Highland Park Wins State Football Title 59-0

[hamiltonpl]

HP rolls to state title, 59-0

06:40 PM CST on Saturday, December 10, 2005
By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News

TYLER -- The 24-hour rule was waived after Highland Park ended 48 years of frustration.

Coach Randy Allen told his team throughout its playoff run that wins were to be celebrated for no longer than a day. But Highland Park's 59-0 victory over Marshall in the Class 4A Division I final Saturday will be savored for generations.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/12-05/1211hp1.jpg
Morgan Hudnall (left) evades the grasp of Marshall defender Justin Jones.

Highland Park claimed its first state championship since 1957 in as convincing a manner as possible, recording the biggest blowout ever in an 11-man football UIL state championship game. The rout was on in front of about 14,000 fans at Rose Stadium as soon as Jake Feldt scampered 61 yards for a touchdown on Highland Park's first offensive play.

"I feel like I'm in a dream right now," said Feldt, a senior who finished with 132 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries and a 33-yard touchdown catch.

Highland Park (15-0) didn't need another magical performance from superstar senior quarterback Matthew Stafford to wrap up the first unbeaten, untied season in school history. Stafford completed 10 of 18 passes for 201 yards with an interception and no touchdowns before exiting to a standing ovation early in the fourth quarter.

Marshall (13-2), which lost in the state final for the second consecutive season, simply couldn't stop Highland Park's running game. Feldt rushed for 105 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. Alex Carroll ran for another two touchdowns.

Highland Park's Jake Feldt scores easily on the Scots' first play from scrimmage. Highland Park also pulled out a trick formation late in the first quarter to turn the game into a blowout. With the tackles lined up wide next to the outside receivers, Matthew Stafford threw a lateral to John Dickenson, who found Feldt wide open behind the secondary for a 33-yard touchdown.

Highland Park's defense was even more dominant than its offense. Marshall finished the game with two first downs and 21 total yards, allowing Highland Park to dominate the field-position battle.

"This is by far the best game our defense has played," Allen said after his team's only shutout of the season.

Linebacker Frederick Rowsey set the tone with a sack of Marshall quarterback Cory Carswell on the second play from scrimmage. Carswell completed only two of 18 passes for 5 yards and was intercepted twice by cornerback Jarrett Sweet.

Tailback Jackie Robinson, Marshall's all-time leading rusher, finished with 22 yards on 16 carries.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/12-05/1211hp2.jpg
Highland Park's Jake Feldt scores easily on the Scots' first play from scrimmage.


Charley Dickenson's 49-yard punt return for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter was the cherry on top for Highland Park.

The celebration officially started on Highland Park's first offensive possession of the fourth quarter. Senior starters were summoned to the sideline after the first few plays of the drive, allowing Highland Park fans shower them with a standing ovation. The defensive starters were given the same treatment on the ensuing possession.

"It's so sweet, man," Stafford said. "I couldn't ask to end it any other way."

E-mail tmacmahon@dallasnews.com

[gc]

HP Scots dominated.

[Aporkalypse]

21 yards of total offense for Marshall.


Ouch.

[Boredkid]

its about time we won again.

[hamiltonpl]

Great Scots leave no doubt
01:31 AM CST on Sunday, December 11, 2005

TYLER – Less than two minutes after the opening kickoff, Highland Park went up 7-0 on a 61-yard run straight up the middle by running back Jake Feldt.

A little more than five minutes later, it was 14-0 on a less-spectacular Feldt run.

Just before the end of the first 12-minute quarter, a lateral that was then passed to Feldt made it 21-0.

And so went the Class 4A Division I final Saturday at Rose Stadium. The Scots scalded Marshall, 59-0.

It was as lopsided an outing as it sounded. It was as dominating a performance as has been seen in a Texas high school football championship game.

But let the record show it was well deserved, too.

It certainly wasn't inherited after 48 years of postseason futility for Highland Park.

It wasn't bought, either, even though the small school district has a million-dollar-plus athletic budget and pays its football coach, Randy Allen, more than $100,000 as well as a $15,000 coaching stipend.

That the living looks so easy in Highland Park, and neighboring University Park, is why, paradoxically, it isn't always easy being from Highland Park. There are all the mansions and all the big cars. There are even the Joneses, Cowboys owner Jerry and wife Gene. Son Stephen was in Rose Stadium to witness the town's football team make history.

The perception of entitlement in the Park Cities was even enhanced last week when many in the tony enclave complained bitterly about having their high school football team's first appearance in a state title game since 1957 at a 12,000-seat stadium. That wouldn't accommodate all who wanted to attend, they screamed, sounding less like the supportive parents they probably are than grown-up, spoiled brats.

State Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, even carried on the whine down in Austin, where he called the limited tickets an outrage. He then foolishly went so far as to say the situation made "school finance look like a minor issue."

And in the end, like always it seems, Highland Park's supporters got their cake and ate it, too. The game remained at cozy Rose Stadium, but television put it on live. Everyone who so badly wanted to watch the Scots could.

The nice Tyler folks who run Rose Stadium even erected extra bleachers along the top of the grassy berm behind the south end zone to accommodate more Highland Park fans. It turned out they could've left the seats in storage. They were mostly empty. A gentleman who was overseeing the press box said the stadium has hosted bigger crowds and almost always does for the crosstown game between Lee and John Tyler.

But nobody went out of his or her way to oblige the kids from Highland Park, for whom all the fuss was being made. The 2005 championship the Scots just captured didn't come on a silver spoon.

Consider: They escaped 11-4A, one of the best 4A districts in the state, undefeated. They never scored less than 42 or surrendered more than 16.

Then, in the playoffs, Marshall was the fourth ranked team against which the Scots were pitted. Only McKinney North, which the Scots hung 59 on in the second round, wasn't ranked. Ennis, which the Scots beat in the third round, won state just a season ago.

If it wasn't for the joy the Scots on Saturday ultimately brought themselves and their followers with their first title in nearly half a century, it would be fun to watch them have to go one more weekend against Southlake Carroll, the 5A Division II team considered the best in the state. Unfortunately, we have to live with this increasingly stratified high school sports playoff system. There are more champions, and there are more questions.

After all, the whipping the Scots put on Marshall came despite their quarterback, Matthew Stafford, considered the top recruit at his position in the country, not having to do much of anything. A few times, he even appeared to be off his game, once having a pass picked off in the end zone.

Maybe that was the reason he came back onto the field for a few plays after the final score was reached early in the fourth quarter, but that didn't look good. It also didn't look good when Allen had his team start the second half, up 42-0, with a pass back to Stafford running down the sidelines. The game was obviously in hand. An extra dose of sportsmanship, rather than a little more Stafford, would've looked better.

But one can only imagine what a test Stafford, who is headed to Georgia, would be for Carroll playing on top of his game as he has been most of his senior season.

But that's just dreaming. What Stafford and his Scots did Saturday is reality. And they earned it.

E-mail kblackistone@dallasnews.com

[LakeHighlands]

Congrats to HP! :cheers: I wish you guys were 5A. I would love to see HP Vs Southlake.

[Insidetheloop]

I hope they have a parade or something for those guys. Maybe down Lovers Lane at 5:00pm during rush hour. I would relish that.

[Boredkid]

Well maybe no parades, but there are acouple large parties going on tonight.

[columbiasooner]

They passed out flyers towards the end of the game that read..(I paraphrase)



Robin Hood Bowl 2005

SL Carroll Dragons vs. Highland Park Scots

Dec. 24. 2005
Texas Stadium

$8 per ticket

All proceeds go to the each School's Educational Foundation in order to replace the money the State of Texas has stolen over the years.

[Mballar]

Congratulations to the HP Scots for a job well done. They have been waiting a long time for this. I'm sure it felt good to have a bit of good press amidst the recent negative news about the school. Now, if they would only devote as much energy towards dispelling ignorant notions about race/social status, and racial/cultural diversity as they do towards athletics.

[Lakewooder]

Congratulations, however the flyer is boorish and in poor taste. To put down other schools and minorities then bitch about having to pay for them shows no class.

[hamiltonpl]

Congratulations, however the flyer is boorish and in poor taste. To put down other schools and minorities then bitch about having to pay for them shows no class.

Where on the flyer does it mention minorities?

[Columbus Civil]

Carroll's mascot is the Dragon. Read from that what you want.

[Lakewooder]

I don't think Doak Walker would beat his chest about winning then put down the less fortunate.

[columbiasooner]

I haven't seen the flyer, the HP radio guys read it on the air and had quite the chuckle.

[columbiasooner]

http://frontburner.dmagazine.com
AN EXPENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAME
Was the trip to Tyler worth it to watch HP trounce Marshall 59-0? The man to ask, I'm told by an alert FBvian, is oilman Bill Shuford. Shuford chartered the Mavs jet to fly 50 to 60 people to Tyler. There they were met by a fleet of stretch Hummers (driven from Dallas) that took them to the game. Atta boy, Bill.


Tim Rogers · 01:15 PM

[Lakewooder]

Um, did they do the "We have money, yes we do, we have money how about YOU?" cheer?

[columbiasooner]

I personally liked the sign we used in college "My maid's kids go to Yale!"

[Columbus Civil]

That had to be a dallasmetropolite with the "Where's Woodrow?" sign.

[hamiltonpl]

I don't think Doak Walker would beat his chest about winning then put down the less fortunate.
Probably not. But neither did this flyer. The only person mentioning the "less fortunate" is you.

The flyer refers to the State of Texas taking more money than it was entitled to under Robin Hood. The State Supreme Court agrees with that statement. That is why Robin Hood has been ruled unconstitutional.

Not every statement published by a Parkie has racial or class overtones. You may infer it, but it doesn't make it true. Just because some brat from Highland Park hurt your feelings while Nixon was president doesn't mean you need to hold a grudge against everyone who has ever lived in the zip code. Most SMU students are snotty. And you just happened to meet another snotty SMU student who was from HP. Oh the horror.

Now if everytime you posted anything about your alma mater, I could bring up a diluge of issues. I could bring up the incredible class struggle posed by SMU. It's not a school for the poor. It's not a school with very high admissions standards. At a recent SMU game there was a poster with "Cash beats Trash" emblazoned upon it. SMU is certainly not known as a bastion of diversity. Neither does it have an honest past. It has suffered the death penalty after all. But bringing up all the scandal and snobbery of your alma mater does nothing. It only makes the mudslinger look weak and petty.

Your obsession with HP needs to die.

[Lakewooder]

Pardon, but when Nixon was president, I was a kid. And I didn't just meet one Parkie who was nasty, rude and snobby. I don't think most SMU students are snobby, but the HP grads were. Perhaps that was one holding the "Cash beats Trash" sign. I know some of them used to have "our maids went to UT" on their cars. Also you seem to take shots at SMU and my age because you think it will hurt me..

It's really so obvious to everyone except HP people, who cannot see themselves no matter how it is presented:

O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us.
(O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us.)
Robert Burns, Poem "To a Louse" - verse 8
Scottish national poet (1759 - 1796)

[hamiltonpl]

I really don't know why I keep trying to end your obession. SMU has a stereotype. It is the same as the HP stereotype -- rich and snobby. Both stereotypes have some truth to them. But like all stereotypes -- those people who actually believe them show a complete ignorance of those educational institutions.

FYI: I thought you went to SMU in the sixties because you claimed to have intimate knowledge of the HP desegregation suit. My intent was not to make a pot-shot at your age by saying your feelings were hurt during the Nixon administration. It was to illustrate that you should have given up your grudge long ago. In fact, if you just graduated in May you should have given up your grudge already. It's petty and you're missing out on a lot of good people. Just as the HP snobs are missing out on a lot of good Lakewood folks.

[WestTexan]

^While I don't agree with 5% of what you post, I realy appreciate your passion on all things Lakewood. Keep it up!

[hamiltonpl]

I too enjoy your support of all things Lakewood. It's a great place. That's why I live in Lakewood as opposed to HP.

I just wish that you would not demean and belittle HP as you attempt to build up Lakewood.

[hamiltonpl]

STARS, SUN REVOLVE AROUND CENTER OF UNIVERSE

LAKEWOOD (WWNews) – Scientists at Woodrow Wilson High School have made a scientific discovery of epic proportion: the sun and the moon revolve around Lakewood.

“Many people are mistaken that the Earth revolves around the Sun. But they are wrong. The Sun and the Stars revolve around Lakewood.” Said Dr. Aino Lansing, a professor of experimental mathematics and astronomy at Woodrow Wilson High School.

This discovery explains the psychology of Lakewood residents.

“Lakewooders can take the most inane comment and somehow interpret it to mean something disparaging about their school, their neighborhood, or their momma. Because of Lakewood’s unique position in the universe the statements made by Lakewooders are correct.”

Some colleges dispute the schools findings, but those critics have been dismissed by Woodrow Wilson HS.

“Why do they have to attack Woodrow Wilson High School like that? We make a discovery and they just scoff at us. Those Professors, like all evil, must be from Highland Park.”

Lakewood can take something like the winning of a high school championship by Highland Park and somehow twist it around to mean something disparaging about Woodrow Wilson High School. The root cause of Lakewood’s hatred for Highland Park remains undetermined. But finally, the world knows why Lakewood thinks the world revolves around them -- it actually does.

[Aporkalypse]

I too enjoy your support of all things Lakewood. It's a great place. That's why I live in Lakewood as opposed to HP.

I just wish that you would not demean and belittle HP as you attempt to build up Lakewood.


Ditto, Lakewood is my favorite neighborhood in Dallas by far but he just comes off as having a case of Highland Park p---s envy. You can take pride in your own neighborhood without being obsessed with bashing another one.