Dieb, Defense Boost HP in Scrimmage
Two of the top offensive teams in the Dallas area took the field on Friday, and the result was a defensive struggle.
In reality, you probably shouldn’t read too much into the scrimmage between Highland Park and Plano West at Highlander Stadium, but the most notable takeaway was that both defenses rendered the big plays scarce.
“I thought it was even,” said HP head coach Randy Allen. “Plano West is a good opponent. Both teams have good defenses and didn’t give up many big plays.”
Neither first-team offense reached the end zone during the 75-minute scrimmage, although both second units scored touchdowns during the controlled portion.
The Highland Park offense, with new quarterback Henry Allen, saw a slow start redeemed by a strong finish. The Scots had their best drive of the night during the concluding live quarter, although a holding penalty forced HP to settle for a 35-yard Will Moore field goal.
Stephen Dieb, who led HP with 14 touchdowns last season, flashed speed and elusiveness at running back, with solid gains both as a rusher and receiver.
“Offensively we had some timely plays and some good effort,” Randy Allen said. “I thought Dieb ran very hard, and that kind of picked us up.”
On defense, the Scots got solid pressure on Plano West quarterback Logan Williams, and didn’t allow many first downs. Hayden Schnieders recovered a fumble for HP during the controlled portion of the scrimmage. That success came despite only returning one starter from last season.
Randy Allen said the scrimmage served its primary purpose of preparing the Scots for their season opener on Aug. 29 against Frisco Centennial at the Tom Landry Classic in Allen.
“We’ve got a chance to be good. We’ve just got to improve every week,” he said. “Now we’ve got something to measure ourselves. This is an inexperienced team, and we think that with experience, they’ll get better.”
