#7 Matthew Stafford Returns to Highlander Stadium to Help the Scots Defeat Lake Highlands

by Kirk Dooley

In 1994 Lake Highlands had a good quarterback who was replaced by a once-in-a generation talent by the name of Marcus Stiggers. The replaced QB moved to defense and had a good season. Stiggers ran for 1,600 yards as a quarterback. He had 2,000 all-purpose yards and ran for 20 touchdowns. I recall coaches telling me that he was one of the best talents to ever play high school football in Dallas. Stiggers went the University of Colorado but didn’t live up to his potential.

The other QB-turned-DB never gave up his dream of being college quarterback and he wound up at the United States Naval Academy and played quarterback for the Midshipmen. After graduating he served his country and became a Navy Seal. After retiring from active duty, he returned to Dallas. In 2011 he and another Navy Seal created a non-profit to restore the true meaning of Memorial Day. It now honors our nation’s heroes 365 days a year.

The non-profit is Carry the Load. The QB who co-founded it is Stephen Holley. Carry the Load has raised more than $33 million that is distributed to non-profit partners that provide services to our nation’s veterans.

So what does Carry the Load have to do with the Highland Park-Lake Highlands football game?

Plenty. The starting quarterback for the Wildcats is Stephen’s son, Tripp Holley, a 6’3” 190-lb. legacy who in two games has thrown for 277 yards and five touchdowns and has run for 188 more yards.

The Wildcats were 10-2 last season and are now ranked among the top 6A teams in the Dallas area. They shut out Mesquite Poteet, 21-0, in Week One and beat Flower Mound, 27-17, last Friday.

This is the first district game. It will go a long way to determine the eventual 7-6A district champion.

The Scots are coming off two tough pre-district games. They beat Flower Mound Marcus and Lewisville by 14 points each. Both games were close and went back and forth until the Scots broke serve and scored the final touchdown to go up two scores at the end of the game.

The Scots passing game has set the pace this season. Quarterback Brennan Storer returns after passing for 2,514 yards and 25 touchdowns last season as a junior. With a solid offensive line and a clown car full of great receivers, Storer has thrown for 584 yards and seven touchdowns over the first two games. He is ranked third among Dallas area 6A quarterbacks in total yards. It is hard enough to try to cover all four HP receivers but when running back Jay Cox comes slithering out of the backfield covered by a linebacker in the open field, he can take it to the house at any time.

There are two other factors in play that have helped create a sold-out game at Highlander Stadium. First, HP coach Randy Allen can become the second-winningest coach in Texas high school football history with a win on Friday. And during halftime former Scots quarterback Matthew Stafford will be honored and his Scots jersey (#7) will be retired. The Super Bowl winning QB will be at Highlander Stadium Friday night for this special night. There is so much electricity in the air that I think the Scots could have sold out AT&T Stadium for this game.

   Stafford’s #7 jersey will be retired at halftime. So why am I the only one worried about what number Brennan Storer will be in the second half?

Scots Travel to Lewisville for Game 2

by Kirk Dooley

   HP’s second step into the 6A waters should be as challenging as the first. After dispatching the Flower Mound Marcus Marauders, 38-24, last week in the season opener at Highlander Stadium, the Scots travel to Lewisville this Friday to tangle with the Lewisville Fighting Farmers.

   For the second week in a row the Scots will be picked to lose by The Dallas Morning News. The Farmers, who beat up Garland Naaman Forest last week, 28-6, are the eighth-ranked 6A team in the area. The Scots are still ranked 10th after beating the 11th-ranked team last Friday.

This will be the last week we can talk about Highland Park being a 5A school that just got bumped up to 6A. Next week the Scots will be just another veteran 6A team.

Is life in 5A really different than 6A? Coaches will tell you that 6A has more depth and larger linemen. By the time the playoffs hit some of the bigger and stronger 6A teams will resemble college teams. That’s because many of their guys will be playing on Saturdays next season.

And for what it’s worth: Highland Park has an enrollment of 2,245 while Lewisville’s enrollment is 4,285. I could even the playing field by merging Jesuit into Highland Park. Our new Scottish Catholic high school would have an enrollment of 4,533 and be about the size of Lewisville High.

The Fighting Farmers built up a 28-0 lead against Naaman Forest and had a shutout in their back pocket until NF scored with less than a minute left in the game. Lewisville looked good on both sides of the line. They had four fourth-down stops and recorded five sacks. Forced turnovers consistently created good field position, which led to several scores.

The key to the Lewisville offense is quarterback Ethan Terrell who last Friday was 7 of 11 for 52 yards passing while picking up 114 yards on the ground. On four runs.

What stands out about the Fighting Farmers is that their offensive line is mammoth. It’s the 300-pound club.

The Highland Park – Flower Mound Marcus contest was as exciting as was predicted. The Scots won by 14 points but it was 24-24 in the fourth quarter when Jay Cox took a Brennan Storer pass and zipped 75 yards for an electrifying touchdown that put the Scots up by seven (again) with 8:52 left in the game. The Marauders had matched each HP score all night but this time the Scots defense broke serve and stopped the Marcus offense. Nobody in Highlander Stadium could relax until Storer scored from the two with less than two minutes to play.

That gave the Scots their first 14-point lead which held up and the game ended, 38-24.

Cox was the HP’s leading rusher with 67 yards and leading receiver with 116 yards. Storer completed 20 of 29 passes for 288 yards and three TDs in a classic quarterback duel with the Marauders’ 6’6” nationally-ranked junior quarterback Cole Welliver , who threw for 310 yards.

Storer and HP defensive lineman Spencer Brown were both honorable mention Dallas Morning News Players of the Week. Brown had six tackles, a TFL, seven QB pressures and a forced fumble.

   Fact to keep in the back of your mind: Last week Lewisville was flagged for 16 penalties for 166 yards.

Scots Host Flower Mound for Season Opener

by Kirk Dooley

The 2022 edition of the Highland Park Scots will take the field on Friday to host the Flower Mound Marcus Marauders. What gives this game some extra picante sauce is that it will kick off the 100th season of Highland Park football. Muy caliente!

We should pause for a moment during the opening of this centennial season to acknowledge that the 100-year-old Scots have the winningest football program in the history of Texas high school football.

There. That was nice. Now let’s concentrate on the Marcus game. The Marauders already are.

Tonight the Scots rejoin the world of 6A football where district 7-6A consists of our old friends from Richardson and Irving, as well as Jesuit. The Scots’ two preseason opponents (Marcus and Lewisville) are both excellent teams and will give HP the challenge the Scots want.

“Getting off the bus, Marcus looks like a  college team,” said Highland Park head coach Randy Allen. The Marauders are big, tall and athletic. They’ve got a 6’6” junior quarterback, Cole Welliver (#10), who is a four-star recruit and is ranked as the 19th best QB in the nation for the class of 2024. For Welliver, the best part of his first start is that he inherits four-star receiver Ashton Cozart (#6) who is committed to Oregon.

And it doesn’t stop there. Wide receiver Isaac Khattab (#1) and RB/DB/WR Jake Ballard (#2) are also outstanding receivers. Coach Allen uses one word to describe the Marcus offense. “Scary.”

Just as frightening for the Scots is the Marauders pass rush, led by two future college stars – defensive ends Will Upshaw (#35) and Devin Strange (#17).

This is only the first game of the season and Coach Allen already acknowledges that Marcus has one of the best pass-rushing sets of defensive ends the Scots will see all year.

The Scots roll into their home opener with plenty of fireworks. Quarterback Brennan Storer (#7), who threw for 2,525 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior last season, has one of the deepest and most impressive receiver corps in Scots history. Jackson Heis (#3), Grayson Schrank (#2), Beau Lilly (4) and Luke Herring (#6) each have 1,000-yard potential. Jay Cox (#5) returns as a shifty running back who is deadly as a receiver coming out of the backfield with a linebacker covering him.

The Scots offensive line, led by left tackle Lawson Petty (#76) and center Andrew Maroulis (#58), is big and fiesty. The defensive line will rotate six players while the linebackers and secondary will rotate five each. A lot of guys are competing for playing time and that will work itself over the next few games.

Coach Allen is pleased with the work his quarterback has put in to get better during the offseason. “Brennan is one of the best quarterbacks in the area,” said Allen. “He’s got a good arm, is accurate, explosive and has improved significantly from last season.”

   What will be the difference in this game? Whichever quarterback has the most time to throw. If they both have time, the team that wins will be the last one with the ball in one of those 62-58 explosions.