HIGHLAND – Highland’s offense was too potent for Alton’s Redbirds in the football opener for both teams in front of a large crowd Friday night as the Bulldogs prevailed 47-6.
Alton head coach Eric Dickerson said on a bright note, receiver/returner Kevin Caldwell Jr. played a great game and running back Darrell Smith had a good night carrying the ball.
“It was a tough way to start the season,” Dickerson said. “Obviously, things didn’t go the way we wanted. 
We looked good at times on offense. We need to watch film and fix some things this week.”
The Redbirds scored on a sensational 67-yard touchdown catch by Caldwell with 1:34 left in the first quarter.
Highland quarterback Garrett Marti had an amazing game in the air and running the ball, showing his versatility. Highland bolted to a 20-0 lead, then the Redbirds scored but failed the extra point to make it 20-6 at the end of one. In the second quarter, Highland rolled ahead 35-6 and never looked back, scoring 12 more points to finish the game. Highland’s offense is highly potent and will be difficult for any opponent to stop this season.
Alton hosts Quincy at 7 p.m. Friday; the game will be Riverbender.com’s featured live game of the week.
