HP Opens 2023 season at Marcus
Posted on AUGUST 25, 2023
by Kirk DooleY
This Friday the Highland Park Scots crank up the 2023 edition of “Texas High School Football in 100-Degree Heat” as they visit Flower Mound for a scorcher against the Marcus Marauders.
Like the opener last season, this game features two evenly-matched teams in a battle that could go either way. Last season both the Scots and the Marauders were impressive for a first game. With the score tied at 24-24 in the fourth quarter, Scots running back Jay Cox took a short Brennan Storer pass and scampered 75 yards for a touchdown with nine minutes left in the game. The Marauders had matched every HP score throughout the game until the Scots defense broke serve and stopped the Marcus offense. With two minutes left in the game HP fans in the stands could finally relax when Storer scored on a short TD run to give the Scots their only 14-0 lead of the night. The game ended 38-24 but it was closer than the score indicated.
The most interesting difference between this week’s HP-Marcus match and the last year’s game is that last year’s Marauders’ star quarterback, 6’6” junior Cole Welliver, will not take the field. He was impressive in last year’s game, lighting up the Scots defense for 310 yards.
It’s not that he’s injured or got beat out as the starter. He simply doesn’t go to school at Marcus anymore. He transferred to a private Christian school coached by former Dallas Cowboys star Jason Witten. Welliver is a UConn commit. He no longer Marauds and will not be on the field this week.
But here’s who will be:
Marcus running back Ben Perlmutter and wide receiver Karic Grennan are two of the four returning offensive starters. The Marauder defense will be strong, anchored by an impressive defensive line, led by Matthew Bryant, Will Upshaw and Jace Bardwell. New coach Mike Alexander will have a few tricks up his sleeve. Before becoming the new head coach at Marcus, he has been a successful assistant at Grapevine over the past six years.
The Marauders are predicted to make the playoffs from district 6-6A, along with the Scots’ next opponent, Lewisville, which is the favorite to win district and make a deep playoff run.
The Scots are predicted to win district 7-6A, with challenges from Lake Highlands and Jesuit. HP returns two starters on offense and two on defense, so it will be typical Scots reload. There is plenty of talent on the HP roster but no three-star or four-star recruits (yet).
The HP coaching staff is intact, with two new additions to the varsity this season. Lucas Lucero is the new defensive line coach and Kevin Napier is the new inside linebackers coach. They’ve both got excellent talent to work with.
Head coach Randy Allen enters the season with 435 wins, the second most victories in the history of Texas high school football. The leader, Phil Danaher retired in 2021 with 490 wins. While high school football junkies will enjoy doing the math, Coach Allen is focussed on one thing and one thing only.
Win number 436.