10-3-25 Red Oak

   Highland Park fans who witnessed last week’s incredible 70-66 win over the Tyler Lions will never see another game like that, where the Scots score 70 points, where their opponents score 66 and lose, and where both teams combine for 136 points. It has never happened before and will probably never happen again.

   But if you’d like to see a once-in-a-lifetime game like that every weekend, just get in your car and drive to the nearest Class 1A game, where 70-66 is a typical score. Class 1A is the smallest UIL classification, where all of the schools play six-man football. It’s a whole other world and I recommend that you find a game and experience it. You'll see small Texas towns at their best. You’ll spend a few hours in your car but it will be worth it. Put it on your bucket list.

   This Friday’s home game against the Red Oak Hawks will be a challenge for the Scots. It could also be the game that determines the district championship. The Hawks’ defensive line averages 250 lbs. per man and the offensive line averages 291. These are large gentlemen. They give quarterback Billy Middleton time to find star wide receiver Brayden Robinson, who has committed to play for Notre Dame. (And I don’t mean Richard Bohac’s Notre Dame Catholic School in Wichita Falls. It closed in 2021, probably because Bohac had graduated and moved to Highland Park to be a coach and middle school administrator.) 

   Last week Tyler showed the world what three skill players can do. This week Red Oak has three D-1 skill players who are comparable to the Tyler trio. And the Hawks have two outstanding defenders – #1 Dhillon McGee, a cornerback, and #99 Johnnie Fitzgerald III, a defensive tackle, who is 6’3”, 295. They’re both juniors.

   The Hawks are 2-2 for the season. They beat Colleyville Heritage, 20-11, to open the season, then they dropped a close one to Arlington Seguin, 41-34. Next they battled Cedar Hill from the 6A District of Doom and lost, 41-16. Red Oak’s final pre-district game was a 39-32 win over Killeen Ellison. It is significant that last week was Red Oak’s bye week, giving the Hawks seven extra days to prepare for the Scots. 

   “Red Oak has speed, size and athleticism,” said Scots head coach Randy Allen. “They are very talented, with three or four D-1 players, and they’ve played a tough pre-district schedule. When a team like this gets hot early in a game, they gain confidence and are hard to stop.”

   Speaking of hard to stop, Scots QB Buck Randall (who has the best teeth of any high school quarterback in Texas) has completed 95 of 151 passes for 1,693 yards and 19 touchdowns, and is the top-ranked 5A quarterback in The Dallas Morning News area rankings. The next QB has 500 fewer yards than Randall. 

   Incredibly, the leading receiver is HP’s Cannon Bozman, who has caught 25 passes for 597 yards and nine TDs.  He’s a good 123 yards ahead of the next receiver on the list and Bozman hasn’t played since the Pulaski game. Last Friday Charlie Olmstead stepped up and caught eight passes for 158 yards. Receivers Case Messer, Harrison Cullum and Jack Swaldi each caught a Randall  touchdown pass. Running back Matthew White picked up 140 yards on 15 carries. He also grabbed seven passes for 83 yards. On the ground White had five touchdowns and he collected 223 yards in total offense.

   The Scots are leading the 5A area in team offense, averaging 511.8 yards per game.

   If I were preparing for the Highland Park offense, I would request two bye weeks to get ready.