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Highlanders Show Fight, Firepower in 42–23 Road Loss to George Rogers Clark
WINCHESTER, Ky. — Huntington’s season opener had nearly everything: a goal-line stand, a forced fumble, a special-teams touchdown, a second-half comeback and the emergence of several young playmakers.
The only thing missing was the finish the Highlanders wanted.
Huntington erased a 14-point deficit and briefly seized the lead during a furious third-quarter charge, but George Rogers Clark answered with a barrage of explosive plays to defeat the Highlanders, 42–23, Friday night in Winchester.
The final margin did not reflect how competitive the game was for much of the evening. Huntington possessed the football for 28 minutes and four seconds, ran 66 offensive plays, earned 16 first downs and fought its way in front, 17–14, midway through the third quarter.
George Rogers Clark, however, made its opportunities count. The Cardinals accumulated 499 yards of offense, including 371 through the air, and scored four passing touchdowns of at least 39 yards.
For Huntington, the loss provided both a difficult lesson and plenty of evidence that the Highlanders possess the talent to make noise in 2026.
King and the Defense Refuse to Break
George Rogers Clark threatened to take control early, driving inside the Huntington red zone twice during the opening quarter. Both times, the Highlander defense answered.
On the Cardinals’ first deep possession, senior linebacker Ilias King delivered the game’s first momentum-changing play. With George Rogers Clark at the Huntington 16-yard line, King forced a fumble that Antonyo Paschall recovered at the 14.
King was Huntington’s defensive heartbeat throughout the night, finishing with a team-high 13 tackles—seven solo and six assists—along with the forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.
The Cardinals returned to the red zone on their next possession and advanced to the Huntington 5. Even after a roughing-the-passer penalty gave George Rogers Clark another opportunity, the Highlanders held firm. The fourth-down pass sailed incomplete out of the back of the end zone, completing a determined goal-line stand.
That defensive resistance kept the game scoreless until George Rogers Clark finally broke through with a 52-yard touchdown pass late in the opening quarter.
Rife Provides the Spark
With Huntington trailing 7–0 midway through the second quarter, Kellen Rife changed the game in a matter of seconds.
Rife fielded a punt at the Huntington 27, found a crease and exploded into the open field. Seventy-three yards later, he was standing in the end zone with Huntington’s first touchdown of the season.
Huck Captain’s extra point tied the game at seven and gave the Highlanders new life.
The sophomore’s night was only beginning. Rife also caught four passes for 58 yards and a touchdown, giving him 131 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a breakout varsity performance.
George Rogers Clark responded with a two-yard touchdown run to reclaim a 14–7 advantage. Huntington appeared poised to answer before halftime when MayShaun Okonkwo powered the offense to the Cardinals’ 2-yard line.
Okonkwo broke two tackles on an 11-yard run that placed Huntington at the doorstep, but a fumble on the following play allowed George Rogers Clark to preserve its seven-point lead going into the locker room.
Midkiff Leads a Third-Quarter Charge
Huntington emerged from halftime looking like a different team.
Sophomore quarterback Marek Midkiff directed an eight-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to begin the third quarter. Okonkwo supplied the early yardage before Midkiff connected with Rife on three consecutive completions covering 8, 16 and 24 yards.
The final throw was the best of the sequence. Midkiff found Rife down the right side for a 24-yard touchdown, and Captain’s extra point pulled Huntington even at 14–14.
Midkiff, making his first varsity start at quarterback, completed 19 of 35 passes for 182 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 27 yards, including scrambles of 12 and 15 yards that kept early drives alive.
The Highlanders immediately created another opportunity on special teams. On the ensuing kickoff, Johnny Garrett forced a fumble and Gaige McCellan recovered it at the George Rogers Clark 31.
Huntington turned the takeaway into points. Midkiff completed a third-down pass to Okonkwo to extend the drive, and Captain converted a 27-yard field goal to give the Highlanders their first lead, 17–14, with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter.
In less than six minutes, Huntington had scored 10 unanswered points and turned a halftime deficit into a road lead.
Explosive Plays Turn the Tide
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, George Rogers Clark needed only a few snaps to answer.
The Cardinals regained the lead with a 39-yard touchdown pass, then struck again on a 59-yard catch-and-run late in the third quarter. A 45-yard completion set up another George Rogers Clark touchdown early in the fourth, stretching the Cardinals’ lead to 35–17.
That was the difference in the game. Huntington forced George Rogers Clark to work for stretches, but the Cardinals repeatedly turned a single missed tackle or moment of separation into six points.
George Rogers Clark averaged nearly 13.8 yards per completion and produced touchdown passes of 52, 39, 59 and 18 yards.
Huntington, meanwhile, was forced to overcome its own setbacks. The Highlanders were penalized eight times for 75 yards, compared with only two penalties for 15 yards against George Rogers Clark. Several Huntington gains—including a first-down run and a long completion—were erased by holding penalties.
Despite falling behind by three scores, the Highlanders continued to compete.
Midkiff led a 12-play touchdown march during the fourth quarter, converting a fourth-and-3 pass to Jaxson Seals and later finding Okonkwo for 16 yards on fourth-and-12. He finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Caiden Davis, trimming the deficit to 35–23 with 4:33 remaining.
Davis’ touchdown was his only reception of the game, and it gave Huntington a final chance to make things interesting. George Rogers Clark recovered the ensuing onside kick, however, and added a late touchdown to establish the final margin.
Okonkwo Carries the Load
MayShaun Okonkwo was Huntington’s most consistent offensive weapon, finishing with 18 carries for 71 yards and adding three receptions for 32 yards.
His 103 yards from scrimmage came on 21 touches, with much of the production earned through contact. Okonkwo broke four tackles as a runner and recorded eight yards after contact. During Huntington’s late first-half drive, he carried the ball six times for 38 yards and nearly powered the Highlanders into the end zone before the turnover at the goal line.
Rife led Huntington’s receivers with 58 yards, while Ethan Goodson caught all three of his targets for 35 yards. Seals contributed two catches for 21 yards, including two fourth-down conversions, and Donte Newsome added four receptions.
Newsome was also one of Huntington’s strongest performers in coverage. He recorded four tackles and three pass breakups, repeatedly challenging the Cardinals’ receivers on the perimeter.
King led the defense with 13 tackles, while Dre Barber, C.J. Quinn and Grady Franks each registered six. Paschall and Davis added five apiece. Garrett’s forced fumble and McCellan’s recovery helped Huntington win the turnover battle, 2–1.
Seals averaged 36.2 yards on five punts, placed two inside the 20 and helped Huntington manage field position throughout the night.
More Than the Final Score
Huntington finished with 306 total yards, including 182 passing and 124 rushing. The Highlanders converted five of 12 third downs and two of four fourth downs while holding the ball more than eight minutes longer than George Rogers Clark.
The Highlanders also demonstrated the ability to respond.
They answered an early deficit with Rife’s electric punt return. They opened the second half with a game-tying touchdown drive. They created a turnover on the ensuing kickoff, took the lead and continued fighting after George Rogers Clark surged back in front.
For a team beginning a new season with a sophomore quarterback and several young players in featured roles, those moments matter.
The opener also provided a clear roadmap for improvement. Huntington must eliminate drive-killing penalties, finish red-zone opportunities and prevent routine plays from becoming long touchdowns. Correct those issues, and the Highlanders have the ball-control offense, playmaking ability and defensive toughness to turn an encouraging opening-night effort into victories.
The scoreboard belonged to George Rogers Clark.
But Huntington left Winchester with something valuable of its own: proof that when the Highlanders protect the football, play clean and keep explosive plays contained, they have the weapons to compete with anyone on their schedule.
