Friday afternoon the Casteel football teamed learned it would face Highland without its head coach and play caller Bobby Newcombe. 
At halftime the Colts trailed the Hawks 24-0 with no offense in sight. 
With 10 seconds left in the game, quarterback Paul Palmer threw a nine yard touchdown pass to tight end Riley Hunt, giving  No. 11. Casteel an improbable, 29-27 victory over No. 6 Highland in a first round 6A playoff game at Highland. 
"They didn't give up," assistant coach Jeremy Beamon said afterward. Details of coach Newcombe's absence and possible return were not made available by Casteel, but Beamon served as the acting head coach for Friday's game.

"It's all about the team, and the boys they showed us what kind of team we've got," Beamon added. "They fought to the end. It's all about them."

How it Happened

Highland made things look easy in the first half, while Casteel struggled to put a decent drive together. Hawks kicker Caden Leonard hit a 23-yard field goal on Highland's first drive, and later Highland blocked a punt which was scooped up by Spencer Heath and returned 18 yards for a touchdown. 

In the second quarter Highland's offense used big plays to extend it's lead. Kalen Fisher found tight end Hayden Daugherty over the middle for a 28-yard scoring strike. That made it 17-0 with 4:05 until halftime,  but the Hawks weren't done. After forcing another Casteel punt, Kruz Cullimore broke off a 63-yard touchdown run, giving Highland its 24-0 halftime lead, while Casteel's offense seemed to barely have a pulse.

"In the first half we got away from the run game," Palmer said of the Colts offensive woes. 

"So we came out and started running the ball more, it started working, which opened up the pass game."

Coach Beamon's son Elijah was a catalyst in Casteel's comeback. On a fourth and long, Beamon made a major adjustment on a 42-yard reception that set up Casteel's first score, a two yard run from Isaiah Linyear, who added an eight yard scoring run at the end of the third quarter.
The Colts converted two-point plays after both touchdowns, with Palmer finding Hunt after the first touchdown and Merrick Kubacki after the second touchdown. This cut Highland's lead to just eight points (24-16), while the Hawks offense was becoming inefficient and stagnant. 
Midway through the fourth quarter, Palmer led another scoring drive in which he found Beamon in the corner of the endzone from 21yards, making the score 24-22 with 7:44 to play.

"Elijah made some great plays," Palmer added.

The Colts intended to go for another two-point conversion, but an unsportsmanlike penalty after the touchdown cost them 15 yards, forcing an extra point kick that was missed.

Casteel's defense again forced a quick Highland punt, but the Hawks took a huge risk that paid off. Standing to punt at his own eight yard line, Grady Crandall tucked the ball and took off to his right and finds 14 yards of running room, good enough for a first down. The fake punt conversion gave Highland offensive energy, as the Hawks drove to the 24 yard line. That's when the game came to a literal standstill for nearly 40 minutes. Highland offensive guard Jayden Collins suffered a severe leg injury, requiring emergency medical attention and an ambulance. 

When play resumed, Leonard connected on a 41-yard field goal, and Highland led 27-22 with just over five minutes left in the game. That was plenty of time for Palmer to engineer the game winning drive. The senior completed 7 of 9 pass attempts, including the nine yard scoring pass to Hunt on a well designed play. Everyone on the offense moved to the right, except for Hunt, who slipped out to the left. Palmer changed directions, rolling out to his left where Hunt was wide open for the score.

Casteel's defense held Highland to three second half points.

What's Next?

The Colts will host No. 14 Centennial next Friday in a 6A quarterfinal. Centennial pulled its own stunner in a 21-7 defeat of No. 3 Red Mountain.

Highland finished its season 7-4.