A Highland Park fourth-quarter comeback attempt came up just shy Friday as the Scots dropped a thriller on the road to Rockwall-Heath, 49-46.
HP had a chance to tie or take the lead on its final possession, but after a 24-yard completion from Buck Randall to Beckett Lawrence on third-and-long came up shy, the Scots were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal only to have a miscue on the snap result in a fumble to seal the win for the Hawks.
It’s the first time in the storied career of head coach Randy Allen that HP has lost consecutive regular season games, and is the second consecutive year the Scots have dropped a high-scoring affair to Heath after the Hawks won, 52-49, in 2025.
“I think by playing tough competition like this, it will make us better in the long run,” Allen said. “We can play a team that wasn’t as talented and we’d never find out some things about our team that we need to learn. This is going to be a really good football team once we get this thing going.”
HP found itself trailing, 41-31, entering the fourth quarter but managed to pull in front, 46-41, thanks to a 5-yard touchdown run by Logan Jones and a 12-yard touchdown catch by Thompson Braner.
Braner’s receiving score was made possible after HP kicker Shep Pryor recovered an onside kick.
Heath had the answer, however, responding for the game-winning score with 2:40 remaining on a 4-yard touchdown run by Carter Zahm.
Zahm finished the night with 19 carries for 70 yards and two catches for 61 yards, while quarterback Prosper Neal threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 126 yards and two scores. Christian Contreras was Neal’s top target through the air, finishing with seven receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Randall completed 21-of-34 passes for 396 yards and two touchdowns for HP, while Lawrence posted eight catches for 181 yards.
HP also cranked up its ground game with three rushers with at least 50 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by 70 yards and two scores from Jones.
Caiden Reeves chipped in 56 rushing yards and 64 receiving yards as HP outgained Heath on the night, 526-487.
“If you saw our game last week, we’ve made some improvements, especially running the football,” Allen said.
The Scots began the contest in a similar fashion to said opener against Lewisville, coming up empty on their opening possession before falling behind.
This time, however, the deficit was 13-0 following a pair of touchdown receptions by Contreras.
But HP would quickly respond, getting on the board on a 4-yard touchdown run by Jones before taking the lead with 10:01 remaining in the second quarter on a 1-yard scoring run by James Flowers.
The squads would trade scores the rest of the half, including a 75-yard touchdown reception by Lawrence and a 35-yard field goal from Pryor to send HP to the break facing a 27-24 deficit.
“We’ve just been getting off to slow starts,” Allen said. “Both games we’ve been behind seven points, and we received the kickoff in both games. We have to get off to a better starts and that’s my fault. I have to do a better job of scripting and planning our first series.”
The Scots will look to rebound in their home-opener at 7 p.m. Friday against Tyler.
“We’re not a finished product,” Allen said. “We definitely tackled better and that’s something I was really wanting to see. We’ll go back and look at the film and work and be a better team against Tyler.”
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