No.4 ranked Highland Park Scots dominated over Magnolia in their 5A Division 1 area round playoff game on Thursday night at AT&T Stadium beating the Bulldogs 63-28.
Though Highland park scored first with a 78-yard reception from Case Savage, Magnolia came out strong in the first half, controlling the tempo and setting the tone of the game. In the Bulldogs’ first two drives, Magnolia drove the ball 67 and 80 yards for touchdowns. Quarterback Travis Moore found Ben Coligan for a seven-yard touchdown pass on their second offensive drive giving Magnolia the 14-7 lead over Highland Park.
It took back-to-back scored from Magnolia for the three-time defending state champion Highland Park to take over. With a 64-yard, three play drive ending in a 15-yaard touchdown run from Hunter Heath. Next up for Highland Park was a 45-yard pick six from Tanner Schrank. The Scots never looked back from there.
With 56 seconds left in the first half, Scots quarterback Chandler Morris sent a four-yard touchdown pass to Savage. Savage brought in five receptions for a total of 103 yards against Magnolia. Savage caught three touchdown passes.
The third quarter opened up with five Highland Park touchdowns on five consecutive possessions putting up 35 unanswered points against the Bulldogs’ defense. Scots’ Cedric Harris found his way into the end zone before Morris scored a 58-yard touchdown run.
Highland Park’s defense dominated over Magnolia’s offense as they held Magnolia running back Mitch Hall to his third lowest game total of the year. Hall was held to only 73 yards, 52 of those yards coming from one play. Hall previously rushed for 2,031 this season.
Heath rushed for 122 yards on 10 carries while scoring two touchdowns for Highland Park. Morris completed 16 passes for a total of 281 tards and five touchdowns.
Moore totaled 309 yards and three touchdowns for Magnolia, but at the end of the day, the Magnolia offense could not stack up against a well decorated Highland Park defense. Highland Park’s defense forced four Magnolia turnovers throughout the entire game.
Magnolia finishes the season with a record of 8-4.
Highland Park continues their push toward another state title. The Scots are set to face the winner of Friday’s Frisco Lone Star and College Station game next week at a location and date that is yet to be determined.
