by MrMustang1965 » Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:56 pm
from the DMN:
Highland Park and Lincoln share a commitment to excellence when it comes to athletics.
That means this week's homecoming game for Highland Park should produce another exciting chapter in the ongoing football rivalry.
Highland Park and Lincoln will play a regular-season game for the first time when the two meet at Highlander Stadium on Friday. The three previous meetings between the two teams have been in the playoffs, and all have been won by Highland Park.
The last two years, Highland Park has won in convincing fashion, winning last year's bi-district game, 35-7, and the 2002 area championship, 45-20. The closest of the three recent playoffs came in 1996, when Grant Sumner kicked a field goal in the final seconds to give Highland Park a 17-15 win. Highland Park advanced to the Class 4A semifinals that year, where it fell to Denison, 27-13.
Because this is a nondistrict game, Highland Park coach Randy Allen said his team must maintain the momentum it has been building since its season opener. He knows Lincoln has the same objective, having suffered its only loss three weeks ago to Denton Ryan, 30-7.
"They weren't satisfied with 10-2, 11-1. They want to be considered in the upper echelon of 4A competition," said Allen, who is 2-0 against the Tigers.
"For that reason, they wanted to schedule Highland Park. And I didn't think we'd play them again [this season] because they're going to be a small school [in the 4A playoffs]. So it should be a great high school football game."
Many Scots on this year's team have been on the field or on the sidelines during Highland Park's wins in 2002 and 2003, and all know two things: Lincoln will have another athletic team along the lines of a Ryan or Arlington Sam Houston, and Lincoln probably will enter the game looking to reverse the results of the two recent playoff results.
Allen said Lincoln is much better since quarterback Byron Eaton rejoined the squad. Eaton planned to sit out the football season to concentrate on basketball but reconsidered.
Allen is also interested in seeing how his team reacts after a bye week. When the Scots take the field Friday, it will be two weeks since their win over Arlington Sam Houston, 49-40. There were benefits, such as shorter workouts, time to heal injuries, and the opportunity to work on certain aspects of their own games.