100+ Points and 1,000+ Yards Again from the Rockwall/HP Rematch?

by Kirk Dooley

Rockwall and Highland Park have had an electrifying rivalry the past few years. And it’s about to explode this Friday. The Scots have won four of the past five matches but this year the Yellowjackets are favored to win. Over their past two games they are averaging 67 points per game. The Dallas Morning News predicts that Rockwall will score 59 points on the Scots defense. The numbers that the Yellowjackets are bringing into Highlander Stadium are just short of amazing. Two weeks ago they beat Jesuit, 75-28, then last week they stunned Lake Travis, 59-35. Going into that 6A game Lake Travis was ranked sixth in the state.

Yellowjackets senior quarterback Braedyn Locke, who has committed to play for Mike Leach at Mississippi State, has started the season red hot in his third year as a starter. In his first three games, he has completed 66 of 100 passes for 1,042 yards and 10 touchdowns. And this was against Cedar Hill, Jesuit and Lake Travis. His favorite receiver, Noble Johnson, has caught 20 passes for 439 yards and six touchdowns. Last week he caught 12 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns.

Highland Park coach Randy Allen believes this could be the best quarterback/receiver combination in Texas.

“Any champion wants to play the very best competition,”  said Allen, “and that’s why we have the toughest pre-district schedule since I’ve been at Highland Park. We’re making progress and we’re getting better each week. The game against Rockwall will be a great challenge for us.”

In 2016 the Scots beat the Yellowjackets, 43-21, as John Stephen Jones completed 18 of 22 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers.

In 2017 Rockwall won, 53-49, as the two teams combined for more than 1,000 total yards. The Scots went on to win 15 straight games and their second consecutive state championship.

In 2018 the Scots won, 49-42, as QB Chandler Morris shocked the Jackets with a 70-yard touchdown run on the fifth play of the game. That’s the night the lights went out in Highlander Stadium, delaying the game for almost 20 minutes.

In 2019 Morris and Rockwall sophomore QB Locke put on a show that HP won, 66-59. Morris passed for 474 yards and ran for 180, having a hand in every HP touchdown. Locke passed for 516 yards. What a shootout!

Last year the Scots beat up on the Yellowjackets, 46-18, as HP QB Brayden Schager completed 22 of 31 passes for 313 and three touchdowns. Locke had an off-night, completing 13 of 28 passes for 154 yards.

Locke has a score to settle and his team has the talent and experience to put up some incredible numbers. It would be a statistical victory for the Scots to keep Rockwall under 50 points.

But this could be the game where the Scots offense matches the Yellowjackets in scoring. Rockwall has proven that it is one of the best teams in the state. The Scots hope to get to that point.

This Friday they’ll have their chance.