By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Highland Park football had no problem picking up its fifth win of the season, steamrolling a school from Kansas City, Mo. 70-0 in a Thursday night meeting at Hummer Sports Park.
Senior CJ Brown celebrates a touchdown in Highland Park's 70-0 win over KC-East Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park senior Jamon Wilson scored two touchdowns in Thursday's 70-0 non-league win over KC-East. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park enjoyed the blowout win after suffering back-to-back losses to slump to 4-2. The Scots can expect a challenge in their final regular-season contest next Thursday, a meeting with 5-1 KC-Washington in a game with Meadowlark Conference and Class 5A playoff implications.
The visiting KC-East Bears got off on the wrong foot, and it just got worse from there. An errant snap on the first play from scrimmage was recovered by Highland Park lineman Elijah Thomas, who jogged 45 yards for a defensive touchdown.
The Bear offense could do nothing against the Scots. And once Highland Park had possession of the ball, they were rarely tackled. In fact, Highland Park scored on their first four plays from scrimmage before the Bears actually got one of the Scots on the ground. In just five minutes of play, Highland Park had amassed a 36-0 lead.
The officials called for a running clock with 5:39 remaining in the second period.
Scoring offensive touchdowns for the Scots in the first half were:
• Jamon Wilson, on runs of 19 and 53 yards.
• Ricky Crawford, on a 47-yard pass from Dontrail Fox.
Sophomore G'Honi Montgomery scores a TD in Thursday's 70-0 Highland Park win over KC-East. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
• G'Honi Montgomery, on a 91-yard run and a 35-yard pass from Fox, and Fox, on a 20-yard run.
The second half, with a running clock throughout, held more of the same for the visiting Bears.
CJ Brown took a sweep 54 yards on the first play of the third period. Wilson ran 35 yards on the Scots’ next offensive play. And to cap the scoring, Brown returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown.
Thus, the Scots went untackled in the second half en route to piling up the 70-0 final score. In all, the Scots scored eight offensive touchdowns on just 12 plays from scrimmage.
Junior quarterback Dontrail Fox and the Highland Park football team improved to 5-2 with a 70-0 win over KC-East Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“It was a lot of fun,” said Fox, the Scots’ junior quarterback who praised the many options at his disposal. “Whoever I threw to, they scored. Whoever I handed off to, they scored. My offensive line gave me time and kept me from getting hit.”
Expecting a lopsided affair, Monroe experimented with a platoon made up mostly of seniors, and another consisting entirely of players he expects to be back in 2025.
“You saw a bit of what next year is going to look like. And it looked pretty good,” Monroe said. “We got a lot of young guys involved tonight.”
An easy cruise to victory may help Highland Park put behind it two painful losses, at Wichita East and at Atchison, a game that may have sealed the league title for the Phoenix.
“The whole week, we focused on what we can control and how we’re going to respond,” Monroe said. “I told the guys tonight to focus on, at the end of this game, to be better teammates. Just be a great teammate. And tonight, they were supporting each other. They were just flying around having fun.”
Washington returns to Hummer Park for the second consecutive season, with second place in the Meadowlark Conference on the line. Last year, the Wildcats beat the Scots, 28-20, a loss that sticks with Monroe’s troops to this day.
“Washington is a game we have had circled on our schedule all year,” the coach said. “It’s always a battle with those guys, and we’re looking forward to an opportunity to come back and face them on our home field.”
HIGHLAND PARK 70, KC-EAST 0
KC-East (0-7) 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Highland Park (5-2) 42 8 12 8 -- 70
Highland Park – Thomas 45 fumble return (Williams-Sanders kick)
Highland Park – Wilson 19 run (Wilson run)
Highland Park – Crawford 47 pass from Fox (kick failed)
Highland Park – Montgomery 91 run (Wilson run)
Highland Park – Montgomery 35 pass from Fox (Williams-Sanders kick)
Highland Park – Fox 20 run (pass failed)
Highland Park – Wilson 53 run (Savage pass from Fox)
Highland Park – Brown 54 run (kick failed)
Highland Park – Wilson 35 run (pass failed)
Highland Park – Brown 33 interception return (Sipple pass from Fox)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – KC-East: Martin 9-(minus)4, MIlliren 4-(minus)13, Conway 1-3, Esasa 3-12. Highland Park: Wilson 3-107, Montgomery 2-91, Drew 1-5, Fox 2-33, Brown 2-77.
Passing – KC-East: Milliren 6-24-3 12 yards. Highland Park: Fox 2-3-0 82 yards.
Receiving – KC-East: Conway 4-2, Perkins 2-9. Highland Park: Crawford 1-47, Montgomery 1-35.
Punting – KC-East: Milliren 2-16.0. Highland Park: none.
