THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Highland Park High School Athletics

WACO - For three-straight plays, College Station quarterback Brandon Williams took a direct snap, lowered his shoulder and powered through the heart of the Highland Park defense. The third time resulted in a score to give the Cougars a 13-7 first half lead. Repeating the same, powerful play three times over acted as a statement. In the second half, the Highland Park defense made a statement of its own. Aside from a late touchdown, the Scots dominated the College Station offense, specifically at the line of scrimmage, leading to a 28-20 win in the battle of the two defending 5A state champions. Usually, a dramatic defensive shift can be attributed to a specific adjustment or change in personnel. But not with the Scots' defense on Saturday. "I like to say the only thing we adjusted is our chinstrap," said Highland Park head coach Randy Allen, "So it was more of an attitude thing." Junior Prince Dorbah, a four-star recruit, and Jeremy Hanes both had two sacks, but Allen said it was the defense as a whole that came together and played well. "It was a real one-ness in the second half," Allen said while also giving credit to defensive coordinator Cale Melton. "They didn't want this to be their last game." And it won't be. With the win, Highland Park, the back-to-back 5A-I state champions, will advance to play Mansfield Timberview in a regular season rematch. Highland Park won the first time 42-7. The two teams will face off again Saturday at 1 p.m. at The Star in Frisco. Highland Park quarterback Chandler Morris, a junior in his first season as the Scots' starter, finished the game completing 25-of-36 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a 29-yard rushing touchdown to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. The most impressive thing Morris did, however, according to coach Allen, was forget. In the first half Morris and the Scots' offense, aside from an 11-play touchdown drive, struggled. They failed on two fourth-down attempts and Morris had an interception. "We just couldn't quite get in the end zone," Morris said. That changed in the second half. Morris, on back-to-back drives, connected on a 86-yard touchdown to running back Benner Page and a 73-yard touchdown to Drew Scott to give the Scots a 21-13 lead. Even though it's his first season as a starter, Allen said Morris showed a maturity that usually comes with experience, something Morris doesn't have a lot of. "It's hard to forget when you make a mistake," Allen said. "I thought he did a great job of putting that first half behind him and putting the ball on the money on two big throws and then making a good run at the end." Morris added: "I've always kept the next play mentality ... Control what you can control, and that's next play. That's how I kind of live." This season is Allen's 43rd as a coach. The 68-year-old coach has seen a lot of winning football, including Highland Park's back-to-back titles. He's also seen games like Saturday before and he knows what they could turn in to. "There's usually one game in the playoffs run where you have some turnovers and you're really fortunate to win," he said. "This might've been our day."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Highland Park High School Athletics

CHANDLER MORRIS, HIGHLAND PARK SURVIVE BATTLE OF DEFENDING STATE CHAMPS IN WIN OVER COLLEGE STATION

JOSEPH HOYT

The Dallas Morning News | 11/24/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Melissa Macatee