Category: KIRK DOOLEY’S BLOG

By Kirk Dooley

In their final district road game, the Scots will head east on Interstate 30 this Friday to take on the Royse City Bulldogs. This game – and this team – should remind us of Forney. Potentially threatening but possibly over at halftime.
Highland Park will need to come out fast and strong and not let the Bulldogs think they can stay in the game. Like the Forney contest last Friday, the hope is that the HP backups will be unleashed in the second half. As you recall from a week ago, the Scots jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead and pulled the starters. Christian McAnalley came in at quarterback and hit Camden Clark with a 25-yard touchdown pass in the third period to give the Scots a 35-0 lead. Not much of a dropoff from John Stephen Jones’ dazzling night of completing eight out of 10 of his passes for four touchdowns in less than one half. A lot of bench warmers got to play in the Forney game and 22 defenders were credited with at least one tackle.
To me, that was the most amazing statistic of the night.
Royse City won all three of its pre-district games – over South Garland, North Garland and Waco Connally. Reality then set in when the Bulldogs opened district play against West Mesquite and got drilled, 41-3. RC then lost a close one to Forney, 30-27, before beating Wylie East, 32-25. The last two weeks have not been kind to the Bulldogs as they found out that North Forney is for real, 67-28, and Poteet is still dangerous, 36-14. The Bulldogs now stand 4-4 for the season and 1-4 in district play.
Royse City quarterback Matthew Yelverton has passed for 743 yards and six touchdowns, but he also has suffered six interceptions. Meanwhile HP quarterback Jones has thrown for 2,121 yards and 28 touchdowns, good enough to be ranked third among area 5A quarterbacks. Like Forney’s QB, Yelverton’s top receiver is his little brother. Elijah Yelverton has caught 25 passes for 266 yards. At the same time, HP’s top receiver, Cade Saustad, a lacrosse all-American, has caught 36 passes for 746 yards, good enough to be ranked fifth among area 5A receivers. College football coaches are still crying about one of the state’s top 6’5” receivers taking his talents to a different sport. Hard to recruit against that.
My sophisticated computer analytics tells me that Royse City will score 24 points against the Scots. The Bulldogs are averaging 24.9 points per game and the Scots are allowing 24.3.
However, I think I’ll toss my computer out the window because I predict a shutout.
Last Friday the Bulldogs held Poteet running back Seth McGowan to 195 yards rushing. The only way they’ll hold Paxton Alexander and Conner Allen to a combined 195 yards is to make sure they don’t play in the second half.

by Kirk Dooley

Let’s go back to the beginning of the season. A long-haired, wild-eyed football prognosticator predicts which district 15-5A teams will have the best and worst records after seven games. 
   Tied for the best record (6-1) will be the Scots and …
   North Forney?!
   And alone in last place at 1-6 will be …
   Wylie East?!
   I would have bet $100 that the poor guy got his teams backwards, but he didn’t. Welcome to 2017, where Mesquite Poteet and Lovejoy have losing records and Royse City has a wining record. This does not feel like last year’s district. It feels like 52-card pickup.
   While the Scots are improving each week like the 2016 state champions did last season, the biggest surprise in the district is North Forney, a team that still leads the area 5A teams in total offense (3,823 yards), rushing (2,064 yards), yards per game (546.1) and scoring (57 points per game).
   The Scots offense is seventh in total offense (3,179) and yards per game (454.1 yards) and is ninth in scoring (42 points per game). John Stephen Jones is third in passing with 1,921 yards while his favorite 6’5” receiver, Cade Saustad, is sixth in receiving with 667 yards.
   In the Scots most recent two games, the defense has allowed an average of 13 points and 245.5 yards.
   Oh, and by the way, the 6-1 Scots play the 2-5 Forney Jackrabbits Friday night at Highlander Stadium. The key to the game will be stopping dual-threat quarterback Devon Rideaux, who is a good passer and even better runner. Over the past two weeks the Jackrabbits have lost to Lovejoy, 63-15, and West Mesquite, 61-20, so they may be a little stressed right now. If the Scots play well in the first half, many backups may see action in the second half.
   Friday is Senior Night for the football team. The 51 seniors will be introduced before the game. This week don’t waltz into the stadium after the kickoff. Come 15 minutes early and help honor the players who make our Friday nights so special.

by Kirk Dooley

When the season began folks circled Oct. 20 on their calendars and prepared for an epic battle between two of the top 5A teams in North Texas. As it was last year, the game would feature two undefeated teams in 15-5A that would battle for the inside track for the district championship.

   The showdown between Highland Park and Poteet this Friday in Mesquite will still be epic but the Pirates limp into the game with a 3-3 record to face the 5-1 Scots. And worse, Poteet comes off a 40-28 loss to North Forney last Friday.
   Make no mistake. Poteet will be a major challenge for the Scots, who will play their third tough district game in a row. North Forney and West Mesquite are now in the Scots’ rearview mirror and both look like playoff teams.
   The irony of the North Forney win over Poteet is that the Falcons coach, Randy Jackson, is the former Poteet coach who whipped the Pirates into a winning program a few years ago. After turning around Poteet, he moved on to Grapevine where he did the same thing. Then this year he took the reigns at North Forney and has put it on the map. Last season NF was 1-6 in district and this year it could go 6-1.
   Poteet remain is good hands with head coach Kody Groves. They have plenty of talent and still control their playoff destiny. During the off-season former star receiver Cal Lampkin was moved to quarterback where his athleticism could be on call for every play. Over the past few weeks Dalton Dale has taken over the QB duties and he can both pass and run. Against the Falcons Dale completed 13 of 28 passes for 202 yards and he ran 16 times for 132 yards. His two interceptions partially offset his 334 total yards.
   Lampkin returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and De’Michael Smith caught a 64-yard TD pass from Dale which tightened the score to 33-28 in the fourth quarter. The Pirates still have their lightening. 
   Keep an eye on sophomore running back Seth McGowen. He’s a very talented running back who hasn’t busted out of the barn yet, but he will at some point. Hopefully not this Friday.
   Last Friday Scots linebacker Noble Nash had a breakout game, flying all over the field making tackles and returning a key interception 84 yards. He sprinted all the way down the sideline to the seven-yard line before being tripped up by either an invisible gamma ray or a magic spell cast by the Wrangler coaches. Nose guard Elliott Newsom had a nice game against West Mesquite, as did cornerback Hudson Clark.
   So, what is the key to beating Poteet? I think game film from last week’s North Forney-Poteet game will enlighten the HP coaches. While North Forney has a respectable passing game, Falcons running back Calvin Ribera gained 246 yards on the ground on 36 carries. He controlled the clock and the game.
   Ribera is only one guy but the Scots have Paxton Alexander, Conner Allen, John Stephen Jones, Benner Page, Cameron Reeves and Davenn Robinson who can run the ball all night.