Jerry Jones already has his eye on the Cowboys' quarterback of the future, he'll just have to wait about three years before he can draft him.
The grandson of the Cowboys' owner, John Stephen Jones, who is yet uncommitted to college, won his second straight 5A Division I state title Friday in one of the best games in the history of Texas high school football.
Jones' Highland Park squad dropped an extremely talented Manvel team 53-49 behind 564 yards and four touchdowns from the 5-10, 180-pound quarterback. What was even more impressive was how Jones played when his Scotties were down, and they were down often in this one.
Highland Park trailed 21-10, 28-18, 35-25 and 49-39 with less than seven minutes to play in the game. But Jones brought his team back to take the lead with less than two minutes to play. The Scotties scored two touchdowns in the final 2:06 to take the 53-49 lead. Jones completed a touchdown pass with 34 seconds left to give the Scotties their first lead of the game.
🚨TOUCHDOWN @Scotsathletics 🚨 FOR THEIR FIRST LEAD OF THE GAME! @UILTexas @DCTF #ManvelvsHighlandPark #UILState #UILonFOX #TXHSFB
📺 #FOXSportsSW or #FOXSportsSW PLUS
📲https://t.co/npKHGEG02f pic.twitter.com/8dxsu3wLbv— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) December 23, 2017
What was even crazier was how the game ended. Manvel had one last chance to win the game on a desperation heave with no time left on the clock. Quarterback Kason Martin threw for 483 yards and five touchdowns in the state title game, but he wished he would have thrown for 484.
Martin's final pass was complete to Jalen Preston on the one-yard line, but the star receiver was dragged down by two defenders to end one of the greatest high school football games in Texas history. This video is via VYPE Houston.
Manvel falls 1 yard short! 53-49 loss to Highland Park. #UILState #txhsfbplayoffs #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/gcsQy4jzGp
— VYPE Houston (@VYPEHouston) December 23, 2017
"He's magic," Highland Park head coach Randy Allen said of John Stephen Jones via Fox Sports Southwest. "I've been saying this all along, he can escape, he's a leader, he competes, he finds the players ... the open receivers, he makes runs when he has to, but the bottom line he competes and he's magic."