Scots Face Struggling Bulldogs in Home Finale
Where has this season gone? Just like that, only two weeks remain in the regular season, and Highland Park has assumed its customary position atop the District 15-5A standings.
The Scots will carry a six-game winning streak into their home finale on Friday against last-place Royse City. And next week, they will wrap up the regular season with a road trip to Wylie East.
But while HP players and coaches aren’t supposed to look ahead, we’re under no such restriction, so — in the spirit of an election year — enough precincts have reported for us to project that the Scots (7-1, 5-0) will win their 51st district title in school history, and will make their 57th playoff appearance, including 29th in a row.
Looking toward the postseason, HP should be the top seed from 15-5A in the Division I bracket, meaning the Scots will likely face Marshall in the bi-district round. The two teams haven’t met since the 2005 state championship game, which HP won 59-0.
We’ll discuss that more down the line, but first the Scots will look to continue their momentum following a 44-7 road win last week against Forney. It was another balanced effort for HP, with John Stephen Jones throwing two touchdown passes and completing 77 percent of his throws.
Again, however, the HP rushing game responded to the challenge by accumulating 242 yards and reaching the end zone four times — two touchdowns for Jacob Urbanczyk and one apiece for Jack Kozmetsky and Paxton Alexander.
Meanwhile, the HP defense has allowed seven points or fewer in four of its past six games. And the Scots haven’t surrendered more than 250 total yards since the district opener on Sept. 16.
The Bulldogs (2-6, 0-5) have dropped six consecutive games, including a 48-0 loss to Mesquite Poteet last week. Their offense has struggled for much of the season, scoring 10 points or fewer on four occasions.
Brett Martinez is the primary offensive weapon for Royse City. He leads the team in rushing and receiving, and has scored six of the 12 touchdowns this season for the Bulldogs.
