Tim Polzer: Why Wylie Won't Beat Plano, But Will Make The Playoffs

Wow. Thursday night is turning into prime time when it comes to the best performances of 2008. So, let's start this week's GameDay by looking back at a few storylines from last night. Denison 65, McKinney 64: When did 9-4A start playing Six-Man rules? No, that's not a Six-Man score. Denison and McKinney really combined for 129 points last night - but there's more to the story. Take a look at the boxscore and the District 9-4A scoring binge is even more astonishing. No. The game did not go into overtime. The last score - a 37-yard touchdown run by Denison's DJ Jones, followed by Jordan Taylor's two-point conversion - came with 3:32 remaining in the game. (Why did Denison coach Cody White elect to go for two and the win with so much time remaining? Maybe he considered a measly PAT to be a ridiculous notion.) No. The game did not feature two pass-oriented teams. Denison scored 65 points running the ball. Unfortunately for McKinney QB Zach Lee, his 440 passing yards and six touchdowns will be overshadowed by Jones' 432 rushing yards and SEVEN touchdowns. (I'm not sure these guys could produce as much offense playing Madden Football.) More eye-popping stats: - Denison rushed for 579 yards on 40 carries -- more than 14 yards per carry . - Jones ripped off three touchdown runs of 70-plus yards, and two more of 30-plus yards - Denison attempted just six passes, completing 30 and giving up an interception - Lee threw the ball 42 times, while maintaining a good completion percentage, completing 27. - McKinney receiver Matt Lipka caught 10 balls for 199 yards and three TDs. - Lee spread the ball around. The Lions had five receivers with four or more receptions. Will Lee and the Lions combine with Frisco Centennial quarterback Ryan Mossakowski to break the 130-point mark in three weeks? Creekview Bad to the Bone against Berkner My father is one of those longtime Texas educators who is on the backside of 65 but doesn't care to retire. At 67, Carrollton Creekview coach Gary Childress is another. Childress has Carrollton Creekview off to a 5-0 start after last night's District 9-5A win over Berkner. In what may rank as Creekview's biggest win in two seasons, Childress' run-oriented Wing-Bone offensive scheme took it to Berkner's defense, --which entered the showdown ranked second in the area - for 356 yards of total offense in the 21-14 win. Quarterback Scotty Grau optioned through the Rams defense for 203 yards on just 13 carries, including touchdown runs of 34, 60 and 42 yards. Creekview's defense slowed Berkner's run-oriented offense to just 142 yards of total offense - all rushing yards. That's right: The two teams combined to attempt six passes. Creekview has Sunset and Molina on the schedule before back-to-back 8-5A showdowns against Skyline and Lake Highlands, but barring a total collapse the Berkner win should give the Mustangs to one of the district's playoff berths. Any chance we can get Creekview to schedule Denison next season. I'd like to see if the teams could combine for 1,000 yards rushing in one game. Now, let's go Big-Game Hunting tonight: Why Wylie Will Still Make the Playoffs After Losing to Plano Sorry, Wylie fans. That headline was just my way of presenting a good news-bad news message. I went out to Wylie to talk to coach Bill Howard this week, and you can sense the program's excitement about what could be the night's best game. Howard isn't making any predictions, but I don't think the Pirates' respect for Plano includes any fear. Wylie leaders such as quarterback Jarod Monk and nose guard Nikita Whitlock are considered to be among the area's elite at their positions, and the Pirates are not a two-player team. Wylie's defense is rated among the top-5 in Class 5A and is determined to stop the run, which might be news to Plano's Rex Burkhead and Carson Meger. That dynamic duo will be put to their toughest test so far this season, which brings us to Plano receiver Kris Lott. Lott may get the least amount of publicity among Plano's Triplets, but he could be the deciding factor tonight. A peek at area team stats will reveal that the Wildcats have produced 1,016 passing yards and 920 rushing yards. Wylie has allowed almost 800 passing yards in five games, which isn't a lot, but perhaps just enough of a crack for Meger and Lott -- or Meger-to-Burkhead -- to exploit. Some folks in Wylie think these Pirates are their best team ever, and they're dying to show it off. They'll get that chance in front of a pumped up Plano home crowd. While Pirates fans travel well - filling the visitors' stands at every game - John Clark Field still holds a great deal of home-field advantage for the Wildcats. Plano coach Jaydon McCullough even believes the Plano-Clark experience can be intimidating to visiting teams. And that could be the difference. The good news for Wylie fans is that by the time they run into Allen, the other 8-5A big dog, the last week of the regular season, they should already have a top-3 playoff berth wrapped up. Plano East and Plano West aren't showing signs of being playoff-worthy this season, and Jesuit and McKinney Boyd aren't likely to challenge either. I am buying that Wylie has emerged as one of 8-5A's top-3 teams, and maybe even a top-5 team in VYPELand. But I'm not yet ready to predict an upset of Plano. This one will be close, and could be one of the best games of the season. I predict Plano 21, Wylie 20...and that Wylie will come up with another upset before the year is over.