Scots Show Progress at Spring Scrimmage
The annual Blue-Gold football scrimmage on Tuesday at Highlander Stadium featured some big plays on both offense and defense. In other words, that’s just the way Highland Park head coach Randy Allen liked it.
“You always want the spring game to be competitive and get out of there with no injuries, and we did that,” Allen said. “We made a lot of improvement from the beginning to the end of spring, so I’m really happy.”
The hourlong controlled scrimmage concluded three weeks of spring drills for the Scots, and marked the last time they will be on the field together before starting practice again on Aug. 10.
As usual, the spring workouts allowed Allen and his coaching staff to finish installing their offensive and defensive schemes, to sort through some position battles for starting spots, and to get in some meaningful work with pads on.
And for fans, the event represented a chance to view a revamped HP roster that will bring back only three starters from a team that finished 10-2 last season and advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
One of the familiar faces is Stephen Dieb, who scored a touchdown on a 40-yard run for the first-team offense. Chris Buell caught a long scoring pass, and Will Moore made a 44-yard field goal.
Allen praised the debut of new quarterback Henry Allen running the first-team offense, as he demonstrated both a confident arm and elusiveness with his feet.
“Henry did some good things. He’s going to get better with experience,” Randy Allen said. “I’ve been very pleased with his progress this spring.”
Other offensive standouts included Parker Alexander, who caught a short touchdown pass from Jack Fain and ran for another score, and Jack Kozmetsky, who also plunged into the end zone on a short scoring run. Luke Blanton set the tone for the defense with an interception.
Joseph Sweeney, a senior transfer from Scurry-Rosser, caught the eye at both cornerback and receiver, where he caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Michael Clarke.
“I know our guys are tired of hitting each other and ready to go home for the summer,” Randy Allen said. “It’s going to be very important this summer what kind of work they do. We’ve got some guys who need to get stronger and faster, so that when we report in the fall, we’ll be a better football team.”
When they return in August, the Scots will have two weeks of practice before they host Plano West for a scrimmage on Aug. 21. The regular season will begin on Aug. 29 against Frisco Centennial at the Tom Landry Classic in Allen.
