Lake Highlands football remained undefeated in district play after a 31-28 victory over their shared-stadium rival, Berkner, on Friday.
Franklon Evans lines up on offense in a 49-13 Lake Highlands victory at JJ Pearce on September 25, 2025. Photography by Mike Duhon.
This year, the Wildcats (3-2, 2-0 District 7-6A) were designated as the home team and used that energy en route to a win.
Offenses Break Out In The Second Half
After a first half dominated by the defenses, the game broke open in the third quarter. Coming out of the break with a 14-10 advantage, the Rams (1-4, 0-2) were forced to punt on their first drive of the second half.
Lake Highlands responded with seven. An eight-play Wildcat drive highlighted by a 23-yard reception from quarterback John Cothern to Conrad Ince culminated in a nine-yard rushing touchdown for Donny Hamons to give Lake Highlands a 17-14 lead with 7:12 left in the third.
Berkner quickly responded, a 35-yard reception from Mehki Jessie setting up a four-yard touchdown scamper from Damonte Nelson. Of his 40 total rushing yards, Nelson accrued 23 on the drive.
Disaster nearly ensued for the Wildcats. Lake Highlands was flagged for roughing the kicker on the PAT after Nelson’s score, so the Rams opted for an onside kick. Berkner recovered, but the Wildcat defense was able to stave off a score.
“You gotta go next-play mentality,” Lake Highlands coach Cory Campbell said. “We talk to our kids all the time about that. This district is all about that. Everybody is neck-and-neck and when you get knocked down, you gotta get back up.”
Down 21-17, Chris Thibodeaux Jr. and Cothern hit their strides. Early in the drive, they connected on a 24-yard reception. Facing third and five, Cothern stepped up in the pocket and rushed for a first down. Then, from 24 yards out, the two connected on another reception to give the Wildcats a touchdown, which gave Lake Highlands the lead for good with just six seconds left in the third.
The Wildcats forced a punt and got the ball back still in a groove. Lake Highlands drove down the field with Thibodeaux catching passes for seven, 10, 10, 28 and 11 yards, with the latter being hauled in for a touchdown to go up 31-21 with 4:48 left in the contest.
“It speaks to our depth at our receiver position,” Campbell said. “One week it’s Conrad, one week it’s Mason, one week it’s Thibodeaux and Franklon’s just now getting back healthy.”
Berkner offered the Wildcats a scare when Emaryn Bagley found the end zone on a 17-yard reception from backup quarterback Christian Hampton (in for an injured Dontrell Coleman) to cut the lead to 31-28 with 3:33 remaining, but Lake Highlands would hold on.
A Defensive-Oriented First Half
The first half was a slugfest with six total punts as both defenses battled early.
After the first drive of the game, you wouldn’t have expected such strong defensive performances. The Wildcats opened the matchup with an 84-yard drive, slowly plowing its way to the goal line.
On the game’s first play, Cothern unleashed a 19-yard strike to his receiver, Mason Spangler, for a first down. After a few rushes, Lake Highlands connected on another 19-yard passing play, this one going to Thibodeaux.
A 12-yard rush from Franklon Evans one snap later brought the Wildcats to the Rams’ 22-yard line and set up the first score of the game. From first and 10, Cothern dropped back and unloaded a strike to Evans, who was streaking wide open up the middle of the field for a touchdown.
“(Franklon’s) just a guy that we look to,” Campbell said. “He’s been in the fire and the end of the day, we wanted to keep that ball in his hands.”
With 10:05 left in the first quarter, Lake Highlands led Berkner 7-0. That’s when the defenses woke up.
Three consecutive three-and-outs ensued before the Rams forced the game’s first turnover. Cothern was hit while throwing on third down and the ball fell into the hands of Berkner defensive lineman Kaiden Carter for an interception. That takeaway set the Rams up with a first down from their own 49-yard line.
The Wildcats held strong enough defensively to force a third down, but it was then that Berkner quarterback Dontrell Coleman’s pass was tipped high in the air by Lake Highlands defensive back Daniel Ojes and caught by receiver Korde Foreman, who took it for a 27-yard gain to the Wildcat 18.
It was a tough break for the defense and after forcing a first-down incompletion, Lake Highlands allowed a touchdown. Open in the end zone, Coleman flipped an 18-yard pass to Zechariah Sanders with 3:19 in the first to level the score at seven apiece.
The Rams proceeded to take the lead with 5:38 left in the second after a 97-yard drive ended in an 8-yard Jessie reception from Hampton. The Wildcats moved deep into Berkner territory but settled for a 23-yard Andrew Willson field goal to make it 14-10 with 39 seconds left in the first half.
What’s Next?
Both teams are entering bye weeks. The Rams return to action against Plano West (2-3,1-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 8, at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.
Lake Highlands will aim for a 3-0 district record with a matchup versus Pearce (0-5, 0-2) at 7 p.m. on October 8 in Richardson.
