The District 6-5A Division I football title may well be on the line at 7 p.m. Friday when Highland Park travels to the Birdville ISD Fine Arts and Athletic Complex to take on Richland.
The Royals come in with a spotless 5-0 mark, including a 63-7 win over Creekview last week to open district action.
The Scots (ranked No. 14 in 5A in the area by The Dallas Morning News) come in with a 1-0 record in 6-5A after defeating Garland Naaman Forest, 38-7, and sit at 2-3 on the year.
Through five games, Richland (No. 8) has an average margin of victory of 31.2 points and is scoring 50.4 points per game with a low of 42.
The Royals have displayed a balanced attack thus far offensively led by quarterback Brent Kates and running back Jayshon Gibson.
Kates, the son of head coach Ged Kates, has completed 65 percent of his passes for 932 yards and 10 touchdowns against zero interceptions while also rushing for 256 yards (4.5 per carry) and five scores.
UCLA commit Gibson, meanwhile, has rushed 76 times for 735 yards (9.7 per carry) with 14 touchdowns and also provided big-play ability in the passing game at over 20 yards per reception with two touchdowns.
Richland’s top receiver thus far has been Ben Sanders (18 receptions, 367 yards, six touchdowns).
Overall, Richland has six players with at least six receptions and 50 yards.
Defensively, Richland is loaded with experience as HP head coach Randy Allen noted the Royals return all 11 starters from a squad that reached the third round of the postseason in 2025.
Last week, Creekview managed just 165 yards of offense.
However, in a 47-29 win Sept. 18 over Colleyville Heritage, the Panthers posted more than 400 yards, including 291 through the air.
But Richland did record four interceptions as it closed the game on a 24-0 run after trailing, 29-23, entering the fourth quarter.
The Scots figure to give Richland’s defense a formidable task as they have posted at least 37 points in every game.
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