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The Best of Times: McKinney, North part ways after dramatic district season
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Santos / jennifersantosphotography.com
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
The writing was on the wall from the start, but it wasn't until more than midway through the school year that it became official: McKinney and McKinney North would be heading to separate districts next season.
Looking back, it was a banner year for the longstanding rivalry. In just about every sport, meaningful games played out between the two teams and went down to the wire. Here's a look back at some of the highlights.
Football: North rallies to defeat McKinney, 34-24
After falling behind, 24-6, by the end of the first quarter, North turned in the defining performance of its season. The Bulldogs held McKinney scoreless the rest of the game and posted 28 unanswered points to pull off a dramatic come-from-behind win that kept them in the thick of the district race and charging toward their first playoff appearance since 2006.
“It was one of the best games I've been a part of in my career as a coach for sure,” said Mike Fecci, North head football coach, after the win. “We've had some big wins. Rockwall-Heath for us last year was a big one. McKinney High was a big win for us last year. But to come back from being down and for them to go up early like they did, that just shows the character of our kids and the character of our coaches. They've got a lot of heart and a lot of guts.”
In his first game back from a knee injury, running back Devin Smith put the Bulldogs ahead with a 43-yard touchdown run at the start of the fourth quarter and quarterback Hunter Walling ran in a two-point conversion for a 27-24 cushion.
On the ensuing McKinney drive, the Bulldogs’ defense forced and recovered a fumble to safeguard their lead and return possession to the offense, which ground out most of the time left on the clock with a lengthy drive that resulted in a 16-yard pass from Walling to Evan Jones – the signature on the win.
Devin combined with fellow running back Selwyn Smith for a tandem attack the Lions couldn't answer. North had 270 total rushing yards, with Devin chipping in 110 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and Selwyn adding 132 and another score via an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half.
That touchdown began the rally.
North would go on to post a 6-5 record and lose to Frisco Centennial, 45-16, in the bi-district round of the playoffs. McKinney would close a winless season with a 52-15 loss to Highland Park in its last game as a Class 4A program.
Basketball: McKinney outlasts North in double-overtime thriller, 87-81
January 3, 2012
McKinney and North may have split this year's cross-town series, but all the drama was reserved for their first meeting – an 87-81 win by the Lions in double overtime.
After a controversial foul call, McKinney guard Jonathan Shannon drained three free throws with less than a second left in regulation to send the game into overtime. The Bulldogs had a foul to give and used it in an attempt to reset the Lions' offense, but Shannon was ruled in the act of shooting and sent to the line.
A flurry of inaction ensued as Bulldogs head coach Darryll Craft, who strongly disagreed with the call, used his remaining timeouts in an attempt to ice Shannon like a kicker setting up for a field goal. After he made the first free throw, Craft called a timeout.
After he made his second, another timeout was called to further ratchet up the intensity.
"What else are you going to do," Craft said. "He made the first one, I tried to ice him. He made the second one, I tried to ice him. Give him credit. He stepped up at the line like a veteran ballplayer should and made the shots."
The tactic didn't phase Shannon, who sent each free throw cleanly through the basket to force overtime. A pair of extra periods later and the junior guard gave the game a fitting end by hitting another two free throws to close scoring.
"That's just unbelievable," said Wes Watson, McKinney head coach. "I can't even explain how huge those free throws were. I know North was trying to foul on the floor, because they had a foul to give. It was a smart thing to do, and we were fortunate that Red got the call."
It was a huge night all around for the incoming senior, who finished with a double-double on 19 points and 14 assists and also contributed four rebounds and five steals.
North would handle the Lions with ease in their second meeting, 82-66, to see the rivalry out on a less than thrilling note. Both teams would go on to make the playoffs and lose in the second round: McKinney to South Oak Cliff, 80-75, and North to Woodrow Wilson, 54-40.
Softball: Lionettes own district rematch, 5-0
April 10, 2012
This one was all about individual accomplishments.
McKinney sophomore pitcher Chelsea Thomas made two of softball's most elusive feats look commonplace in her final district meeting with North. In her most dominant performance of the season, she threw a no-hitter and hit a grand slam in a 5-0 win.
Thomas was a force to be reckoned with in the circle, where she struck out 15 total, and at the plate, where she broke up a scoreless tie in the top of the third by sending the first pitch screaming over the center-field wall. Her grand slam scored junior Courtney Derrick, senior Alyssa Fontillas and sophomore Courtney Gilstrap.
Pitchers have been treating Thomas with care throughout the season, and with the way she punished one mistake from North, it's easy to see why.
There were no such missteps on her end.
Thomas continued to post zeros and the Lionettes picked up another run in the fifth on an RBI single from sophomore Jazsmin Nelson to cruise to a district sweep of the Lady Bulldogs, who they defeated 2-1 in the first round.
McKinney and North would both go on to reach the playoffs. North was swept by Frisco Wakeland in a best-of-three series during the opening round, while McKinney would advance to the regional quarterfinals, where it lost a one-game playoff to Rockwall, 6-4.
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