10-17-25 Joshua
Right now the Joshua Owls can taste their first winning season since 1996.
Last season they improved to 5-5 and were thrilled to hit that mark. The six seasons prior to that their combined record was 10-46.
The Highland Park Scots have made more playoff appearances than any team in the history of Texas high school football. The Joshua Owls are still searching for the school’s first playoff appearance ever. Right now they are 3-3 for the season and are poised to make Joshua history. The Owls have three games remaining on their schedule – Highland Park, Cleburne and Burleson Centennial. Win two and they have their winning season.
But the plot thickens. What if the Owls beat the Scots? They are suddenly in the conversation as a playoff team from 7-5A. HP fans who witnessed the Tyler Lions dominate much of the Scots game saw how a high school football team can seize the momentum and play super-human football.
Tyler played Joshua on Oct. 3 and won, 17-16, when Joshua’s game-tying PAT hit the crossbar. A week later Joshua dropped a 10-7 battle against Red Oak, who won on a fourth quarter field goal. But the most dramatic Joshua game so far this season was on Sept. 26 when the Owls fought the Midlothian Panthers, a team most observers thought would be the Scots’ most likely challenger for the district title. The two teams clawed each other to a 21-21 tie as time expired. Then in overtime a safety gave Joshua the victory, 23-21. Yes, Joshua beat state-ranked Midlothian. Talk about a team with some momentum.
It’s hard to compare other games and other scores but one comparison that has kept me up at night is that Joshua held Tyler to 17 points while Highland Park held Tyler to 66 points.
Of course, the Scots have a strong defense and a stronger offense that get better as the season progresses. The HP offense, under the field leadership of junior quarterback Buck Randall, is lighting up opponents as fast as it lights up the stat sheet. He has completed 117 of 177 passes (66 percent) for 2,083 yards and 25 touchdowns. He has run for 300 more yards and added six more touchdowns.
Running back Matthew White turned into quite the Swiss army knife of the Scots offense. Run the ball? He has 300 yards and seven touchdowns. Catch the ball? He has 23 receptions for 425 yards and five TDs. Receiver Cannon Bozman has been on an injury break which is just about over. He has caught 25 passes for 597 yards and nine touchdowns. He’ll help pick up the slack of the injuried Case Messer, who has caught 15 passes for 230 yards and four TDs.
Having Bozman on the field helps supercharge the Scots offense. And having Coach James Farnsley on the field will give the Scots some extra mojo. Farnsley played high school football at Joshua and still knows half the town. They’re still upset with him for coaching up the Scots offensive line against the Owls last year, which led Highland Park to a 31-0 win.
In this week’s game, a goal for the Scots is to have a strong first half. The goal for the Owls is to keep the game close at halftime. Could we be looking at another 31-0 shutout like last year or another 70-66 explosion like last month? To put it in perspective, a Joshua win would be the biggest victory in school history. And that goes back even farther than Coach Farnsley.