Balanced Scots Rumble Past Rival Jesuit
Highland Park’s offense caught up to its defense on Friday, resulting in the Scots’ most complete victory of the season thus far.
HP scored 36 consecutive points to remain unbeaten and roll past neighborhood rival Jesuit Dallas 43-20 at SMU’s Ford Stadium.
There was plenty to celebrate for an HP offense that was plagued by inconsistency while winning its first two games of the year. On Friday, the Scots (3-0) racked up 504 yards of total offense and scored on six straight drives to turn a close game into a rout.
Most impressive was the running game, which struggled a week ago versus Lovejoy but accumulated 278 yards on a whopping 45 attempts against Jesuit. The Scots controlled the line of scrimmage and had three rushers top 50 yards — led by 111 from Matthew White.
Five of HP’s six touchdowns came on the ground, including two by sophomore quarterback Buck Randall. White, Isaiah Lee, and James Lancaster also reached the end zone.
Randall’s third career start was his best, as he threw for 221 yards and a touchdown while converting on 15 of 21 passes.
“The offensive line really dominated the line of scrimmage, both running the ball and in pass protection,” said HP head coach Randy Allen. “We’ve got some skill guys who made plays. When you have blocking like we had, it makes it fun for the offensive backs and receivers, and especially your quarterback.”
HP has won five straight matchups with Jesuit, including three years in a row. The Scots have taken seven of the eight meetings all-time.
The Scots will return home next week for their nondistrict finale against Colorado powerhouse Cherry Creek. The Rangers have a bye week before opening District 7-6A action on Sept. 27 against Irving.
Jesuit claimed an early advantage thanks to a punt deflection by Cade Gill, which set the Rangers up at midfield for their opening drive. Three third-down conversions later, they capitalized with a touchdown throw from Charlie Peters to Blake Bodnar.
However, the momentum shifted quickly after Randall connected with Cannon Bozman on a 46-yard pass, then plunged into the end zone two plays later.
The HP defense took over from there, holding the Rangers (1-2) — who were shorthanded due to injuries — to just 45 yards for the remainder of the first half, with no significant scoring threats.
“We had trouble mustering things up,” said Jesuit head coach Brandon Hickman. “They have a good defense. We moved the ball. We just had trouble getting it into the end zone.”
The Scots hammered the Jesuit defense with three consecutive scoring drives of at least 60 yards. Randall’s 1-yard touchdown sneak late in the first quarter gave HP a lead it never relinquished.
Lee converted on a 12-yard scamper, followed by Randall’s 13-yard strike to Benton Owens to stretch the margin to 26-7.
Perhaps the most impressive march came in the final minute before halftime, when HP took over at its own 19-yard line and came away with a 32-yard field goal by Reece Tiffany. White keyed the possession with a 37-yard run.
HP covered 80 yards on its opening drive of the second half, culminating in seven straight running plays and a Lancaster touchdown. That made it 36-7.
“We were just coming off the ball with low pads and knocking people off the line of scrimmage,” Allen said. “That’s what we preached, and those guys did a wonderful job of listening to their coaches and applying it when they came out here to play.”
The Rangers mounted a mild comeback after finding some offensive rhythm. Lucas Mayer caught a touchdown pass from Peters on fourth-and-goal to cap a lengthy possession.
Then the Jesuit defense forced a turnover when Arsen Venutra pounced on an HP fumble. Peters hit Jaeger Krauss for his third scoring pass early in the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to 36-20.
The Scots recovered the ensuing onside kick, however, and controlled the clock from there. White’s 2-yard touchdown midway through the final quarter punctuated the scoring.
“I was proud of the second half, coming back and fighting back in it. The effort was good. It’s just hard to make mistakes against really good teams,” Hickman said. “We’ll regroup and we’ll get back to it.”
Peters finished 21-of-39 passing for 248 yards, and five different receivers had at least three grabs. But the Rangers managed just 12 rushing yards while playing from behind for most of the game.
“Our defense has been playing great all year,” Allen said. “They play hard for 48 minutes and we’ve got a lot of playmakers.” White’s game-high 111 yards came on only 13 carries, for an average of more than 8.5 yards per attempt. Among the receivers, Owens and Cannon Bozman combined for 10 catches and 154 yards.
