ESPN

HIGHLAND PARK, Texas -- The Scots got a measure of payback Friday night.

After losing the 2008 season finale and the District 10-4A championship to Rockwall-Heath, Highland Park repaid the favor, beating the Hawks, 45-10, at Highlander Stadium.

"This game wasn't about revenge, it was about the district championship," said Highland Park senior quarterback Luke Woodley. "We knew they were going to be the team to beat at the beginning of the season, and we had this game circled. I'm sure they felt the same way about us."

Highland Park moves on to play McKinney, a team it beat in Week 1, in the bi-district playoff.

The Scots (9-1, 7-0), ranked No. 6 in Class 4A by the Associated Press, beat the Hawks (7-3, 5-2) the same way they dominated the rest of the district -- with the arm of Woodley and the overall athleticism of senior receiver Chris Hipps. Despite Woodley's first interception in six games, the pair was seldom stopped. The Hawks rolled coverage over to stop Hipps, opening up the field for Woodley.

Woodley, who's commited verbally to Louisville, completed 26 of 35 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns and repeatedly went to Hipps -- a huge, powerful receiver at 6-4, 212-pounds. Hipps is headed to Duke on a lacrosse scholarship, and he used the strength inherent in his favorite sport to cut through the Rockwall-Heath defensive backfield, racing through the open field, bouncing off tacklers and fighting for extra yardage. He finished with 11 catches for 187 yards.

"What can I say, Chris Hipps is the X-factor out there," Woodley said. "They had him covered, and he still gets open. When they double him up, then that just leaves someone else open."

Woodley finished the regular season with 3,174 passing yards and 33 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Hipps ended with 1,349 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns.

Woodley's only gaffe came at the Rockwall-Heath 2-yard line, when he thought he had a free play because of an apparent offsides on the Hawks that was not called.

"We have a play where our center snaps it early, if he sees somebody jump and then we throw it into the end zone," Woodley said. "They didn't call it. No problem. It's all good."

The Scots' defense also dominated, forcing two turnovers, holding Heath to just 197 total yards and limiting quarterback Kevin Rodgers. His receivers suffered drops for most of the night, and he completed only 8 of 23 passes for 123 yards, with the only damage coming on one play -- a 41-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Wilson after the game was out of reach.

Trailing most of the night, Rockwall-Heath running back Dorian Lowry could not keep his fast start going and finished with 88 yards on 16 carries.

"Our defense did a great job of forcing key turnovers and giving us a short field to play with," Highland Park head coach Randy Allen said. "Our offense was able to get up early and keep them from playing ball control like they like to do."

The Scots wasted no time getting started, rolling 44 yards in only six plays to score on a 14-yard pass from Woodley to senior Morgan Stringer with 10:19 left in the first quarter. Stringer spun out of a tackle at the 4-yard line and waltzed into the end zone. Stringer finished with six catches for 73 yards.

Highland Park extended its lead late in the first quarter, as Woodley and Hipps started getting into the rhythm, and Hipps showed his speed and physical advantage. First, he cut across the middle and up the sideline for a 64-year reception and then drove a gang of Hawk defensive backs from the 6-yard line to the goal line. From there, Woodley dove in for a 14-3 Scots' lead with 1:54 left in the first.

Highland Park edged out to 17-3 halftime lead and then broke the game open after holding the Hawks to a three-and-out to start the second half. Woodley found senior receiver Josh Francis twice before hitting running back Brooks McIlhenny, son of former SMU star Lance McIlhenny, for a touchdown on an 18-yard screen pass. From there, the rout was on.