Lake Highlands football triumphed over Richardson 38-7 on Friday at Wildcat-Ram Stadium, capping off its undefeated district campaign. The Wildcats finished the year as district champions, a distinction that the Eagles held a season ago.

Lake Highlands receiver Conrad Ince hauls in a touchdown reception from quarterback John Cothern in the Wildcats’ 37-9 win against Richardson Pearce on Oct. 8, 2026 at Eagle-Mustang Stadium.

“I think momentum is a real key,” Lake Highlands coach Cory Campbell said. “I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance to be able to run the table here in 7-6A.”

Once the Wildcats (8-2, 7-0 District 7-6A) took control of the game, Lake Highlands never relinquished its grip against Richardson (2-8, 1-6).

Cothern And Ince Lead One-Sided First Half

Quarterback John Cothern and receiver Conrad Ince showcased their connection early for the Wildcats. By the end of the opening frame, Lake Highlands held a 14-0 lead on two touchdowns between the duo. The first came when Cothern dropped back from the 20-yard line and threw a jump ball to the left side of the end zone that Ince hauled in through traffic with 7:08 in the first.

Two drives later, the Wildcats found themselves on the 3-yard line after a 21-yard reception from Chris Thibodeaux Jr. On first and goal, Ince lined up to the left of his quarterback and ran a crosser to the middle of the field, where Cothern found him for Lake Highlands’ second score with 2:29 remaining.

The Eagles got on the board by halftime, but not before giving up two more Wildcat touchdowns. 

Chris Thibodeaux Jr. had another play to set up a score, pulling in a 41-yard reception to set Lake Highlands up on Richardson’s 11. Then, Cothern received the snap, rolled right and hit Cam Harper, who took it the distance to extend the lead to 21-0 with 9:52.

Cothern recorded his fourth touchdown of the first half with 7:50 remaining when he unloaded a pass to the left corner of the end zone to Franklon Evans, who Mossed his defender for 9 yards and an impressive score.

The Eagles found a way to chip into the 28-point deficit late in the second, courtesy of Nyasha Maziwisa and Nash Harder. Early in the drive, Richardson quarterback Eric McElroy completed a first-down pass to Harder. On the next play, Maziwisa took a rush up the middle for 39 yards.

McElroy proceeded to take a rush for 4 yards before connecting with Harder a snap later for a 13-yard score to trim the Wildcats’ lead to 28-7 with 51 seconds left in the half. Despite the score, the Eagles defense had moments in the first half, coming away with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Second Half Defense Steps Up

Richardson’s defensive momentum carried through the halftime break, forcing two punts on both of Lake Highlands’ third-quarter drives as the Wildcats chewed clock with conservative playcalling. The Eagles delivered multiple sacks to the Lake Highlands quarterback, but the Richardson offense couldn’t capitalize as both teams went scoreless in the third.

The Wildcat drought didn’t last long, Lake Highlands opening the fourth quarter with another Cothern-to-Ince touchdown. With 11:40 left in the game, Cothern rolled to his right and sailed a 21-yard pass to the back of the end zone. Ince was there to haul it in, completing the duo’s third touchdown of the night and giving the Wildcats a 35-7 lead.

Ince finished with 7 receptions for 87 yards in addition to his three scores on the evening. Cothern recorded 191 passing yards and 5 touchdowns while adding 44 yards on the ground in the last match of the regular season.

“A lot of work when people aren’t watching,” Campbell said of Cothern and Ince. “They’ve got a great rapport, as (Cothern) does with all of our receivers.”

With the game in hand, Cameron Horton came in to take the final snaps at quarterback for Lake Highlands, where he set up the contest’s final score on a 25-yard scamper. Shortly after, Andrew Willson kicked through a 31-yard field goal with 5:23 remaining to ice the game at 38-7.

What’s Next?

Richardson’s loss to the Wildcats marked the end of the Eagles’ 2026 season, falling short of the playoffs. Jasper Ngokwere, a four-star prospect and offensive tackle for Richardson, played his final high school snap for the Eagles. He’ll continue his football career at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

As the top team in the district, Lake Highlands will move on to the bi-district round of the playoffs, set to face the Haltom Buffalos (5-5) at 7 p.m. Friday at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.

“We’re gonna enjoy this for a few hours and then we’re gonna start getting ready for the Buffalos,” Campbell said. “I went and watched them last night, scouted them. They run the Wing-T, something very, very, very different than we’ve seen all year long. They’re gonna run the ball 99 percent of the time. They’re really, really good at it. They have a rusher that’s the leading rusher in the Metroplex, so it’s gonna be a huge challenge, but we’re ready for it.”