Farmers Bring Early-Season Test for HP

Highland Park has lost only twice on its home field in the last 25 years, fending off plenty of high-profile and highly ranked challengers along the way.

The latest obstacle for the Scots will come in Friday’s home opener against Lewisville at Highlander Stadium — a matchup that carries significance on both sides.

It will be the final nondistrict contest for HP prior to the early start of District 7-6A play next week at Lake Highlands. The Scots will hope facing a bigger and faster opponent helps expedite those preparations.

Fortunately, HP easily passed its first test with a 56-24 road win over Flower Mound Marcus in its season opener a week ago. New quarterback Warren Peck threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more.

The Scots scored on their first five possessions against the Marauders. They had five rushing touchdowns overall, including an impressive scamper from backup quarterback Parker Thompson in the second half. The HP defense held Marcus to just one touchdown over the first three quarters.

They’re expected to receive a more robust challenge from the Farmers, who will be seeking revenge after being handed their only regular-season loss by the Scots last year.

HP’s 31-17 victory was the most points the stingy Lewisville defense allowed all season. After that game, the Farmers won their next 11 before falling to Prosper in the fourth round of the Class 6A Division I playoffs.

Last week, Lewisville led 50-0 at halftime during a season-opening blowout of Garland Naaman Forest, with some top players being given reduced workloads in the sweltering conditions. Standout running back Viron Ellison, a Tulsa commit, will likely be the workhorse behind quarterback Ethan Terrell.

The Scots have won 20 consecutive regular-season games dating to the 2021 opener against Southlake Carroll. HP’s most recent home defeat came in 2019 against Frisco Lone Star.