Game #1 of 2020: HP vs Coppell Preview

by Kirk Dooley

In the strangest high school football off-season since World War II, the Scots spent the spring and summer staying six-feet apart while staying in shape. When the players finally got the green light to get on the field as a team, the first two games of the season were cancelled due to COVID-19. Austin Westlake and Mesquite Horn were two 6A opponents that never got on the team busses.


While the rest of the world played games one and two, the Scots didn’t even practice while they quarantined. We all have been challenged by the coronavirus restrictions and protocols but the Highland Park Scots learned how to be good teammates without being in the presence of their teammates.
When the quarantine was lifted, the Scots had a few days of practice for this Friday’s kickoff at Highlander Stadium against the 6A Coppell Cowboys. While the action on the field will be standard, nothing else will be. Seating will be limited. Fans will be socially distanced from each other. The visiting band and drill team will not make the trip. The HP stands will be sparse and the Coppell side will be a ghost town on each end. Masks will be required.
Coppell will be led by standout quarterback Ryan Walker who has a 2-0 record while his team is averaging 40 points per game. The Cowboys beat Mesquite, 36-21, two weeks ago and then outlasted a good Sachse team, 42-35. Walker threw for 230 yards against Mesquite and 348 yards and four touchdowns against Sachse.
The Scots will face one of their most challenging wide receivers Friday when they line up against KJ Liggins. It will be hard to keep him from hitting the 100-yard mark and it will be imperative to keep him out of the end zone. He has the big play ability to take over a game. And the worst part of it is that Coppell has two other receivers, Dylan Nelson and Anthony Black who average over 27 yards per catch. Pick your poison.
The good news for the Scots is that the Cowboys gave up 507 total yards and 35 points to Sachse. So it appears that the Scots can move the ball and that HP-Coppell game could be a horse race.
On offense the Scots return four of their five starting offensive linemen. They have the senior quarterback – Brayden Schager – who will start in his first game for the Scots and he already has several major college offers and has committed to play at Hawaii. He’s got a clown car full of skilled receivers and three running backs who  can each make big plays.
It will be exciting to see the HP defense come together. There is some real talent, especially at linebacker.
The HP defense will be challenged by the high-octane Coppell offense but if the Scots can keep the Cowboys to 40 points or below, they should prevail.
As the great philosopher Randy Allen said, “We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Lone Star Rangers Rematch for HP this Friday at AT&T

by Kirk Dooley

Every game in the playoffs is a big game. Every player knows that it could be his last dance.
The Scots are treating the Frisco Lone Star rematch like another weekly challenge. They have been preparing to play their best against a team that is generally considered to be the top 5A team in the state.
Let’s back up. In Week Three the Scots hosted the Rangers at Highlander Stadium. HP was ranked number one in the state and Lone Star was ranked fourth.
The Scots kicked off to the Rangers and Marvin Mims returned the kick 54 yards to the HP 45-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage sophomore quarterback Garret Rangel hit Mims for a 45 yard touchdown. Boom! That was the first of 24 unanswered points the Rangers scored on the Scots in the first half. The HP defense had a nice goal-line stand, holding the Rangers scoreless after a first and goal from the four. And the HP offense moved the ball but turnovers kept them off the scoreboard.
In the second half the Scots settled down, scoring 19 points and holding Lone Star to two field goals. But the 24-0 deficit was too much to overcome and the Rangers won 30-19, taking the state’s number one 5A ranking away from the Scots and keeping it for themselves ever since.
Watching HP’s biggest playoff games over the past three years, I’ve been amazed at how the Scots can dig deep and find a gear nobody knew they had. Much of it is coaching. HP goes into a big game they’re picked to lose and they find a way to win. That’s the emotion you’ll see the day after Thanksgiving, only 10 times more.
I think this game is the biggest game for Highland Park in the past several years. Unlike the Denton Ryan, Temple, Manvel and Shadow Creek games, the Scots are playing a team that beat them earlier this season. There’s a score to settle and the HP players be rabid like we haven’t seen this season.
I do think it is important to note that the Rangers have never seen Hunter Heath or Drew Scott or Will Gibson play. The Scots are playing on all cylinders right now and relish the chance to fight as underdogs. Something magic happens when the Scots are picked to lose.
Coach Allen and his staff know how big, fast, strong and athletic Lone Star is on offense and defense. Highland Park will have to play its best game of the season to advance. It may take 50 points to win this game but whatever it takes, I believe the Scots will find a way.

Round 2: HP vs Magnolia at AT&T Cowboy Stadium THURSDAY NIGHT

by Kirk Dooley

The Scots roll into the second round of the playoffs against the Magnolia Bulldogs this Thursday night at AT&T Stadium. Many Highland Park fans will not be familiar with Magnolia, a school the Scots have never faced.
First of all, Chip Gaines is not the coach.
The town of Magnolia, located about four hours south of Dallas, is in Montgomery County. The Woodlands and Conroe are also in Montgomery County, as is the best-named Texas town, Cut and Shoot.
Magnolia High School has 1,990 students and the population of Magnolia is 1,400, so how does that work? I guess they just do math differently down there.
The Bulldogs are 8-3 for the season and came in third in district 8-5A Div. I behind Lufkin and College Station. The Magnolia head coach, Craig Martin, was the offensive coordinator at Temple when the Scots faced the Wildcats in the 2016 state championship match, better known as the Turner Coxe Safety Game.
Magnolia has one of the biggest and best offensive lines we’ll see this season. The five guys on the O-line are: 6-5, 260 – 6-2, 280 – 6-5, 290 – 5-11, 260 – 6-6, 265. Three are committed to D-1 schools.
I have a family connection to Magnolia. My brother Craig has a nephew, Derek Bowman, a left tackle who is committed to Dana Holgorsen at the University of Houston. I’d like to say that Derek got his athleticism from my side of the family, since Craig was a standout on the Highland Park Buck-Buck team in 1969. But Derek’s dad punted for Texas Tech and his brother Reed is a punter at Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs use that O-line to pound the ball up the middle, right between the tackles. Running back Mitch Hall is a 5’9” battering ram who rushed for 208 yards against Poteet in the Bulldogs’ 34-14 win last Friday. Earlier in the season Hall ran for 230 yards against College Station.
The Scots are happy to have Henry Hagenbuch back from an injury. The offense is averaging 54 points per game and will be at full strength with Hagenbuch back at his right tackle position. The HP defense has been playing well and is holding opponents to 17 points per game. Magnolia is averaging twice that so we’ll see who wins that battle.
With some sophomores being brought up for the playoffs, we have two sets of brothers taking the field together for the first time. Senior DB Christian Wright welcomes his LB brother, George, to varsity and junior OL Will Gibson is now joined by brother Grant, also an offensive lineman. The Magnolia game will fade from our memories as time marches on but this will be a day these two sets of brothers will remember for the rest of their lives.
Magnolia will try to win this game between the tackles. And the Scots can’t score if they don’t have the ball.