It was a predictable outcome and a game where the only mystery left in the second half was how bad the final outcome would be. 

 

HP rolled to a 49-14 win over Hillcrest in the area playoffs Friday, and rolled up even bigger offensive numbers. The Scots (12-0) went away from the rushing game that had served them well the past three weeks and took the air instead.

The Scots' 646 total yards likely break the school's record for a playoff game, and HP's 503 passing yards should also rank at the top of the record book. If there was one. There are no official records, but the passing mark does surpass the 479 yards HP threw for against McKinney in the 2009 playoffs, is the highest total of the past seven seasons and certainly more seasons behind it.

Jake Howeth and Brady Burgin combined tocomplete 23-of-35 passes, four for touchdowns. The 21.87-yards-per-completion is one of the highest totals in the Scots' playoff history.

HP scored touchdowns on its first five possessions and missed a 30-yard field goal on its last drive. That is almost all you need to know about this drubbing that sends the Scots into the third round of the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season and a 28th time in the program's history. 

The Scots are 12-0 for only the 9th time in school history, and will meet the winner between Whitehouse and Mesquite Poteet winner at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Cowboys Stadium. It will be HP's first game in the two-year-old football palace in Arlington.

The players will certainly look forward to that game next week, but protecting the home turf was of more concern Friday. HP won a 63rd consecutive game at Highlander Stadium behind Howeth, who tallied 273 total yards, 219 of it passing and 40 on the ground. He also caught one of Burgin's passes for 14 yards. The senior quarterback had a part in HP's first three touchdowns, two of them on short runs sandwiching a perfectly-thrown fade pass to Dalton Stogner near the end of the first quarter.

Burgin entered in the second quarter and diced up Hillcrest's secondary some more, connecting on six of his first eight passes for 117 yards. The last completion during that string was another toss to Stogner in the end zone, which he hauled in for a 15-yard score. 

Preston Miller ran in from a yard out just before halftime for a 35-0 lead on a drive highlighted by a 62-yard catch-and-run by Colin Stringer down to the Hillcrest one. Miller scored on the next play.

The Scots' defense continued its thieving ways, coming up with three interceptions. Blake Poston picked off a pass just before halftime to start the drive that turned into Miller's touchdown. He stole another pass on Hillcrest's (8-3) next possession, and his 20-yard return gave HP one last scoring chance, but the field goal missed wide left.

Howeth connected with William Morris for touchdown passes on consecutive drives to start the second half and built the game into a rout. Morris led Highland Park with 193 receiving yards on eight catches, the best of which was a deep post that he turned into a 52-yard scoring play. Stringer had 115 receiving yards.

 

HP held Hillcrest scoreless until the final 10 minutes, and the Scots' defense didn't yield a point to the Panthers' offense. Hillcrest scored twice in the fourth quarter with its special teams. Wilson Look got through the HP line to block Jake Howeth's punt, and Eddie Day recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Tony White picked up a punt that HP was about to down and turned it into a 95-yard touchdown return.