Although Highland Park High School has won more games and more district championships than any other school in the state, this weekend marks the first time a former Scot will play in the Super Bowl.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams will become just the second team ever to host a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Highland Park High School football coach Randy Allen said he is excited for his former star.
"I was excited about the way the game ended," said Allen, who attended the NFC Championship game at SoFi Stadium. "I happened to be there in person. We had front row seats right behind the Rams bench. And just the way the Rams won it, and some of the plays that Matthew made down the stretch was special."
Stafford led the Scots to a perfect record and the 2005 state championship; coach and quarterback remain close to this day.
"Our procedure is that I'll text him immediately after a game and it is amazing how fast he responds. I guess he goes into the locker room and looks at his phone and he always answers and always says thanks coach," Allen said. "This week I texted, 'Congratulations on beating the 49ers, next week beat the Bengals and win a Super Bowl!' I always end with, 'You're the best.'
"And it means a lot to me that he wants to keep our communication open and that he still values the time he spent here with our football team."
Allen said he knew early on that Stafford was a special athlete.
"When he was an eighth-grader, I had just moved to Highland Park and he and others were playing ball next door. I had heard about this kid who could throw the ball 70 yards in the air, so I went out and introduced myself," Allen said. "I don't know if he threw it 70 yards, but he threw it a long way. I got him out of class as an eighth-grader and because I saw he had a chance to be a starter his sophomore year and I asked him what his goals were. He said, 'Coach, I want to win a state championship.' I could tell he was very goal-oriented and a hard worker, and very talented."
It didn't take long for Allen to find out how tough Stafford was.
"He was 6'2", 210 pounds. He was physical and didn't mind taking on somebody. He was, is, a much better runner than people give him credit for," Allen said.
"The only games he missed were from a freak injury that happened before the season of his senior year," Allen added. "They were playing on a slip-and-slide in the stadium and another player hit him in the back of the knee. Matthew had to have surgery to take out a piece of the cartilage, so he missed the first three or four games of that season, but he rehabbed, came back and you would never have known he had injured his knee."
It was Stafford's leadership that stands out most to Allen and just how many times he led the Scots to come-from-behind wins.
"When he was being considered as the first draft pick by the Detroit Lions, coach Jim Schwartz wanted all our video of all games he led us from behind. Schwartz said he was amazed at Matthew's memory of each of those games and what he was thinking at the time. He was just so cool under pressure and when the game was on the line," Allen said.
"I think he and his parents knew he had the talent to play in the NFL. To him and them, it was no surprise he won state, was one of the most highly recruited players out of high school, and was the top draft pick selected by the Lions. And now that he has the talent around him, this is part of the vision he had for his career, to be able to play for a Super Bowl," Allen said.
"Just to know that they are going to the Super Bowl and it's a home Super Bowl.... I started thinking what an advantage that would be for us if we hosted a state championship game at Highlander and what an advantage we would have over our opponent. So hopefully the home team advantage will be a big advantage to Matthew and the Rams when they host the Bengals," Allen said.
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