Highland Park’s football team opens the District 6-5A Division I season Friday when the Scots welcome Garland Naaman Forest at 7 p.m.
HP enters district with a 3-1 mark and is coming off a 70-37 loss against Argyle.
The Eagles join Lewisville and Rockwall-Heath as one of three ranked teams in the area by The Dallas Morning News the Scots faced in non-district.
Naaman Forest, meanwhile, comes to Highlander Stadium with a 3-1 mark after topping Denton last Friday, 21-7. The Rangers also have wins over Keller Fossil Ridge (28-13) and Saginaw (45-9) with their lone loss a hard-fought affair against Richardson (24-23).
Last year, the Rangers went 5-6, advancing to the playoffs before suffering a bi-district loss to Forney.
HP will be looking to improve upon a defensive effort that saw the Scots surrendering more than 660 yards to Argyle.
To do so, they’ll have to slow Naaman Forest’s power running game.
Through four contests, the Rangers have five players with at least nine rushing attempts and four players with rushing scores, including 38 carries for 170 yards from quarterback Braylon Deal and nine carries for 157 yards from running back Ja’Ki Robinson.
Through the air, Deal has completed 37-of-64 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.
Defensively, against Richardson, Naaman Forest had issues stopping both the run and the pass with the Eagles posting 281 yards on the ground (7.2 per carry) and 231 through the air.
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