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Monday, October 6, 2008
What's Up With Wills: How Plano Survived Wylie
Collin County, TX
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Plano won a big football game last Friday, beating one of the state's hottest teams, Wylie, 38-31.
But it's what Plano reminded everyone of -- from future opponents to their fans -- that meant the most to a team that is 6-0 and No. 2 in the state and still living up to expectations a year after just missing on state title No. 8.
Plano has the experience and the intangibles to win a close game. These Wildcats, from running back Rex Burkhead to quarterback Carson Meger, from receiver Kris Lott to safeties LaRon Kelly and Justin Kelly, have been in close games before -- just thing back to Rockwall and Euless Trinity last year. So when the Wildcats got the ball at its own 17 and 3:01 left, it was the players who were confident and building up the confidence-level of their coaches.
And when Burkhead scored on a 6-yard touchdown run, there was little wondering why it happened. This is a Plano team that is battled-tested.
"That had a lot to do with it," Plano coach Jaydon McCullough said. "With experience, there was a good chance it wasn't going to happen [not driving for the winning score]. Our kids weren't rattled. They were either going to do it or not do it. I could tell it in their eyes that they were in a zone."
McCullough said Wylie went into a semi-prevent defense after getting the lead, and that allowed Plano to go its quick passing game. Plano quarterback Carson Meger completed 4 of 5 passes on the drive, including a key 38-yard to Holt Hoetger, setting up Burkhead's game-winning run.
As for Wylie giving future blueprint on how to slow down Burkhead, don't be so sure of that. Burkhead had was held to 58 yards, but it did open up the passing game for Meger, who had 293 yards.
Wylie dominated the line of scrimmage, mainly because Pirates nose guard Nikita Whitlock, who has to be considered for 5A Defensive Player of the Year, wreaking havoc on the Plano offense line.
"It was a case of one guy so dominant," McCullough said. "He disrupted a lot of things."
Hopefully it sent a message to the Wildcats' coaching staff that they need to use Burkhead in other ways, like splitting him old wide and also even lining up for 10 or so plays at quarterback and getting the ball in his hands directly. Because the Wildcats will run into solid defensive lines from here on out, starting Friday with Plano West and Jackson Jeffcoat.
Both Plano and Wylie came of last Friday's game feeling that a state title good be in their reach. A great high school football game.
GAME OF THE WEEK -- Colleyville Heritage at Euless Trinity
Colleyville Heritage is scoring enough points to compete with Trinity. The Panthers have at least 35 points in all five of their games.
The only question is whether or not Colleyville's level of competition has the Panthers prepared for a team like Trinity. The Panthers have played a ranked opponent and a 56-7 victory over Plano East isn't the statement victory you would think it would be.
Trinity comes in off a 45-3 thumping of Keller Fossil Ridge, but Colleyville's owns a blowout win over Fossil Ridge too. The Trojans' 17-10 struggle against Keller is still a confusing one.
This one comes down to the Panthers' offense versus the Trojans' defense. Steven Hill has passed for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns and only three interceptions for the Panthers. Trinity's defense is loaded with Division I players.
HOT TEAMS
Carrollton Creekview. A 21-14 victory over Richardson Berkner, knocking the Rams from the undefeated ranks, is a signature win for what has been a struggling Creekview program. Quarterback Scott Grau has been the key to Creekview's turnaround. He had touchdown runs of 60, 42 and 34 yards against Berkner and finished the game with 203 yards on 13 carries.
Parish Episcopal. Parish continues to be a program on the rise at 6-0 headed into Friday's showdown at home against Dallas Christian. The Panthers will come in off a 44-28 victory over First Baptist. Andre Bracken had 189 yards and Trey Morse 103 yards in the win. Parish lost a heartbreaker at Dallas Christian last year.
Dallas Christian. The Chargers are also riding high at 6-0 heading into Friday's showdown with Parish. Dallas Christian had to win a close game last week at Prestonwood, 26-21. Corey Brooks passed for 252 yards last week and Brandon Durham rushed for 140- yards.
VYPE HOT TEN TEAMS
Each week we will rank the area teams in order of who has the best chance to win a state championship:
1. Euless Trinity. (5-0) Blowout win over Fossil Ridge is more like it.
2. Plano. (5-0) Survived a big scare from Wylie as QB Carson Meger leads way to victory.
3. Southlake Carroll. (4-0) The Dragons finally get back on the field. It will see what a sense of normalcy does to the rest of the regular season.
4. Highland Park. (5-0) Right now the Scots are in a different stratosphere.
5. Carter. (5-0) Hope you read my column earlier this summer.
6. Everman. (5-0) Just win baby.
7. Garland Naaman Forest. (5-1) Don't forget loss was a forfeited one.
8. Celina. (3-2) Now we find out what Celina can do.
9. Allen. (4-1) Gets McKinney Boyd this week as warmup for Plano
10. Ennis (5-0). If the Lions' defense gets better by the playoffs, watch out.
VYPE HOT 10 TOPICS -- ONLINE
1. The shocking score of the week came on Thursday with Denison beating McKinney, 65-64. My guess is that 80 percent of this year's boys basketball games won't reach the total of 129 points. According to my good friend Randy Jennings at The Dallas Morning News, it's the sixth highest scoring game since 1952. It's fitting that a high scoring game such as this one came with McKinney involved when you considered that Ron Poe and assistant Billy Whitman get a lot of credit for developing the spread. Todd Dodge learned the offense as an assistant at McKinney and then took it to Southlake Carroll, where he won four state titles in five years. McKinney ran 89 plays and gained 676 yards and lost. Of course that's going to happen when you allow 432 rushing yards to Denison running back D.J. Kones. There 1,295 yards and 135 plays in the game.
2. The players love this kind of game -- McKinney quarterback Zach Lee told Jennings, "It was an exciting game to play" -- but this is exactly the outcome that leads me to loathe the spread offense, which is ruining high school football. As we get further away from the Wishbone and the Veer we are stuck with an offense that is boring and that takes highly skilled players to run -- come watch some 2A school who run the spread or look at Dodge's Spread offense at North Texas. Football was meant to be a physical game decided on toughness and heart, not who can throw a 5-yard pass the best. It's either time to shorten the games or to let the defense play with an extra man to get us back to the 28-21 scores that makes football feel right.
3. Plano East's 10th straight loss -- a 41-27 loss to Jesuit -- leaves the Panthers at 0-2 in 8-5A and virtually out of the playoff hunt with games still left against Allen, Wylie and Plano West, all teams that will be favored by 14 points or more. The Panthers' unraveling continues to be a stunner, the biggest one if you ask me this season and in sometime. Coach Johnny Ringo and his staff get a week off to regroup before a revenge game against Wylie at Kimbrough Stadium. Wylie should be 6-1 after beating Jesuit.
4. Plano West's defense made somewhat of a recovery in a 41-23 victory over McKinney Boyd, even though Broncos quarterback Daryn Alves had 375 yards of total offense. Before the season, coach Mike Hughes said he had found his running back, DJ Cohen, who proceeded to get off to a slow start. But Cohen had a big game against Body, rushing for 170 yards. If Cohen can keep it up the rest of the way, Plano West could be a dangerous team in the playoffs. The Wolves and Cohen will try to prove that their running game is something for opponents to deal with this week against Plano.
5. Rockwall-Heath is not going to beat Highland Park -- they play Nov. 6 for what likely will be for a district title. But Heath running back Kendial Lawrence continues to impress. He had 291 yards and five touchdowns as Heath beat Rockwall, 38-21, in their first game ever. What a huge win for Mickey Moss and his program. Lawrence had a 62-yard touchdown run.
6. Look for Southlake Carroll to kind of turn up the heat on Euless Trinity and Plano the rest of the way, of course not knowing for sure which of these teams will wind up in the same division. Since 2005, two of the teams have met in the playoffs. We should get a good feel for Carroll now that we know -- pretty much for sure -- that the Dragons are going to play every week. Not playing the Bellaire or North Shore games through off Carroll's schedule and surely made for a challenge for Hal Wasson and his coaching staff. It should get a little easier now. Carroll plays big games the next three weeks against Coppell, Flower Mound Marcus and Flower Mound. If the Dragons go 3-0, watch out.
7. Look for Lake Highlands to take care of business this week against Richardson Berkner. The Wildcats defense is playing really well this week. It's interesting that these two rivals always seem to play each other on Texas-OU weekend.
8. One game to watch for is Ennis-Waco Midway on Oct. 24. This will be the game to decide the 16-4A championship. Ennis is playing great on offense and got a win over rival Waxahachie, 35-20. I saw Midway first hand last week destroy Corsicana, 43-7, in Corsicana. Midway is for real and running back John Hubert may be the best player you've never heard on.
9. Garland Naaman Forest handled Sachse, allowing 74 rushing yards. Next up is a Thursday game against Rowlett and running back Dexter Imade. Naaman plays Garland on Oct. 24.
10. It's nice to see West Mesquite, which struggled with injuries, recovering with a 31-29 victory over Red Oak. And the way West Mesquite won it, winning on a 50-yard field goal by Justin Stout. Now that's the a football game is meant to be decided.
THE RANDOMNESS THAT IS ME
1. Oklahoma certainly has the look of a great football team and the Sooners offensive line is the best in the country. Sam Bradford is a great quarterback except against West Virginia and it doesn't hurt that he gets bailed out early in the Baylor game by a phantom pass interference call -- question: How can there be pass interference when a linebacker reads a play from underneath, three yards in front of the receiver and it makes the interception. Who cares what was happening to the receiver behind him. It wasn't a part of the play. A terrible call. Anyway, Oklahoma should be the favorite against Texas. But the Longhorns' defense is intriguing the way defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has them rushing and sacking the quarterback. If the Longhorns can get to Bradford on a consistent basis, then Texas has a great chance to win. The Longhorn offense should score enough points against a suspect Sooners defense that under Brent Venables is always capable of not showing up.
2. By the way, Mike Stoops finally has it going at Arizona. The real brains of the Stoops family -- Bob's team get too many penalties and play too tight in big games that aren't Texas -- Mike Stoops is about to turn the Wildcats into a national power. I truly believe that.
3. A frustrating loss for Red Sox fans, but take heart tonight -- Jon Lester is on the mound. And what is Mike Scioscia talking about when he says the pressure is now on the Red Sox because a Game 4 loss would mean going back to Anaheim. OK, first of all, the Red Sox won both games in Anaheim. Second, the Angels are the team that won 100 games and has underachieved in the playoffs. The pressure is still on the Angels. The Red Sox won a World Series last year.
4. No reason to be shocked by the Cubs' collapse. The pressure is too great for a soft baseball team like "The Lovable Losers", who if you ask me aren't all that lovable. Great to see Joe Torre win a playoff series in L.A. Cool that Torre gave a speech to the Dodgers fans after the game. And great, great move to bring in Manny Ramirez who has energized a whole franchise. Ramirez might be the best hitter in the last 30 or 40 years.
5. Just started reading "It Never Rains at Tiger Stadium" a great book by Sports Illustrated's John Ed Bradley. It is a reminder of why we love college football.
6. I missed Episode 1 of Friday Night Lights and can't figure out why Directv isn't reairing it every day. But I'll have a review soon.
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