HIGHLAND'S OFFENSE ADAPTS TO STANDOUTS DEFENSIVE BACKS SHEAD, ANDERSON BRING ON WINS.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News

Highland High's coaching staff figured the best way to get defensive back standouts Fred Anderson and Deshawn Shead more involved in the team's offense was to change the offense.

The dynamic coverage duo, whose usefulness was limited amid a run-oriented double-wing offense the Bulldogs ran last season, is now thriving in a newly employed spread offense.

And Highland coach Jim Root isn't shy about explaining the motivation behind revamping his team's offense.

``We wanted to see the Fred and Shead (pronounced shed) Show,'' Root said. ``We sincerely believe both those kids are both Div.I athletes, and we wanted offense that would feature both of them.''

Although it took some getting used to for a program that for years has run variations of traditional Golden League-style power running offenses, Highland's new system seems to be working.

After a 0-4 start, Highland has won six of its past seven games, culminating with Friday's 28-7 Southern Section Western Division upset victory over Leuzinger of Lawndale.

The Bulldogs (6-5) will play host to top-seeded Dominguez of Compton (10-1), a defending section champion (Div.III) at 7:30p.m. on Friday.

Anderson and Shead both figured prominently in Friday's victory. Shead caught six passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and Anderson had six catches for 75 yards and one touchdown.

Highland quarterback Kevin Bevans, a third-year starter making his 32nd consecutive start, was 15-for-23 passing for 239 yards. He also led Highland with 64 rushing yards, highlighted by a 54-yard scoring run late in the game that broke things open.

Bevans engineered a crucial 70-yard scoring drive in the final minute of the first half that culminated with a 40-yard scoring pass to Shead, one of two acrobatic leaping catches he made on the drive.

The spread has also paid dividends for Highland's running game. With opposing defenses forced to respect the pass, lanes have opened for running backs. In Friday's game, Highland combined for 192 rushing yards.

``When we went from the double wing to a spread, the kids had to adjust, and we as a coaching staff had to adjust, too,'' Root said. ``They've done it, and now they just keep getting better.''

``Floored'': Palmdale coach Jeff Williams said he was ``floored'' by a roughing-the-snapper penalty that doomed his team in a 23-19 Western Division loss to Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach on Friday.

The Falcons led 19-16 with 1:30 remaining and appeared to have secured the victory when Mira Costa's T.J. Thormodsgaard missed a 24-yard field goal that would have tied the game.

Alex Probasco went on to score the game-winner for Mira Costa.

Palmdale (9-2) had several other penalties assessed in crucial situations, including one in the first half that negated a pass completion for a first down on a fake punt attempt, and an excessive-celebration penalty after scoring a touchdown.

Overtime thriller: Greg Smith's blocked extra point was the difference for visiting Lancaster in a thrilling 35-34 overtime victory over Beverly Hills.

The Eagles (6-4) scored on their first overtime possession on Jeremy Jones' scoring run from the 7.

Lancaster's Taveon Bruke rushed for a career-high 151 yards.

Also: Highland won its first playoff game since 1999 and its first on its own field (its previous postseason home wins were played at Quartz Hill, before the school had lights). It was the Bulldogs' fourth playoff win in school history.

Palmdale's loss snapped a nine-game winning streak, and it extended a streak of playoff losses to four games that goes back to the Southern Section Div.III title game in 2003.

Knight, a fourth-year school fielding its second varsity team with its first senior class, lost to West Torrance 31-7 in its first-ever playoff appearance. Hawks coach Jim Bauer has taken fourth-year programs to the playoffs twice. The previous time was at Littlerock.

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