Highland's Anderson knows how to fly high

HIGHLAND | There was a moment in the madness where two sets of eyes met. The waning seconds in last Friday's Highland-Bishop Noll game were ticking away. Historic joy was bouncing in blue and gold.

That's when it happened.

"It's something I will remember for many years," Highland coach Eddie Fierek said. "We just looked at each other and smiled."

Last Friday in Hammond, the Trojans upset Noll 57-44. Fierek looked out and saw senior Michael Anderson at midcourt. The two erupted in pure happiness as Highland snapped the Warriors' 36-game regular-season winning streak.

"Winning that game was a good time," said Anderson, who scored nine and grabbed six boards in the win. "We put in a lot of hard work that week. We had some guys who were not comfortable with the game plan.

"But we did it, and it worked."

Fierek said Anderson was the first Trojan to buy into the slower game plan, with an emphasis on passing and cutting and passing some more. It wasn't just to take time off the clock but to get good shots and keep Noll's offense in neutral.

Anderson is averaging only six points a game and five rebounds. Not numbers that would cause anyone to cower. However, the leadership of Anderson is what makes him so valuable to Highland, winners of four consecutive games heading into Thursday's game at Clark.

Anderson has earned 14 varsity letters in football, soccer and track. It is the most by any Highland athlete in history. He owns a 3.5 GPA in honors classes. He is the president of the student council and vice president of the National Honor Society.

Oh yeah, along with leading the way against Noll, Anderson also signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Air Force last week. He will be punting at the academy.

"It hasn't been easy playing all these sports," Anderson said. "I wouldn't do it if I didn't love competing. I love it. I want to represent myself, my family, my school and my community the best that I can.

"That's what made last Friday's win so important. It made a lot of people feel real proud."

Anderson will have five years of active duty and three years in the reserves upon completion of his studies.

"I knew we needed a different game plan against Noll," Fierek said. "Mike bought into it on Monday. It took some of the other guys longer. But Mike trusted his coach and was a leader. That's what he is, a two-year starter and a captain on this team.

"When the game was almost over, he looked over at me like, 'Yeah, we did do this.' I gave him a big hug. It's something I'm going to remember for a long time."