HS Football: Highlanders Finish Strong Against War Eagles to Claim Long-Awaited First Win of the Season

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Woodlands Highlanders (1-2) opened district play with a victory against the Oak Ridge War Eagles (1-2) that doubled as the team’s first win of the year.

Following two agonizing losses at the hands of North Shore and Lamar, the Woodlands took to the field to open against district foe Oak Ridge where the teams took quickly to offense.

The War Eagles kicked off to the Highlanders where the reception was fumbled and recovered by Oak Ridge. They would take it to the house on their opening drive in less than two minutes having expired from the start. The Highlanders responded with a scoring drive of their own that exploded with quarterback Mabrey Mettauer rushing for 62 yards to give the Woodlands a 7-6 lead.

The teams would begin trading points with passing touchdowns coming from both quarterbacks and gashing rushes going for big yards. After a flurry of scoring, the Highlanders went into the half with a 35-20 lead with the momentum pendulum still up for grabs.

Mabrey Mettauer would be the catalyst for the Woodlands, as his production kept up from the first half. A quick touchdown pass would finally create the separation needed for the Woodlands to start pulling away.

Oak Ridge could only muster a single touchdown in the second half while the Highlanders steamrolled their way to victory. Some crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s down the stretch saw the Woodlands hang 55 on their opponents to the War Eagles’ 26.

The victory secured the first win of the season for the Highlanders and put the team tied at the top of the athletic district at 1-0 with the other victorious teams of the week.

The Highlanders will host the defending district champion New Caney Eagles in a grudge match over last season’s bitter defeat. Meanwhile, Oak Ridge will take a break before facing the same New Caney Eagles on Sep. 22.