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High school football: Highland Park stops Central again

paul hodowanic, pioneer press
·3 min read

Highland Park scored 17 unanswered points to erase a two-touchdown deficit on the road Saturday afternoon and beat Central High School 17-14.

The Scots are now 3-1 for the first time since 2017 and beat St. Paul rivals Central for the fourth consecutive year.

“I do not enjoy when we don’t play up to our standards because it makes it close,” head coach Jonathan Brown said. “But I love the resilience. We’ve been resilient all year. Even if we’re not at our best, we find ways to win.”

That was surely the case Saturday afternoon. The Scots’ offense struggled in the first half as drops and mental mistakes plagued them and kept them to just 70 total yards.

They began the day with three three-and-outs and turned the ball over on downs on their fourth drive after finally converting a first down. On the first play of the second half, senior quarterback Monaire Vaughn threw an interception.

“We just weren’t playing together,” Vaughn. “But we flipped it quick.”

After Central scored off of Vaughn’s interception, Highland Park drove down the length of the field and kicked a field goal. Two drives later, Vaughn found senior Terez Vaughn on a deep 32-yard touchdown pass.

A quick Central three-and-out gave the Scots the ball back and once again the Scots began to drive. Highland Park converted a critical 4th-and-8 with a nine-yard pass and then Vaughn was able to create another big play, throwing to senior wide receiver Ishmael Powell along the left sideline who caught the pass, shook off a defender and turned up field for a 27-yard touchdown.

The Scots eclipsed 200 yards of offense in the second half alone.

While the offense came alive in the second half, it wasn’t because of any schematic adjustments. Brown said he kept the game plan the same, blaming the poor start on drops and a lack of containment on defense. Vaughn described it as “selfish” play from the Scots.

“We ran the same plays. The only thing different is we executed. Everything that we thought would be there was there, but it’s a different animal when we don’t do our jobs,” Vaughn said.

The defense kept Highland Park alive long enough to correct their mistakes. The Minutemen scored on their opening drive but the Scots forced punts on the next two drives before notching their
first of three interceptions on Central quarterback Cole Fee late in the second quarter.

With 2:22 left in the game and Central attempting to drive and regain the lead, Highland Park came up with another interception off a tipped ball. Then with less than a minute left, the Scots clinched the win with another pick. The Scots’ defense is averaging 8.5 points allowed per game.

The comeback win is one Vaughn said he isn’t sure past versions of the team could have done. Vaughn credited Brown’s arrival in 2019 for the Scots for the team’s early season success.

“My freshman year we weren’t a family. We didn’t have a culture. We didn’t play for each other,” Vaughn said. “We’ve changed that.”
Saturday was the latest example.

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