Highland Park turns jarring early loss into postseason bid: Buck's Ballpark

Tradition-rich Scots go for seventh straight win while seeking a deeper playoff run

RICHARDSON, TEXAS - Before Sept. 8, Highland Park was feeling great coming off a hard-fought win against Lewisville for a 2-0 start.

On that night, though, the Scots felt a jarring opposite effect. They gave up 51 points and 616 yards of total offense to Lake Highlands, falling by 10 points.

It was an experience Scots’ players were determined not to let happen again. And that is something that has fueled them every week since then.

Highland Park has responded with six straight wins since then, the latest a 34-15 District 7-6A triumph over Richardson on Oct. 26. The Scots go for seven straight Friday night with a home game against Richardson Pearce in the regular-season finale.

“We’ve really upped our intensity in practice and taken practice a lot more seriously because our preparation has led to our recent victories a lot more than the past because, coming off that big Lewisville win, we thought we were up and came into Lake Highlands kind of flat, and it kind of showed by the score,” Highland Park senior cornerback Jack McCallum said.

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For the Scots, it all traces back to that tough night nearly two months ago.

“We came in after (the Highland Park loss) and had a captain-led practice on that Sunday, just to kind of get back into it and get our bodies moving again,” senior defensive end Henry Richter said. “We knew we had to be able to start to be able to stop the run because teams were trying to run it on us.

“And so we definitely put an emphasis on stopping the run, and I think we’ve been doing a great job on that since that game.”

Highland Park senior Henry Richter (97) is interviewed after the Scots' 34-15 win at Richardson on Oct. 26, 2023

The week after the Lake Highlands loss, the Scots blasted Irving, 63-3, allowing just 100 yards of total offense. They turned in the exact same number of yards allowed two games later, stifling a Richardson Berkner team that came in leading the district, 28-13.

“That was a great game for our defense,” Richter said of the win against Berkner. “We definitely shut down an explosive offense.”

On Oct. 20, Highland Park gave up 77 yards rushing in a 24-14 win against Irving MacArthur. Then against Richardson, the Scots gave up 83 yards passing, and one of the two touchdowns the Eagles managed to score came in the final minutes.

“The Lake Highlands game was definitely a wake-up call for us as a defense, so ever since that Lake Highlands game, we’ve been holding ourselves to higher standards at practice and just been practicing harder every day to get better and progressively get better since that game,” Richter said. “So I really think we’ve been doing a good job, and slowly getting better and better each game.

“I think kind of just progressively getting better game by game, and I’m excited to see where this team takes us.”

Highland Park players (from left) Steel Tobin, Henry Richter, Parker Thompson and Jack McCallum discuss the Scots' 34-15 win at Richardson on Oct. 26, 2023

Highland Park’s offense has also done its part in the victory streak. In last week’s win, the Scots amassed 359 yards of total offense, 216 of those on the ground.

They also used some trickery to get their opening score. From just past midfield, quarterback Warren Peck used a pitch pass to receiver Steel Tobin, lined up just to the right of his offensive line.

Tobin originally was going to go toward the middle of the field before he suddenly cut toward his left. He eluded a pair of defenders before breaking in the clear to the end zone.

“We were in the huddle before the play started, and it was a designed play for me to get the ball and kind of run up the middle,” Tobin said. “We’ve been working on that for weeks; that’s been a play ever since we’ve been in middle school, so we’ve got that down for sure.

“I went back, got the pitch from Warren, and I was going to take it up the middle, but decided to bounce it outside since there was a lot of pressure coming through the middle. I just made one or two guys miss and I took off and it was over from there. … It worked perfectly in our favor.”

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Tobin is a legacy player, a link to the proud Highland Park tradition of numerous state championships and alums like Doak Walker, Bobby Layne, Matthew Stafford and Chandler Morris, now playing at TCU.

“It runs deep; I’m a third-generation Scot,” said Tobin, who has already received preferred walk-on offers from TCU and Oklahoma. “My grandparents and my dad attended here and played football and it’s exciting to be here and just continue the legacy.”

Even an injury to Peck in the first half did not deter the Scots on this night. His replacement, senior Parker Thompson, came in and ended up being the team’s top rusher with 94 yards and two TDs.

“I’ve always played quarterback; I got switched to receiver this year to help the team out and I was like working on that very hard,” Thompson said. “I haven’t been practicing much at quarterback lately, but I definitely started heating up again near the end of the game, just to get back in a rhythm, I was kind of rusty but it will wear off.

“I like to run. … I always like to pass, but at the high school level, my legs are too good not to use right now.”

In fact, Thompson will continue to play quarterback at the next level, committing to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“I love it,” Thompson said of Air Force. “The coaches there are unmatched and show so much support.

“After college, a lot of people have trouble finding a job. They give you a job for you and it makes very good money.”

Highland Park built a 27-7 halftime lead against Richardson. The Scots then extended it to 34-7 early in the second half when McCallum picked off a pass at his own 35.

He then found real estate down the left sideline, going in untouched for the pick-six, with teammate Wesley Winfield escorting him for the final 50 yards.

“There were two receivers on the right side and the third one motioned over, so I knew I was going to get that third guy that motioned over,” McCallum said. “He ran to the flats and the quarterback threw it up to him and I picked it off and was full-on sprinting as fast as I could.

“Props to my teammates for setting up good blocks for me.”

Also, McCallum made sure that there was no laundry on the turf. The previous week, he appeared to have another pick-six, only to have it called back due to a penalty.

Not so this time. The touchdown stood.

“I got in the end zone and I looked back and (heard) no whistles, so I was really excited,” McCallum said.

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And the Scots were soon able to notch their sixth straight win. They will try for a seventh on Friday, and grab a share of the district title along with Lake Highlands, which beat Irving on Thursday night, 49-27.

Then the playoffs start, and the Scots are hoping to continue their streak while getting some better luck than in recent times.

Since winning three consecutive titles from 2016-18, the Scots have gotten past the second round of the playoffs only once. Last season, they won their first 11 games before falling in the second round of the 6A Division II playoffs to the Jackson Arnold and Peyton Bowen-led Denton Guyer squad.

“I think this year, we’re going to be coming in a lot more prepared for the playoffs,” McCallum said. “We’re going to put in a lot more attention to practice.

“We’re already in playoff mode; that’s what our coach (Randy Allen) has been saying, so that’s why we’re playing so good so late in the season.”

Playoff mode for the Scots continues in their regular-season home finale Friday night.

Highland Park coach Randy Allen (left) is interviewed after the Scots' 34-15 win at Richardson on Oct. 26, 2023

-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX