HP at Lovejoy — 7:30pm Kickoff Tomorrow

by Kirk Dooley

This is a game that concerns Randy Allen. Lovejoy worries me also.
 
   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.
   Let’s look at the Leopards’ first opponents and the scores of the games. Argyle (42-21) is one of the highest-rated 4A schools in the state. Frisco Wakeland (38-14) and Frisco Lone Star (36-3) are the top two favorites in district 13-5A (aka the Frisco district). In their first three games these teams have been offensive machines – Argyle scored 42, 70 and 49; Wakeland scored 51, 38 and 41; and Lone Star scored 41, 45 and 35. All three are undefeated and all three are predicted to go far in the playoffs.
   After going through Murderer’s Row, the Leopards are opening district 15-5A play by hosting the Scots, who are state-ranked but will be the first team Lovejoy has faced which is not undefeated.
   Scots followers who saw the game last year will recall how it was an epic battle that could have gone either way. Two and a half minutes into the game the Leopards led, 14-7, after an 85-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Carson Collins to Chase Van Wagoner. In the second quarter Collins hit Van Wagoner with a 73-yard touchdown but the Scots blocked the PAT. (Do we see a trend?) When Scully Jenevein caught a 13-yard TD pass from John Stephen Jones, the Scots took a 21-20 halftime lead on HP’s homecoming night.
   Matt Gahm’s pick six was the only score in the second half and the Scots held on to win, 27-20. HP rolled up 456 yards of total offense and held the high-octane Leopard offense to 318 yards and 10 first downs. 
   Collins, who last season threw for 2,394 yards as the 15-5A Newcomer of the Year, completed 19 of 30 passes for 338 yards in the Leopards’ season opener against Argyle. The past two weeks the quarterback for Lovejoy has been Blake Motl, who threw for 232 yards against Wakeland and only 45 against Lone Star.
Van Wagoner is back and is still the team’s most dangerous playmaker.
   On defense, the leader is all-state linebacker Bumper Pool (yes, that’s his name) and he has also been making appearances on offense as a running back and as a wide receiver. He might even drive the team bus.
   The Scots are fortunate to come away with a hard-fought 34-32 win last week against Mansfield Timberview. There were many nice plays by the Scots offense and defense that led to victory but the Play of the Game was Cole Jackson’s third-quarter interception of a Timberview fake punt. That set up a touchdown pass from Jones to Paxton Alexander to put the Scots ahead for the first time.
   Highland Park needed a big-time play and Jackson – a big-time athlete – came up with it. His heroics inspired the entire team.
   It’ll take that kind of effort and more for the Scots to survive Friday’s Leopard ambush.

Thursday Night Lights at Mansfield Timberview — 7pm Kickoff

by Kirk Dooley

It’ll be Thursday Night Lights for the Scots as they travel to Mansfield to challenge the Timberview Wolves this week. For those of you not taking the family helicopter to the game, I urge you to leave early so that you don’t arrive late. There’s a lot of Metroplex rush-hour traffic to be navigated before the 7:00 p.m. kickoff.


The 1-1 Scots face the 1-1 Wolves in a rematch of last year’s HP shutout, 31-0, at Highlander Stadium. It was the Scots’ first shutout in two years and it set the tone for a dominant season for the HP defense.
In its opening game two weeks ago, Timberview trounced Everman, 44-8, then last Friday the Wolves fell to a very good Frisco Lone Star team, 45-21. QB Jyron Russell is back for the Wolves and he is the team’s top runner and top passer. The most electric player on the team is Jalen Knox. Last week Knox caught two passes for 137 yards. You do the math on his yards per catch. I’ll spot you a 93-yard touchdown reception and you guess how many yards his other reception was for. We’ll be able to tell whether you went to Armstrong, Bradfield, Hyer or University Park.
In last year’s game HP safety James Herring had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. Two weeks ago he was injured in the Rockwall game and did not play against Waxahachie. He may or may not play this week. The same goes for fellow team captain Paxton Alexander, the hero RB of last year’s Scots playoff run. The bad news is that two key Scots are banged up. The good news is that Ryan Khetan has filled in well at safety, while running backs Conner Allen and Benner Page have covered Alexander’s running back spot well. Khetan was a Player of the Week for his performance last Friday. Allen carried the ball 12 times for 108 yards while Page gained 59 yards on 10 carries. Together they averaged 7.6 yards per carry, which is where Alexander left off.
Quarterback John Stephen Jones had another impressive night, completing 18 of 26 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns (both to Finn Corwin). He was even highlighted on national television when the NFL Sunday Night Football broadcast team showed film of the Scots’ win over Waxahachie, coached by former Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna.
After two games the most amazing statistic in Highland Park is that Scots receiver Cade Saustad has already caught 13 passes for 343 yards. That’s a pretty good season for most humans. Corwin has jumped up to the second best on the team, with 123 yards. Meanwhile, running backs Page and Allen are both averaging at least six yards per carry. That speaks well of their abilities as well as the offensive linemen’s performances, including Thomas Shelmire, who is having another all-state season so far.
The Defensive Players of the Week against Waxahachie were Khetan (with a key pick) and lineman Jack Jurgovan. Note to the HP defense: On Thursday night keep Jyron Russell in the pocket and keep Jalen Knox out of the end zone. If you’ll do those two things you can take Friday off.

Scots Host Waxahachie in Home Opener Friday, September 8th — 7:30pm Kickoff

by Kirk Dooley

As the Waxahachie Indians ride into Highlander Stadium Friday night for the Scots’ home opener, two thoughts come to mind.

 
   First, the Indians won’t have interstellar receivers Jalen Reagor and Kenedy Snell anymore. Last season the two track stars sprinted through the Scots secondary for 289 yards on 11 receptions. They had touchdown catches of 90, 73, 54 and six yards – the latter coming with 19 seconds left to win the game, 40-37. 
   Second thought is that quarterback Bryce Salik is back for his senior year at Waxahachie. Last year he completed 15 of 25 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns against the Scots.  Now that Reagor and Snell have graduated and moved on to TCU and the Big 12, the Indians will attempt their own “Reload and Repeat” with a new cast of speedy characters.
   Jerreth Sterns (#4) is the Indians’ most explosive threat. Last week against Garland Lakeview Sterns he returned a first-quarter punt 60 yards for a touchdown, then had a 64-yard TD run in the second quarter as Waxahachie rolled up 35-points in the first half. Salik completed passes to eight different receivers while his running backs picked up 392 yards on the ground. When the Lakeview defense focused on Sterns, Demani Richardson (#6), scored on his own 64-yard run, which is nifty because he plays safety. He carried the ball three times for 127 yards. Maybe he should step away from safety and try offense full time. A third running back, Jaden Watson (#26), picked up 114 yards on eight carries.
   So we understand that Waxahachie is explosive. Four of the top skill players on this potent offense – Sterns, Richardson, Jarvis McCray and lineman Alonso McGruder – go both ways and are standouts on defense. They’ll get tired but not any more tired that last year as they racked up 40 points.
   The Scots are coming off a heart-breaking 53-49 shootout loss to Rockwall, who used two kickoff recoveries to outscore the Scots. Both teams combined for more than 100 points and more than 1,000 yards of total offense. Receiver Cade Saustad broke a Highland Park school record for receiving yards in a game as he gathered in 10 of John Stephen Jones’ passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns.
   Safety Zak Folts led the Scots defense with 20 tackles. Linebackers Ryan Coxe (10 tackles), Noble Nash (9) and Marshall Ballard (8) had solid games. Kicker Matteo Cordray was outstanding on kickoffs, field goals and punts. He deserved three game balls. Coach Allen was pleased with his team’s heart and its fighting spirit. The Scots unveiled a new secret weapon at defensive end – a sophomore named Prince Dorbah, who at 6’4”, 215 lbs. is built like Ezekiel Elliott and has the potential to shut down his half of the field. Keep an eye on number 32. This guy will be fun to watch the next three years.