Scots Blank Owls, Remain Perfect in 7-5A
Coming off a bye week, Highland Park looked refreshed on both sides of scrimmage and earned its most lopsided victory of the year.
The Scots cruised to an early lead and posted their first shutout of the season during a 31-0 victory over Joshua at Highlander Stadium.
The Scots (6-1, 3-0) stay unbeaten in District 7-5A Div. I heading into a road game against winless Cleburne next week.
The clash with the Owls was a clear contrast in styles, with HP’s aerial attack looking prolific and efficient while Joshua’s ground game struggled to gain traction. In terms of passes attempted, the Scots held a 37-3 edge.
Sophomore quarterback Buck Randall completed 18 of 21 throws — including eight in a row to start the game — as HP reached the end zone on all four possessions before halftime for a quick 28-0 advantage.
“He was hot in the first half,” said HP head coach Randy Allen. “He was hitting receivers scrambling, and throwing the ball on time, and beating the blitz.”
Randall’s first scoring toss was a 15-yarder to Cannon Bozman to cap an opening drive that included two face-mask penalties against the Owls (4-4, 0-4). Randall found Bozman again on a 4-yard strike on the next possession.
The next drive included a key completion to Harrison Cullum to convert a third-and-long, and culminated in a 4-yard hookup between Randall and Case Messer.
The biggest play came shortly before halftime, when Randall connected with the outstretched arms of Brandon Lilly for a 63-yard touchdown on a third-and-10 scramble.
Lilly and Benton Owens combined for 223 yards on just nine receptions. Ten different HP players had at least one catch.
“If you get ahead of them, you take their game away,” Allen said of the Owls. “We got out in front and played really well.”
Meanwhile, the Owls controlled time of possession and kept the clock moving but struggled to sustain drives, in part due to 112 penalty yards and a pair of second-half fumbles — including one recovered by HP linebacker Jack Morse on a fourth-down play near midfield.
The HP defense contained the chain-moving potential of a Joshua offense that utilized various formations and ball carriers while rushing on 43 of its 46 snaps.
“[Our defense was] really tough and played very physical. You can’t get knocked off the ball and can’t give up big plays,” Allen said. “We did a really good job of tackling and maintaining our gap responsibilities.”
Eli Martinez ran for 86 yards to lead Joshua, which suffered its fourth consecutive loss despite a scrappy effort that prevented the game from getting out of hand.
The Owls limited HP to just 46 rushing yards for the game, and to only three points in the second half on a Reece Tiffany field goal.
