Peck Leads Scots Past Marcus in Opener
FLOWER MOUND — It took only a few plays on Friday for the Highland Park offense to look like it was in midseason form.
New quarterback Warren Peck led a balanced and efficient attack, and the Scots rolled past Flower Mound Marcus 56-24 in the season opener at Marauder Stadium.
In his first career start, Peck threw a pair of touchdown passes and also ran for two scores. HP reached the end zone on all five possessions before halftime, which was especially impressive considering the Scots had almost no returning offensive starters from a year ago.
Peck’s 15 completions went to eight different receivers and covered 265 yards. He also rushed for 81 yards on nine attempts. The Marcus defense struggled to keep up as HP racked up 345 yards of total offense in the first half despite triple-digit heat at kickoff.
“We really had a great night offensively,” said HP head coach Randy Allen. “We’ve got depth in the backfield and in certain areas. Our guys held up.”
HP extended its regular-season winning streak to 20 games ahead of next week’s home opener against Lewisville, which should provide a stiffer test.
Peck connected with Bryce Laczkowski for a 44-yard touchdown just 66 seconds into the game. Three minutes later, Peck’s 32-yard scramble set up a short scoring run by Keller Holmes to make it 14-0.
On the next drive, Peck found Steel Tobin on third-and-long for a 38-yard touchdown. Early in the second quarter, a long pass to Charlie Schneider keyed the first of two consecutive drives capped by Peck scoring plunges.
The play that might have put the game out of reach came via special teams in the closing minutes of the first half. Daniel Turner blocked a Marcus field goal attempt that ricocheted the ball right to Jack McCallum, who returned it for a touchdown to stretch the margin to 42-10.
“That changed the whole complexion of the first half,” Allen said. “That was a tremendous play by our defense.”
The Marauders (0-1) never came within striking distance after that, as HP relied on a more run-heavy approach to control the clock in the second half.
Dane Parlin completed 25 of 40 passes for 313 yards with one touchdown for Marcus. Isaiah Keliikipi ran for a game-high 95 yards and a score.
Marauders receiver Karic Grennan finished with 12 catches for 118 receiving yards and a touchdown. He also would have scored on a kickoff return in the second quarter that was nullified by a penalty.
The Scots added two more rushing touchdowns after halftime — a 2-yarder by Wilson Axley in the third quarter, and a 31-yard scamper by backup quarterback Parker Thompson in the fourth.
PHOTOS: Melissa Macatee
