RETURN TO GLORY

Highland Park has long been viewed as one of the state’s premier high school football powerhouses, but entering the 2005 season the program was suffering through a championship drought. It’d been 48 years since the school captured its last state football title. All that changed thanks to a lanky quarterback with a thunderous arm. Matthew Stafford — who was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft last spring by the Lions — led the Scots to a 59-0 win over Marshall in the state final, the largest margin of victory ever in an UIL 11-man state championship football game. The win also cemented this Scots team as the first–ever undefeated, un-tied team at Highland Park. (The 1945 team was undefeated but tied Waco in the state championship game).