Category: KIRK DOOLEY’S BLOG

By Kirk Dooley

Let me introduce you to Mr. Curtis Williams.
Nice guy. Great athlete. He’s the star running back for West Mesquite and you will get to know him well on Friday night. He’s #6.

Bring your calculator with you to the game at Highlander Stadium because #6 is averaging more than 11 yards every time he touches the ball. He’s a first-down machine. Over the past five games he has been handed the football 75 times and he has run for 837 yards.
Now, he doesn’t run for 11 yards every carry. But on every fifth or sixth run he’ll break through the line, sidestep a linebacker and go for 50 or so yards. He knows how to pad his average.
Mr. Williams is currently the fourth-ranked 5A ball carrier in yardage in the area. You may remember him from last year. As a junior he ran for 67 yards and caught eight passes for 86 yards against HP. He’s got 4.5 speed and is only one of several big-play threats on this West Mesquite Wranglers squad. In their most recent game, Wranglers quarterback Connor Neill – the son of the coach – threw touchdown passes of 86 yards to Dylan Wright and 52 yards to #6 while sophomore Ty Jordan ran a punt back 95 yards for a touchdown. You’d think the Scots were lining up against North Forney and all its high-tech weapons.
The Wranglers are 5-0 and they’ve played some good teams. They beat Rockwall Heath … who beat Rockwall … who beat the Scots. West Mesquite and Highland Park are both ranked in the top 10 in the area. But after the game Friday the Highlander Stadium scoreboard will reflect a reality that polls lack.
HP coach Randy Allen says that the Wranglers offense is better than it was last year. Having nine offensive starters back helps. And he believes that WM will have the most athletic defense the Scots have faced.
Two weeks ago the Scots faced a similar challenge against North Forney (which still has the most productive 5A offense in the area). Allen talked about “breaking serve” as each team poured on the touchdowns until Prince Dorbah hit the Falcons quarterback as he was throwing and the ball sailed into the welcome arms of HP linebacker James Lightbourn. On the next play Paxton Alexander ran 52 yards for the dagger touchdown that put the Scots up by 21 points. The HP defense had broken serve.
This Friday the threat is different, but just as real. While the HP defense will have to contain the Wranglers speedy skill players and not give up the big play, the Scots’ biggest challenge will be the ultra-fast Wrangler defense. They will be step faster than any team the Scots have played. The Wranglers have smothered their opponents, holding them to 183 yards per game.
Meanwhile the Scots have played some good teams and are averaging 487 yards per game under the leadership of QB John Stephen Jones.
Coach Allen believes that the team that wins Friday night will out-execute its opponent. Will the Scots offense get its 487 yards, or will the Wranglers hold them to 183? Will the Scots defense contain #6 and limit the WM big plays?
I think the Scots will answer both questions by welcoming captains Thomas Shelmire and James Herring back in the starting lineup.
With the Scots at full strength, it should be a nerve-racking but joyous homecoming night.

by Kirk Dooley

People attending the Highland Park–North Forney game this Friday at Highlander Stadium should bring their hazmat suits.

   The anticipated offensive explosion on the field could create fallout that will roll up into the stands and possibly contaminate University Park. The scoreboard will explode after the teams reach 100 total points and 1,000 total yards of offense. It could be the highest scoring game in the history of Highland Park football.
   The North Forney Falcons soar into Highlander Stadium 4-0 and averaging 62.5 points per game. They lead North Texas 5A teams in points scored and in total offense. Last week they beat Wylie East, 70-65.
   But wait. Isn’t this the same North Forney team the Scots beat, 66-7, last year in Forney?
   Yes and no.
   Yes, it is the same North Forney but no, it is not the same team. They have a new coach, Randy Jackson, who turned Mesquite Poteet into a powerhouse a few years ago. At 4-0, and having already dispatched one key 15-5A playoff contender, they have a newly-found confidence to match their skill level.
   This is the most dangerous type of high school football team, the kind that has players who have this new feeling of believing they will whip anyone they line up against.
   Oh, and the Falcons quarterback, Colby Suits, accounted for 10 touchdowns last week. He ran for five TDs, threw for four and caught one. He plays like he’s radioactive.
   Of course, the superlative Falcons offense has not faced the Highland Park Scots defense, which stuffed a good Lovejoy team last week. They are not yet the Dark Alley Boys who won State last year, but they are good and improving each week. They are missing safety James Herring but they’ve got the depth to fill the void.  His replacement, Ryan Khetan, last week intercepted a Lovejoy pass and ran it back 41 yards to set up the Scots’ final touchdown.
   On offense the Scots have been missing left tackle Thomas Shelmire but left guard Ben Boudreaux has slid over and done a good job filling in for the all-state team captain. Coaches have moved up Ryan Butz to starter and he joins Regan Riddle, Matt Sewall and Bolton Corwin as the protectors of John Stephen Jones.
   Last week Jones could have led his team to 70 points if the Lovejoy offense had played well enough that the Scots needed to keep their starters in the entire game.
   This Friday could be a 70-65 offense explosion. Or the Scots defense could step up and knock the high-flying Falcons offense back down to earth. 
   If that happens, you can take your hazmat suit off.

by Kirk Dooley

 
   The players and coaches are taking this game very seriously but the fans think they see a mismatch. On paper, Lovejoy is 0-3 and has lost all three games by an average of 38-12. Not much of a challenge for the defending state champions?
   Hold your horses.