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Thursday, August 15, 2024 | 5:05 p.m.
Highlands’ Menage Lucas (8) and Montrell Johnson (3) harass North Catholic’s Brady O’Hara during a game last season at JC Stone Field.
Louis B. Rüdiger | TribLive
Jahmar Wright returns as safety for Highlands this season.
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Highlands’ move to the Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference brought with it some exciting rivalries with nearby AK Valley opponents such as Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport and Valley.
It will also likely cause some sleepless nights for the coaches, quarterbacks and wide receivers of these teams.
The Golden Rams will field an all-star team of experienced cornerbacks and safeties this season and will establish a no-fly zone over Natrona Heights on Friday night.
The group is led by two-time All-Conference cornerback Montrell Johnson, who has seven players and other young players in the starting blocks.
“Speed, athleticism, knowledge of the plays,” coach Matt Bonislawski said with a smile about his defensive backfield. “They’ve definitely been here a while.”
Johnson is a third-year starter who had 43 tackles and two interceptions last season and was named to the all-conference first team. With a 4.42-second 40-yard dash time, the senior has 24 pass defenses, 72 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, five interceptions and two fumble recoveries in his career.
“I could have had at least 12 takeaways last year. I lost a lot,” said Johnson, who is attracting interest from college teams in the MAC and Division I FCS.
Johnson attributed the unit’s success over the past two seasons to their familiarity with each other, and over the course of this summer, they have become even stronger.
“Communication,” he said. “We’re very vocal back there.”
His cornerback colleagues include seniors Darius Cherry (28 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INTs) and Aiden Burford (60 tackles, 2 INTs).
“I need to make more tackles than I did last year. I need to be on the ball more and attack the ball,” Burford said. “Everyone just needs to do their job, be in their position and do what they’re supposed to do. And everything should be fine.”
Junior Jaymar Wright (17 tackles, fumble recovery) is back at safety and will be joined by senior Menage Lucas, who had 37 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery as a linebacker last season. Lucas also plays quarterback for the Golden Rams.
“It’s a little different because (at safety) I’m mostly looking at the pass,” Lucas said. “I have to get further back. You still have to break through and make the tackle.”
In addition to Johnson, Wright, Lucas and Cherry were named All-Conference selections last fall, and Burford was an All-Conference receiver.
The team also signed Georgia native DaRai Carter, a 5-foot-7, 165-pound junior who will play a lot of roles in the defensive backfield and as a wide receiver.
Highlands’ defensive backfield limited opponents to 1,248 passing yards in 2023, an average of just over 113 yards per game, and helped the Golden Rams to a 6-5 record, including a 3-3 record in the Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference.
It remains to be seen how they will fare in the revamped Allegheny 7 Conference, but it is safe to say they will make their presence known to their new opponents.
Bill Hartlep is TribLive’s sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Point Park University, he joined the Trib in 2004 to cover high school sports. He held a variety of editorial positions before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at [email protected].
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