Author: Hal

by Kirk Dooley

The Scots travel to Coppell this Friday to battle another 6A foe, the Coppell Cowboys, at Buddy Echols Stadium. Both teams enter the game 1-1.

Coppell opened the season with a convincing 42-28 win over Sachse then were stunned by Prestonwood Christian, 55-41, last Friday. The Cowboys offense is averaging more than 40 points per game, which is enough to  beat most mortal beings. But the Coppell defense is allowing an average of more than 40 points per game, which is enough to allow most mortal beings to beat them.

Let’s start with the Coppell offense. After two games, quarterback Jack Fishpaw has completed 31 of 50 passes for 537 yards and four touchdowns. He’s a solid QB who will get better each game. The not-so-secret weapon for the Cowboys is running back Dylan Nelson who is a serious threat as a receiver coming out of the backfield. In his first game this season he caught seven passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns against linebackers who don’t have sprinter speed. He averaged 35 yards per catch. On his spare time he gained 59 yards on the ground, averaging 7.38 yards per touch, and another TD on the ground. After all, he is a running back.

Last week while the Prestonwood defense focused on Nelson (who ran four times for 50 yards and caught seven passes for 98 yards) the Coppell offense introduced its other running back to North Texas football fans. His name is Blake Robbins. He clobbered the Prestonwood defense with 143 yards on 26 carries. His job was to get into the end zone and he did it four times.

Last week the Cowboys led 21-17 at halftime. Then the Prestonwood offense exploded and outscored the Cowboys 24-7 in the third quarter and then added 14 points in the final period.

Most sportswriters have picked Highland Park to beat Coppell based on the Cowboys giving up 38 points in the second half to Prestonwood. The Cowboys will be fighting mad about that when they play the Scots.

After getting tarred and feathered on national TV against Southlake Carroll two weeks ago, the Scots had to rally to beat Flower Mound, 28-24, last week in a game where most people in the stands thought HP was playing Mesquite Horn.

After leading at halftime, 14-7, and holding a 21-7 advantage after three periods, the Scots witnessed a 17 point run by Flower Mound to take the lead with 1:55 left in the game.

This is exactly the situation coach Randy Allen wanted to put the Scots in when he scheduled four 6A schools for their pre-district games. The Scots had two minutes to win the game. Or not.

Quarterback Brennan Storer marched his team 61 yards down the field. He needed to convert a key third-and-five so he ran for a first down. He hit receiver glue-fingered John Rutledge for a 22 yard reception. Then the Scots’ power runner, Ben Croasdale, bulled his way into the end zone from the four-yard-line with 45 seconds left in the game.

Yes, an inexperienced HP offense grew up in that drive.

The next eight quarters will be more challenging for the Scots. They best take them four at a time.

by Kirk Dooley

On Wednesday morning it was reported that the Mesquite Horn Jaguars would not be able to play the Scots this Friday due to Covid issues. As word of the surprising development was sinking in, Highland Park athletic director Johnny Ringo and HP head coach Randy Allen were hard at work behind the scenes trying to find another opponent for this Friday.

No pressure. They had 54 hours until kickoff.

And they would earn extra credit if they found another team named the Jaguars

Since most teams are already scheduled, the only way to find a team to play would be to see who else had a sudden opening due to its opponent’s Covid issues. The list was small but Flower Mound was available because its game against Naaman Forest was canceled by Covid.

 

So instead of sitting at home playing video games on Friday night, players from Highland Park and Flower Mound will be in pads playing under the Friday night lights at Highlander Stadium.

The Flower Mound Jaguars are in one of the toughest 6A districts in the state, with the Lewisville schools, the Plano schools, Coppell and Flower Mound Marcus. The Jaguars won their first game of the season last week when they beat the Mesquite Skeeters, 30-14.

The Jaguars are led by quarterback Nick Evers, who last week completed 20 of 35 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. He is one of the top quarterbacks in North Texas, with more than 20 major college offers on the table. Last season he threw for more than 2,500 yards and 20 touchdowns. His top two receivers last week were Walker Mulkey (seven receptions for 104 yards) and Cade Edlein (four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown). And they have almost as many solid receivers as the Scots. Against the Skeeters the Jaguars picked up 375 yards of total offense, 100 rushing and 275 passing. The Flower Mound defense held the Mesquite offense to 234 yards (49 rushing and 184 passing). They have good momentum coming into this week’s contest.

The Scots had spent all week preparing for the Mesquite Horn Jaguars, only to throw that playbook out the car window. They were given Wednesday and Thursday to cram a week’s worth of preparation for the game. The only good part is that it goes both ways. The Jaguars have never heard of Jack Curtis, Brennan Storer, John Rutledge or George Wright. By the time all these guys get to know each other, the game will be over.

This Friday will be Game Two of the Scots’ 6A World Tour before district play starts. They lost to Southlake Carroll last week because they were camera shy and inexperienced. This week and next they’ll play two teams from district 6-6A – Flower Mound and Coppell – before ending the pre-district season against always-tough Rockwall. When district play begins, the Scots will be battle tested and experienced.

And hopefully during district play they’ll know who they’ll be facing each week.

by Kirk Dooley

I still can’t get my arms around the Highland Park Scots playing on national television.

It has never happened before. And it is another major milestone in the Randy Allen era at HP. The Scots face the Southlake Carroll Dragons at AT&T Stadium on Thursday and it will be telecast on ESPN+. Scots fans are calling and texting their friends, families and former neighbors coast to coast to tell them to tune in.

Link for broadcast: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9f6b806e-32c6-4530-a694-00df9e25cd9e

It reminds me of the summer of 1981 when Mickey Holden, Jere Thompson, Jr. and I came together to put Highland Park football on cable TV for the first time. Word got out about our idea and when we made a presentation to the Highland Park School Board, there were two other entities bidding on the project. What?! After our presentation we were told that they would let us know of their decision in two hours.

We got the phone call and were told that since we were in our mid-20s and inexperienced, the contract went to the former SMU athletic director, Russ Potts. We were stunned at how we were outmaneuvered.

Then the phone rang again. It was Potts calling to see if he could hire us to produce the games. I said no, Jere said no and Mickey said yes. Holden went on to create HP football on cable TV and that launched his successful Mickey Holden Production Group. I wished Mickey well and went on to start Park Cities People. Jere also went on to create his own businesses and earlier this year sold his latest effort, Ambit Energy, for $475 million.

So now the Scots are again blazing new television trails. This will be the first Highland Park football game where ESPN is telling the Highlander Band and Highland Belles that they have 10 minutes for halftime instead of 20.

This game was already buzzing throughout all 50 states when the Dragons quarterback, Quinn Ewers, who was the number one high school recruit in America, decided this summer to skip his senior year at Southland Carroll and enroll early at Ohio State. He made this monumental decision so that he would qualify for the new Name, Image and Likeness compensation that college athletes can now earn. In Ewers’ case he has more than a million dollars lined up this season.

It used to be a hypothetical question. Would you bypass your senior year in high school for a million bucks?

Now that it is a reality, the choice of being a millionaire or being a senior in high school is a no-brainer for most teenage boys in Ewers’ position.

Coach Allen quickly points our that the new Dragon quarterback, junior Kaden Anderson, is a D-1 talent and that Carroll has 15 returning starters from a 12-2 team that played in the 6A state championship game last season. They have a 2,000-yard running back (Owen Allen) and a 1,200-yard receiver (Landon Samson).

With its tradition, experience and talent, Southlake Carroll may be the best high school football team in Texas this year. The Highland Park players are excited and working hard to prepare for the challenge.

On one hand, they want to play their best in front of the TV cameras. On the other hand, they know that what they experience in this game will help them as they strive to create a deep playoff run.

Regardless of who wins this game, if both teams go on to win state championships, you read it here first.