Scots at Mesquite Horn for Game 2

by Kirk Dooley Blog

The Scots will line up against their old friends, the Mesquite Horn Jaguars, Friday at Hanby Stadium in Mesquite. The former district rivals still maintain a deep respect for each other although one lives in the 6A world and the other in 5A.
Both Horn and Rockwall are in the same district (11-6A) along with Longview, which ran the table last season won the 6A Div. II state title with a 16-0 record.
Last weekend Horn took a road trip to Tyler’s Christus Trinity Mother Francis Rose Stadium – home of the Scots’ 2005 state championship win over Marshall, 59-0 – and challenged the Tyler John Tyler Lions, ranked sixth in the state.
Remember them?
Their most recent loss had been in the state quarterfinals last season to the Highland Park Scots. In that game the Lions had built up a 35-14 lead going into the fourth quarter and were celebrating on the sidelines when they awoke a sleeping giant. With 10:18 left in the game our man Chandler Morris began one of the most magical quarters in Highland Park football history. When the dust had cleared the Scots had scored 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the game, 42-35.
Last Friday the Horn Jaguars made several big plays to upset John Tyler, 39-17. That’s two losses in a row.
Here’s how Horn did it and here’s what the Scots need to prepare for:
Quarterback Davazea Gabriel hit Charles Crawford III with a 52-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring. Last year Crawford started for Bishop Lynch, where he ran for 1,785 yards and scored 29 touchdowns. A few minutes later N’Kowsi Emory returned a kickoff 96 yards for another Jaguar TD. Towards the end of the game the Jaguars held the Lions on a fourth-down play on the eight-yard line. On the next play Crawford ran 92 yards for another Horn touchdown. The Jaguars score 90-yard touchdowns as often as we eat at Goff’s.
The Jaguars didn’t sneak up on the Lions, they dominated them in their home stadium where one can still sense the ghost of Matthew Stafford.
Horn is for real. Last year they lost their first seven games then righted their ship and went three games deep in the playoffs. It was the best turnaround in the state last year.
Charles Crawford III, the former Friar, is the guy to stop. N’Kowsi Emory is the guy to kick away from.
Last week we said keep an eye on Rockwall sophomore Alex Orji. That was hard to do because he had transfered to Bishop Dunne and is now starting for the Falcons. The plot thickens because Jaden Hullaby had just transfered from Bishop Dunne to Mansfield Timberview. Last week he totaled 217 yards and three touchdowns for the Wolves, and so we’ll talk about him in early November when Timberview visits Highlander Stadium.