Texas high school football: Lake Highlands rolls Irving MacArthur behind backfield tandem
RICHARDSON, TEXAS - For most of the season, Lake Highlands has been clicking on all cylinders offensively.
That was especially evident on Thursday night in District 6A-7 Division I action against Irving MacArthur.
The Wildcats accumulated 323 yards of total offense in the first half while quarterback Tripp Holley accounted for four total touchdowns as Lake Highlands blew past Irving MacArthur, 41-14, at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.
“It starts on practice; you’ve got to win on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. … If we can do that, then the game is a whole, whole lot easier,” Holley said.
Lake Highlands (5-2, 4-1) has now scored 35 or more points in five of its games thus far, averaging just more than 37 points following Thursday’s contest. The Wildcats’ highest point total was 51 as they outlasted Highland Park, 51-41, in a district game last month.
One reason for the Wildcats’ propensity to put up points has been a multitude of seniors, led by Holley and tailback Deonte Dean, both of whom continued to turn in solid outings on Thursday as the Wildcats racked up 455 yards of total offense.
Holley completed 12-of-18 passes for 160 yards and three TDs, while adding 85 yards rushing with a TD. Dean carried the ball 21 times for 185 yards and two TDs, getting his second TD on his final carry.
“It’s amazing; we just come out here and execute, do what (Wildcat) coach (Cory Campbell) tells us to do and just try to move the ball down the field as efficient as possible,” Dean said.
OFFENSIVE SYMMETRY
Lake Highlands scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions. The Wildcats’ first two TD drives each took 11 plays, while the next two each covered six plays.
On Lake Highlands’ opening possession, Dean capped an 11-play 83-yard march by taking a handoff from Holley and finding a gaping hole. Dean dashed to the end zone untouched to complete a 36-yard TD, giving the Wildcats an early 6-0 advantage.
The next time the Wildcats touched the ball, after forcing MacArthur to punt on its opening series, they went 11 plays again, covering 82 yards. The final 10 yards was achieved by Holley, who took a keeper around the right side as Lake Highlands built a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.
After MacArthur finally got on the board with a TD only three seconds before halftime - which was set up by an interception - Dean nearly ended the half with a long TD. He broke loose for a 56-yard gain, but was brought down 8 yards shy of the goal line to close out the half.
Dean did get that second score late in the third quarter, going in from 13 yards out on his final carry of the night.
“I’m not satisfied honestly,” he said. “A game’s a game, we played good. I couldn’t do it without the o-line, they did good. I appreciate those guys, big time, and the QB had a great game.”
Deonte Dean
ON A POWER ‘TRIPP’
Holley’s first TD pass on the night went to another player named Tripp, in this case Tripp Marshall, a senior receiver.
Marshall went high in the air to snag a pass from Holley in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard TD, the Wildcats’ third on the night as they built a 20-0 lead with more than five minutes left in the first half.
Earlier in the drive, Marshall made another fantastic grab, diving to scoop up a ball with one hand before it hit the turf. That went for 21 yards to the Cardinals’ 6, setting up a first-and-goal, with the two Tripps hooking up once more a couple of plays later.
“I threw (Marshall) a low ball and credit to him, he picked it up off the ground with one hand,” Holley said. “Then I threw it to the back of the end zone, and a huge thing that we talked about this week was just trusting the receivers and letting them go up and make a play, and Tripp is a dawg right there.
“He went up and made a play, back of the end zone, it was unreal.”
Holley’s second TD pass on Thursday went to junior receiver Harrison Day on a corner route, going for 8 yards which gave Lake Highlands a 27-0 lead with 2:33 left until halftime.
On the Wildcats’ opening drive of the second half, set up by a recovered fumble from senior linebacker Shep Jenkins, Holley had his third TD pass. It was a 10-yard receiver screen to Tymir Biscoe, making it 34-7 midway through the third quarter.
“It wasn’t really in the game plan to run the ball a lot, but when the o-line like breaks down, you’ve got to make plays,” Holley said. “I had a heck of a game, Deonte had a heck of a game, and it makes the passing game a whole lot easier and it makes scrambling a whole lot easier, so credit to all of them and the game plan to Coach Campbell and (passing game coordinator) Zac Haug, credit to all of them.”
Tripp Holley (front) listens to postgame comments from his coach after Lake Highlands' 41-14 win against Irving MacArthur on Oct. 5, 2023.
HIGHLANDS FOR HIGHLAND PARK
Lake Highlands’ lone district defeat came at the hands of crosstown rival Berkner, which downed the Wildcats, 55-35, on Sept. 22.
Currently, Berkner occupies the top spot in the district at 4-0, with Lake Highlands trailing by a half-game at 4-1. The Rams will have a huge district game themselves on Friday with a road game at Highland Park, which currently stands at 2-1 in the district, along with Richardson High.
Needless to say, the Wildcats will be pulling for Highland Park to down Berkner and give the Wildcats a chance to finish with at least a share of the district championship.
If the Wildcats are going by history and location, the Scots may be the favorite to win Friday’s game.
“Going into Highland Park’s place, I don’t even know what their record is at home, but they almost never lose,” Holley said.
CATCHING ANYONE’S EYE
Holley turned in a solid junior season in 2022, throwing for more than 1,900 yards and 22 TDs. Following Thursday’s win, he now has thrown for 1,251 yards and 15 TDs.
Dean, meanwhile, is one of the top rushers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. In fact, he leads The Dallas Morning News’ list of the area’s leading rushers, now with 1,372 yards and 13 TDs.
In the win against Highland Park, he went for a single-game school record 376 yards and four TDs. He also rushed for 165 yards and two TDs in a 28-14 win against Dallas Jesuit.
But despite both Holley and Dean’s success, it really hasn’t translated to very much attention from college coaches. Especially Dean, who confirmed he hasn’t heard from anyone.
“Unfortunately I have no offers, but I’m not letting that keep me down or anything,” he said. “I’ve just got to keep balling and just looking for that opportunity. … I’ve just got to come out here every week and just give it what I’ve got and hopefully, I catch the right eye.
“I just want to get in the right eyes and get the opportunity to go play ball at a higher level. It’s God’s plan, man, that’s all I can say; God’s got a plan for me and I’m going to follow it.”
As for Holley, he has a pair of offers from a pair of schools located in New York state: Colgate and Fordham. In addition, he visited Division I school Arkansas State last weekend, taking in the Red Wolves’ game.
MANIC MONDAY
Following Thursday’s win, Campbell implored his players to not let up. As Holley pointed out earlier, how the team starts out on Mondays each week generally dictates how the Wildcats perform in the actual games.
They have three regular-season games left, and then the postseason, which has been a bugaboo over the years. Since 2008, Lake Highlands has reached at least the second round of the playoffs three times, the latest coming in 2021.
Last season, the Wildcats went 8-2 in the regular season but lost to South Grand Prairie in the opening round of the playoffs.
“We’ve got three more games and we can’t let up at all,” Holley said. “We’re hoping to win a couple of playoff games and not just settle for one like we have in the past.”
The Wildcats will enjoy an extra day off from Thursday’s win. But back to work they go after this weekend.
“Some things were bad, we really can play better than this,” Dean said. “But it starts on Monday.”
-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX
