FRISCO — When the offense started slowly, the defense was happy to carry the torch for Highland Park on Thursday.
Once they started rolling, the Scots scored 31 unanswered points after halftime to pull away for a 45-10 win over Frisco Reedy in the Class 5A Division I area round at The Star.
HP extended its winning streak to 11 games and advanced to meet either Cedar Park or Frisco Wakeland on Nov. 28 in the Region II semifinals.
“I’m really proud of our defense and all the work our coaches are doing with them,” said HP head coach Randy Allen. “They’re getting better and more confident. They want to be on the field and prove how important they are.”
Junior quarterback Buck Randall passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Scots, who were held scoreless until the middle of the second quarter.
Harrison Cullum was the top receiving target, catching six of Randall’s 20 completions for a game-high 117 yards and two scores.
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Matthew White’s 5-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter gave HP a 7-3 lead, which the Scots (11-1) never relinquished. It also seemed to jump-start their high-powered offense, which reached the end zone on four of the next five possessions.
Less than three minutes after White’s score, Randall found Cullum on a 55-yard strike and a 14-3 advantage.
Reedy regained momentum following an interception and long return by Grayson Jennings, which set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from D.J. Carlisle to Ben Francis. That pulled the Lions (8-4) to within 14-10 at the break.
However, HP dominated the second half on both sides of scrimmage, beginning with a third-down sack by Thomas Cook on Reedy’s opening drive.
White’s second touchdown run, covering 46 yards, came just two plays later. He finished with 67 rushing yards on only eight carries.
“We weren’t happy with the way we played in the first half,” Allen said. “We played with a lot more physicality and a lot more emotion in the second half.”
Randall added two lengthy scoring passes less than two minutes apart late in the third quarter. The first was a 40-yarder to Cullum, and the second involved hitting the outstretched arms of Cash Tanner, who scampered across the goal line for a 48-yard touchdown.
The HP defense limited the Lions to just 29 yards of total offense after halftime, securing its only takeaway on a Ronan Moreland fourth-quarter interception near midfield.
Playing without injured quarterback Lincoln Harn, Reedy managed only 56 passing yards and eight first downs in the game while punting eight times.
Meanwhile, the Scots accumulated 453 total yards after tallying only 25 in the first quarter. It resulted in Reedy’s elimination for the second straight season against HP on the same field.
“We had more yardage than them [in the first half], but we just weren’t executing on offense to get as many points,” Allen said. “The second half was more like Scot football.”
