5 takeaways from Highland's big defensive plays taking it to 3rd straight 6A final

Gilbert Highland overcame penalties and turnovers, showed it can turn it on offensively when it needs to, and, in the end, let the defense carry it back to the 6A football championship game.

Big defensive plays by end Cooper Scott and free safety Joseph Allen down the stretch, and Kody Cullimore's three touchdowns, lifted No. 2-seed Highland to a 35-21 semifinal victory at home over No. 6 Mesa Red Mountain Friday night.

Highland will try to repeat as 6A champion on Dec. 10 at 1 p.m., when the Hawks (9-3) take on Phoenix Pinnacle at Sun Devil Stadium. Highland shut out Pinnacle 25-0 in an earlier meeting this year.

"Relief," Highland coach Brock Farrel said, desribing the feeling of getting back to the championship game. "I feel like we've had a lot of ups and downs this year. We had to really work for it.

"From the fumble (in a 10-8 loss) versus Hamilton to the Lone Peak (Utah) trip, which was a high and a low, to multiple games where we had five fumbles and still find a way to win, to get back to the stadium, it's really special."

Here are five takeaways on Highland's comeback win Friday:

Overcoming mistakes

Highland overcame two fumbles in the second half Friday night. A snap back to quarterback Kalen Fisher was lost, and Red Mountain turned that into a touchdown, moving 40 yards on 10 plays with quarterback Carter Crispin sneaking in from the 1 to tie the score at 21 with 6:20 left in the third quarter.

Highland lost another fumble on a long pass play from Fisher to Jacob Soehl at the Red Mountain 14. But Red Mountain couldn't cash that in, after Crispin lost his helmet and had to leave the game on fourth down and the Lions couldn't convert the first down from Highland's 33.

Six plays later, Cullimore was in the end zone for the third time, this time on a 6-yard pass from Fisher.

"I thought the whole game we were going to be OK," Cullimore said. "We had a great week of practice. Everyone was locked in. I was not worried about it."

Defense coming up big

Highland's defense has been the news maker this season, from Scott's sacks to Allen's big hits at free safety.

Those two were clutch down the stretch as Highland's pressure finally got to Crispin, who has played the last month on a torn meniscus in his knee that will need surgery. On third down, Scott sacked Crispin for a six-yard loss. Then, on fourth down, Allen intercepted a deep pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown with 2:43 left to extend Highland's lead to 35-21. That iced it.

"This was a championship game," Allen said. "Red Mountain is a helluva team."

Highland scored a touchdown with 40 seconds left in the regular season to beat Red Mountain 17-14. And Red Mountain didn't have Crispin and big-play back Lenox Lawson in that meeting.

Cullimore's versatility

Cullimore has a big family of football players, cousins coming through the program. He is the latest to leave his stamp on Highland.

Cullimore tied the score at 7-7 on a 5-yard run after Lawson broke loose on a 79-yard run to give Red Mountain an early lead. Cullimore had another scoring run. He had a touchdown pass called back by a penalty.

"He's a touchdown machine," Farrell called Cullimore.

Highland's offense was slow to come out this season, but, in the second half of the season, riding its big, talented line, and seeing sophomore Kalen Fisher emerge at quarterback, the Hawks don't have to just rely on big defensive plays to win games.

Fisher threw a 38-yard TD pass to Greg Toler Jr., in the first half to tie the score at 14-14.

"It's just getting the ball to playmakers," Cullimore said. "We had a lot of mistakes in the beginning of the year. We went back to the basics, cleaned it up, and we're playing our best ball right now."

Crispin's gutsy effort

Even though he threw three interceptions, Crispin was remarkable at times escaping Highland's pressure with his legs. Farrel wanted his defense to test Crispin's knee, which he injured a month ago that knocked him out of a loss to Gilbert Williams Field.

"He made some great plays with his legs," Farrel said. "We want to test his knee, and his knee was fine. So kudos to him. He played like a champ. He played like a warrior. But we're tough to beat at home."

Neutralizing Lane

Highland did a great job of pressuring Crispin in the second half and keeping 6-foot-6 USC-committed wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane in check. Red Mountain tried to get the ball in Lane's hands. But Highland had defenders around him all night. Lane got shaken up in the fourth quarter when he got tackled behind the line of scrimmage on a receiver sweep. He returned to the game but was never a factor.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 tkeaways from Highland's defensive plays taking it to 6A final