The start of the playoffs looked a lot like the end of the regular season for Highland Park on Friday at Highlander Stadium.
Flashing plenty of offensive fireworks and defensive tenacity, the Scots pulled away from Lake Belton for a 52-13 victory in the Class 5A Division I bi-district round.
HP will carry a 10-game winning streak into a Region II area round matchup against Frisco Reedy on Nov. 20 at The Star in Frisco — where the Scots won three times a year ago en route to the state title game.
Junior quarterback Buck Randall passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns as HP reached the end zone on its first five offensive possessions to overcome an early deficit. Randall completed 15 of 17 passes and also ran for a game-high 58 yards and a score.
Cannon Bozman caught five passes for 119 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown from Randall early in the second quarter that kicked off a string of 49 unanswered points for the Scots (10-1). Matthew White and Isaiah Lee added two scores apiece.
Meanwhile, the HP defense strengthened as the game progressed despite Lake Belton controlling the clock for much of the first half. The Broncos (5-6) scored on two of their first three drives, yet punted on the last seven.
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“We didn’t get on the field very often but we scored quickly,” said HP head coach Randy Allen, who praised his team’s defensive line depth. “Our defense was out there for a long time. We were able to rotate and keep our starters fresh.”
Lake Belton’s first score followed a successful fake punt on its opening possession, leading to a 54-yard strike from Jessiah James to Zion Harness on third-and-long. The Broncos recovered the ensuing onside kick but couldn’t capitalize.
HP got on the board with a 6-yard touchdown run by James Flowers on fourth down, then unleashed an arsenal of big plays after that.
Bozman’s long touchdown gave the Scots a 14-13 advantage, and it came on the first snap following a scoring catch by Lake Belton’s Davion Peters.
The next three drives—each consuming six plays or fewer—culminated in a 1-yard run by Randall, a 61-yard reception by Charlie Olmstead, and a 24-yard grab by Isaac Hutchinson as the margin stretched to 35-13 at the break.
The Broncos struggled to sustain drives due in part to an aggressive HP pass rush that yielded five sacks. They completed just nine of 23 passes, including the two early touchdowns by James, and averaged only 2.3 yards per rushing attempt.
“We made a bunch of tackles for loss and we also made some sacks,” Allen said. “We got them off schedule. Our guys did a great job of holding them.”
As a result, the Scots took advantage of favorable field position with three more rushing touchdowns in quick succession to increase the lead in the third quarter, highlighted by Lee’s 34-yard scamper up the middle.
White finished with 128 total yards and a touchdown. HP’s 17 pass completions were spread among nine different receivers.
The Scots have won their last 13 first-round playoff games, and have also earned double-digit victories for the 13th straight campaign.
