Recap: Highland Tech Rams vs. Thomas Jefferson Gryphons
This season hasn't been kind to The Highland Tech Rams, who are still winless after their ninth contest. Their rough 37-14 defeat to Thomas Jefferson on Thursday might stick with them for a while. Highland Tech lost against Thomas Jefferson in their previous head to head back in October of 2022, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 52-0 score last time.
Highland Tech's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performance. Perhaps the best among them was Jonah Jefferies, who rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Micah Hinton, who rushed for 97 yards on only six carries.
Thomas Jefferson's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Noah Kimbrell led the charge by rushing for 33 yards and two touchdowns. Dezmin Santiago did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 160 receiving yards, while also punching in a rushing scores.
Highland Tech's defeat was their seventh straight on the road (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 0-10. As for Thomas Jefferson, their victory bumped their record up to 2-8.
Highland Tech will be playing in front of their home fans against East Gaston at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. East Gaston presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Highland Tech in North Carolina (East Gaston is ranked 111th, while Highland Tech is ranked 411th). Thomas Jefferson will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Robbinsville at 7:30 p.m. on November 3rd. Robbinsville will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.
