Scots Play College Station in Waco Saturday

by Kirk Dooley

   It doesn’t happen very often but here we are, with two defending state champions facing each other in the playoffs.
   The Scots are the (two-time) defending state champs in 5A Division I. The Cougars are the defending state champs in 5A Division II and this season they moved up to Division I.    College Station beat the invincible Aledo Bearcats in last year’s Div. II finals, 20-19, in a game where Aledo missed its final two PATs. Sure could have used those two points when the final whistle blew. Although the College Station-Aledo battle was one of the state’s best state championship games in recent years, the Scots’ 53-49 win over Manvel goes down as the most exciting Texas high school championship game in history.
   Of course, once you get to this point, it doesn’t matter who won what last year. It doesn’t matter what your record is. What is important is that each of these two teams knows how to win. The players all have the championship mentality that is the wild card in big games.
   The Cougars feature a slippery quarterback named Brandon Williams (#17) who has thrown for 1,718 yards and run for 248 more. He has accounted for 28 touchdowns, which is a few more than Finnegan Corwin himself. While defenses are guessing whether Williams will throw it or run it, he hands it off to Kolbe Cashion (#20) a hard runner who racked up 135 yards on the ground in last week’s 41-38 win over Poteet.
   But on Saturday afternoon in Waco train your binoculars on the Cougar’s all-state defensive back, #16, Brandon Joseph. If there’s one Cougar who can make the difference in the game by himself, it is Mr. Joseph. Just ask Dr. Ralph H. Poteet. Last week Joseph ran back a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and then ran a punt back 68 yards for another. His Cougars won by three points. Had Joseph missed the team bus, the Scots might be playing Dr. Poteet’s Pirates at the Star in Frisco this weekend.
   What is Coach Randy Allen’s overview of College Station Cougars? “They are very competitive, they score a lot of points and they are used to winning.”
   What is my overview? “Don’t kick it to number 16.”
   I presume that the Highland Park coaches have seen film of College Station’s district game against Lufkin, which trounced the Cougars, 35-3. I say just do whatever Lufkin did.
   On the other hand, we could very well face Lufkin ourselves if we advance in the playoffs.
   But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s a long bus ride back from Waco and the hopefully the Scots will cruise home with something to be thankful for.