Highland Park loses league showdown, fails to make state playoffs
By Mark perlman Contributor October 21, 2011 11:28PM
Highland Park quarterback Jason Goldstein tries to avoid a couple of Deerfield defenders during Friday's showdown. | Michael Jarecki ~ For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: November 28, 2011 8:12AM
It was the perfect setting for the Highland Park football team Friday night: hosting Deerfield for the CSL North championship and a chance to make the playoffs.
Last year, with the conference title and a playoff berth on the line, the Giants defeated the Warriors.
Highland Park entered this year’s showdown with a five-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 32-11 during that span.
But what comes around goes around, and this time Deerfield turned the tables with a 45-21 victory. After eight straight years of making the playoffs, the Giants didn’t qualify at 5-4 (4-1 conference) in 2011.
“They came out and really took it to us,” said Giants wide receiver/middle linebacker Ross Chukerman. “We knew the first half wasn’t our best football. We played with more heart in the second half.”
Deerfield roared to a 31-0 halftime lead. With the game realistically out of reach, the Giants could have packed it in.
“We challenged them to come out (after halftime) and play the way we know they can,” said HP coach Hal Chiodo. “I don’t know why we got off to such a slow start, but we came on strong in the second half.”
Leading the charge in the final two quarters was quarterback Jason Goldstein, who was summoned off the bench to provide a spark for Highland Park. Goldstein threw a 10-yard TD pass to Shawn Arrington to get the Giants on the board in the third quarter. Late in the third, he hooked up with Chukerman on a 12-yard scoring pass to bring the Giants within 31-14.
“Jason threw a real nice pass,” Chukerman said. “He has a strong arm and can move around.”
That’s no surprise, as Goldstein is a top-notch baseball prospect at catcher, having participated in elite, national all-star games. He certainly has the hitting, catching and throwing abilities to be considered a Major League Baseball prospect, even though he’s still just a senior in high school.
“Jason can certainly throw the ball,” Chiodo said.
Goldstein also can scramble, running for 71 yards on eight carries against Deerfield. On the passing side, he finished 10-for-16 for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
“I was just trying to get something going,” Goldstein said. “We needed to move the ball and start scoring to get back in the game.”
Despite the loss, the Giants turned what began as a bad season into a winning one. After losing their first three games by a combined score of 117-33, Chiodo was able to rally the team and turn things around.
“After we lost to Lake Forest (41-8 in Game 2), I wondered if we were going to even win a game,” Chiodo said. “But we responded and played very well (in conference).”
Recap: Andrew Sledd rushed for 61 yards on only 12 carries. He was limited to two carries in the second half, as the Giants needed to rally through the air. Sledd scored the final Highland Park touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Chukerman led the receivers with five catches for 70 yards.
The defense struggled with the Warriors’ rushing attack, allowing 459 yards on the ground. Chukerman had eight tackles, while Ariel Small chipped in with six and Ian Knapp posted five. The game got off to a good start for the Giants’ defense stopping Deerfield on a 4th-and-1 from the Highland Park 21-yard line as Small and Rob Heroux teamed up to tackle Deerfield quarterback Brad Holway for a 1-yard loss.
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