Highland Park Rides Defense, Running Game To State Title

Highland Park has relied on its defense all season long. They saved their best game for the most important game of the season: the 5A Division State Title Game. It was only fitting that the game sealing play was made by the defense.

It was third and 10, and Temple was pinned back at its own one yard line. Senior defensive lineman and Defensive MVP of the game Turner Coxe beat his man inside and was able to grab Temple’s QB Reid Hesse’s jersey and pulled him to the ground with his right arm for a safety and a 16-7 lead.

“I was just trying to fire off him,” Coxe said. “I was thinking pass first, Luke Blanton and Marshall Hammock pushed him up in the pocket and I got him.”

The Scots’ defense was able to hold the Temple offense to 281 total yards on the day and was able to stifle their big play ability. “Alex Walzel played his best game of the season and he was one-on-one a lot,” Highland Park coach Randy Allen said about the senior defensive back that had two pass breakups and an interception.

The first four drives for the Scots offense resulted in punts, then on the fifth drive the offense finally put points on the board. On a designed quarterback draw off the right guard, John Stephen Jones made two men miss and went 36-yards into the end zone to tie the game up at 7 with 3:49 left in the first half.

“Coach (Randy) Allen and all the coaches came up with a great game plan,” quarterback and offensive MVP John Stephen Jones said. “We got off to a slow start but we switched some things around and the coaches put us in a position to win and that’s what we did.”

Jones, the son of Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones and grandson of owner Jerry Jones, was under the microscope all season due to who his family is. Jones was responsible for the two Scots touchdowns on the day with 50 rushing yards.

“I just treat it like I’m playing in any other game since I was a little kid,” Jones said. “There are just more people watching I guess, I don’t feel any extra pressure I do it for my teammates.”

In the second half, junior running back Paxton Alexander was able to peel off more yards, finishing with 145 for the game and 99 in the second half. Alexander was the back up running back but got thrust into the starting role the final three weeks of the playoffs when Jacob Urbanczyk got injured.

John Stephen Jones is definitely happy! pic.twitter.com/Z7CoU9ysMp

— Texas HS Football (@texashsfootball) December 17, 2016

“John Stephen and Turner would echo this 35 is a tough cookie, and without Paxton Alexander we aren’t here.” Allen said.

This is the fourth title in Highland Park school history and the first title since 2005. They etch their names in history with the likes of Matthew Stafford and the teams of 1945 and 1957.

“When you go to the football camps as a kid they show you the 2005 team tapes all the time, and you want to be apart of that.” Jones said. “To be able to do that with your team and brothers its incredible.”

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