10-9-26 RL Turner
It happens at least once a year in every district. The first place team faces the last place team. This Friday the Highland Park Scots host the R.L. Turner Lions at Highlander Stadium. The Scots are 2-0 and in first place in the district race while the Lions are 0-1 and in last place.
The Lions are 1-4 for the season but their one win (over Wilmer-Hutchins) is interesting because their standout running back Lorenzo Armijo ran for 277 yards and three touchdowns. The Scots have seen a lifetime of talented running backs over the past few weeks and there’s another good one this Friday.
The Scots defense will be ready because of their improvement over the past few weeks. In last Friday’s incredible 45-42 win over the Richland Royals the Scots held superstar RB Jayshon Gibson to 271 yards,
You might read that last sentence again.
Gibson came into the game averaging more than 10 yards per carry for the season and he gained more than 300 yards on Colleyville Heritage a few weeks ago. For him, the next stop is UCLA.
Last Friday the Scots defense allowed 359 yards and 35 points in the first half. Amazingly, the Scots were down by only four points. The last time a team scored 35 points in the first half against the Scots, they did it again in the second half. That 70-37 loss to Argyle on Sept. 18 was one of the worst losses in modern HP history but the defense got its mojo back at halftime of the Richland game. I don’t know what the coaches said at halftime or what magical spell was cast on the Scots, but a new defense took the field in the second half. These guys held the Royals to seven first downs, 78 yards of total offense and seven points. HP’s standout performance reminded me of the Scots’ 2005 state championship game against Marshall. Total domination, flying to the ball, holding Marshall’s 3,000-yard running back Jackie Robinson to 23 yards on 15 carries. The HP defense held Marshall to seven yards of total offense ... in a state title game! Quarterback Cory Carswell completed two of 19 passes for four yards and had two interceptions.
Meanwhile the Scots offense under the leadership of future NFL MVP Matthew Stafford scored 59 points in the most lopsided state championship game in Texas high school football history.
Winning the state championship game by 59 points is one thing. Holding Richland to seven points in the second half is another. But I’m here to tell you that the Scots defense I saw in the third and fourth quarters last Friday reminded me of the 2005 Scots defense that smothered Marshall in the state championship game two decades ago.
I’m beginning to understand the “link in the chain” concept where expectations are high and players are inspired to leave the program better than they found it. It’s an attitude and it’s an annual challenge.
An example is the Scots junior defensive end Charles Flint. While Richland was pinned back near its goal line, Flint blew through his blockers and knocked the ball out of quarterback Brett Kates’ hand, caught the ball in mid-air and scored a defensive touchdown to start the game last week. Photographer Melissa Macatee captured the play on camera and the first three shots on the back cover of the Scots Illustrated feature number 98 and the best play of the game.
With plays like that, the Scots defense is gonna need a bigger turnover bucket.