FRISCO -- Three plays.
Thirty-three seconds.
That's all it took for Highland Park to flex its dominance over Mansfield Timberview on its way to punching a ticket to the Class 5A Division I Region II final.
Following a 29-yard kickoff return and a 4-yard rush from quarterback Chandler Morris, Morris found an open Finn Corwin down the middle for a 61-yard score.
And the Scots never looked back.
Highland Park scored 31 points and forced three Timberview turnovers in the game's first eight minutes before ultimately finishing Timberview, 52-7, in a regional semifinal matchup at The Ford Center.
In the next step of its quest for a third-straight state title, Highland Park (13-0) will face Tyler John Tyler, which beat Frisco Lone Star, 31-13, in the region's other semifinal game.
Highland Park's offense put up over 50 points for the third time this season, in large part due to a standout performance from the Scots defense, which came up with five total takeaways off which Chandler Morris & Co. scored 24 points.
"It was a great defensive performance," Highland Park head coach Randy Allen said. "They have two or three guys that can go all the way on any play, and our guys did a great job of tackling."
Highland Park had defeated Timberview, 42-7, back in Week 11, but Timberview was without starting quarterback Jordan Davis. In his three-week absence, running back Stacy Sneed powered the offense, registering over 250 yards and three touchdowns in each of Timberview's playoff wins, an upset over The Colony and victory over Magnolia West.
But Sneed and the rest of the Timberview offense were unable to get going from the start on Saturday, coughing up four turnovers before halftime and only running six plays from scrimmage by the time Highland Park went up 24-0.
"They [Timberview] have been playing really good and beat some really quality teams [these last few weeks]," said Highland Park defensive back Hudson Clark, who kicked off the barrage of takeaways with an interception on Timberview's first possession. "Playoffs started a new season, and we didn't take into account how we beat them last time."
Corwin, who ended the day with nine receptions for 142 yards, scored his second touchdown on a 67-yard punt return that put the Scots up 31-0 with four minutes to go in the first quarter. Morris (whose final stat line was 17 of 24 for 243 yards, three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown) then found Avery Lewis for a 14-yard score before the end of the half. Running back Hunter Heath later contributed Highland Park's two second-half touchdowns.
Timberview (7-6) avoided a shutout when Davis found the end zone on a 33-yard burst with 6:46 remaining in the game.

