yards, respectively — and ran for two others as his team took a 28-14 lead into halftime.

While the Cougars were the first to score in the second half, a 65-yard scoring run from Killeen gave the Giants their two-score lead right back.

In just his first year of organized football, Killeen had his first touches as running back just one week ago. On Friday, he carried the ball 23 times for 245 yards.

“It did not feel like 200-some rushing yards,” Killeen said with a smirk right after the game. “It just felt like fun out there. I have to give credit to the offensive line for that. That’s all them. It was just awesome.”

Despite Killeen’s inexperience in the backfield, Kopp didn’t hesitate to feed him the rock on Friday.

“You saw him. You’d give him the ball too,” Kopp said. “He’s just a great athlete, a competitive person, a tough person. … He was able to learn it all very quickly.”

After a lull in scoring, Vernon Hills scored twice in a matter of five minutes to take the one-point lead prior to Highland Park’s game-winning drive.

Andrew Nikolakakis, a junior, pitched in five catches for 64 yards for the Giants. Gordon, another junior, finished with 160 yards receiving and on the way surpassed 1,000 reception yards for the season.

Killeen and Auslander agreed that the key to the Giants’ turnaround was the effort against Niles West in Week 7. Going in 0-6 and “with nothing to lose,” Killeen said, Highland Park gave the Wolves all it had and emerged with a 21-14 victory, setting the tone for the three-game winning streak to end the season.

Kopp thinks the lessons learned and season-ending good vibes will carry with the program into next season.

“We’re certainly excited for next year. Our junior class is solid, our sophomores won conference,” he said. And with these juniors going through a six-game losing streak, I hope they learn from that, learn to finish games — more the mental side of things.”

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