HP Looks to Stay on Track Against Joshua

Returning after a bye week, Highland Park will renew its focus on earning a District 7-5A Div. I championship.

The Scots have an opportunity to fortify those chances during the next two weeks against Joshua and Cleburne, the two teams at the bottom of the standings in the geographically diverse league.

With the district schedule at approximately the halfway point, HP sits a half-game behind Midlothian, which has not had its bye week yet. Those two teams will face each other in the regular-season finale on Nov. 8.

But first, the Scots (5-1, 2-0) — who have already knocked off playoff contenders Tyler and Red Oak — must take care of business against a pair of perennially struggling programs looking to gain traction in a challenging league. That starts with hosting Joshua on Friday at Highlander Stadium.

After starting out with four consecutive nondistrict wins in a quest to end a string of 27 consecutive losing seasons, the Owls (4-3, 0-3) have stumbled against tougher competition in 7-5A play, averaging just 10.3 points per game in three defeats.

While the run-based offensive attack has struggled, however, defense has remained solid for Joshua, which allows only 14.4 points per game and hasn’t surrendered more than 26 in any outing this season.

The Scots have been led by their defense, which had three takeaways during a 32-14 victory over Red Oak on Oct. 4. That came after holding Tyler to 142 yards of total offense and no touchdowns the previous week.

Among the standouts in the front seven are linemen Daniel Turner and Amin Elahmadi, as well as linebackers Jack Morse and Anders Corn.

On offense, sophomore quarterback Buck Randall has thrown for almost 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns while also rushing for a team-high five scores. Brandon Lilly has been the top target, but Randall has been spreading the wealth, as five different receivers have at least two touchdown catches.

After hosting Joshua, the Scots will travel on Oct. 25. to face fellow Johnson County foe Cleburne, which likewise hasn’t mustered much offense this season. The Yellow Jackets (0-7, 0-3) have managed single-digit points four times entering Friday’s matchup at Red Oak.

Cleburne has shown the ability to be competitive in close, low-scoring games, but that seems unlikely against an offense with as much firepower as HP.