Highland Cougars Advance With District Football Win Over Milan Wildcats

By Editor | November 6, 2025

David Sharp

Highland (1-9) handled the line of scrimmage, paving the way for Cougar senior Chris Gaus to rush seven times for 281 unofficial yards and two touchdowns during a 42-7 win over Milan (0-10) in Class 1, District 8 football action at Highland. The contest was held October 31, 2025.

The Cougars will take on undefeated Grand River Conference 11 Man football champion Putnam County (9-0) on Friday, November 7, 2025 at Unionville in the next round of the district tournament.

“We played all three phases of the game, all four quarters and finally put everything together,” Highland coach Caleb Arnsman said. “We spread the b all around and got a lot of people involved.”

Brock Schneider recovered a Milan fumble on the Highland 29 yard line on the first Wildcat drive. Levi Dent capped a 71 yard drive with a five yard touchdown run at the four minute mark of the first quarter. The two point run failed, leaving the score at 6-0 in favor of Highland.

Milan punted on the subsequent drive. Highland senior Chris Gaus returned to the lineup with an explosive 79 yard touchdown dash with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter. Dalton Hedges ran in the two point conversion for a 14-0 Highland lead. The Cougars took their advantage to the second quarter.

The Wildcats drove the football from their 28 to the Highland 18 where they turned over the football all on downs. Levi Feldcamp scored a Highland touchdown on a ten yard run with 3:13 remaining in the second period. Chris Gaus converted the two pointer with a running play for a 22-0 lead.

The Cougar defense stopped Milan on downs at the Wildcat 26 yard line late in the first half. Chris Gaus raced 49 yards for another Highland touchdown with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter. A successful two point conversion gave Highland at 30 point lead.

Porter Peters recovered an onside kick. Peters scored from nine yards out with 11 seconds remaining in the first half. The conversion run failed for a 36-0 Highland lead at the half.

Highland took their 36-0 lead to the halftime dressing room. The Cougars punted on their first second half drive. Cooper Hinton recovered a fumble for Highland on the Milan 30 yard line.

Brock Schneider

a two yard pass from Dalton Hedges at the 4:14 mark of period three for a 42-0 lead. Highland took their lead to the fourth quarter. Milan drove the ball to the Highland goal line. The Wildcats lost another fumble.

Highland fumbled the ball away in the end zone. Rafael Sievers recovered for a Milan touchdown with 1:38 to play in the game. Highland captured the 42-7 win.

Milan seniors Hunter Reed, Aziel Alcontra, Emmanuel Aguilar, Jaiven Smith, Hayden Herzberg, Alexander Hull, and Hayden Courtney played their final game for the Wildcats.

Highland recorded 18 first downs on the night. The Cougars rushed 18 times for 432 yards and five scores. Dalton Hedges had two runs for 65 yards and a score. Levi Dent was 6-51 yards rushing with a touchdown.

Dalton Hedges was 2-4 passing for 28 yards. Highland gained 451 total yards from scrimmage unofficially. The Cougars had six penalties for 60 yards. Highland’s pass rush pressured Milan quarterbacks.

The Wildcats had nine first downs unofficially. Hunter Reed led Milan with seven carries for 50 unofficial yards. Gunner Sims was next in line with seven carries for 40 yards. Milan was 29-112 yards rushing unofficially. Milan went 2-8 passing for 35 yards.

The Wildcats were penalized three times for 25 yards. Kayson Doyle recorded a quarterback sack for a seven yard loss.

“Having Chris (Gaus) back this week was huge. I felt like if we would have fed him the ball more, his stats would have been a whole lot more,” Highland coach Caleb Arnsman said.

“Levi Dent stepped up when Chris (Gaus) was out (with injury). Together they form a pretty good 1-2 punch. Dawson Hedges is not afraid to run the ball. We take advantage of that in a quarterback,” Caleb Arnsman said.

“We just ran the ball up the middle. On the inside of the defense. We took advantage of it. Our line is a little bit bigger and thicker there. I told them to block, and our