Scots Smother West Mesquite, Alone in First Place in 10-4A
(Staff photo: Chris McGathey)
Just six days after its huge home win over Mesquite Poteet, Highland Park cleared another big obstacle in the District 10-4A race by coming away with a 35-14 win over West Mesquite on Thursday night at Memorial Stadium.
With the victory, the Scots (6-1, 4-0) are alone atop the District 10-4A standings. That gives Highland Park the inside track to claiming their fifth consecutive district championship. It also means the Scots are in control of their own destiny with three games left in the regular season — at home against Creekview (Oct. 25), at Carrollton Newman Smith (Nov. 1), and at Terrell (Nov. 8).
“You’ve got to win some football games like that,” Scots head coach Randy Allen said. “I knew we’d be a little flat emotionally. We had one less day of prep. Their record didn’t impress you, so I knew our guys — they weren’t listening to me when I told them they were as good as Poteet. I’m really proud of our guys.”
Quarterback Brooks Burgin was once again outstanding. The junior threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 101 yards and three touchdowns, all while dealing with heavy pressure and taking a couple of tough shots. In his district play, Burgin has now thrown 11 touchdowns with one interception and rushed for eight touchdowns.
Thursday’s game looked like it was going to be 7-7 at the half before Burgin connected with Andrew Frost on a 48-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left in the second quarter. The Wranglers also cut the lead to 21-14 in the fourth quarter before the Scots put together two more touchdown drives to seal the deal.
