PLANO-Allen did a lot of things well in the first half of its showdown with Mesquite on Friday.

The one glaring exception was in the turnover battle, where the Eagles had three giveaways and that is the kind of statistic that can end a season.

Despite those mistakes, each of which led to a Skeeter touchdown, Allen felt like it was in good shape in a 21-21 tie at halftime, and that if it simply took care of the football, the final score would take care of itself.

That proved to be true, as the Eagles dominated in the third quarter to seize momentum and they went on to a 42-28 victory in front of a sellout crowd of more than 12,000 people in a Class 5A Division I area championship game at John Clark Stadium in Plano.

Allen improves to 11-1 and will face either The Woodlands or Round Rock Westwood in the regional semifinals, while Mesquite's undefeated run comes to an end with an 11-1 mark.

"I don't know if it was a statement game or a statement quarter, I don't look at it like that, it was just having to correct some stuff," Allen head coach Tom Westerberg said. "We had three turnovers that gave them 21 points and they score off all three of those so we had to make some corrections and we got them corrected and we went on and played hard in the second half."

To offset the turnover differential, the Eagles relied on their ability to come through in clutch situations, particularly on third and fourth downs.

One of the biggest plays in the game came late in the first half when Allen faced third-and-11 but converted when Kyler Murray hit Cameron Calcote over the middle for a 38-yard touchdown that tied the game at 21-21 with just 43 seconds left before halftime.

The Eagles were in a similar situation early in the third quarter, facing third-and-15, but Murray, who was 11-of-22 for 197 yards, eluded some pressure and found Oliver Pierce for a 40-yard pass down to the Mesquite 6. Marcus Ward scored on the next play to make it 28-21 and give Allen a lead it would not relinquish.

"It starts with those guys up front and No. 1 (Murray) pulling the trigger," said Westerberg, whose team was also 4-of-4 on fourth downs. "On a couple of those he got in a tough situation and had to scramble and it was just a matter of trusting those guys to make plays. And then on the fourth and shorts, give it to the guys up front, being able to blow them off the ball and allow us to be able to pick up a yard or two yards or whatever we needed."

One of those fourth-down conversions helped Allen establish some breathing room late in the third quarter when Murray needed only a yard, but got 26 on a touchdown run that made it 35-21.

"I think it was (a big difference) and it was our inability to stop them," Mesquite head coach Robbie Robinson said. "I thought our defense played hard, we just gave up some big plays. We were on the field a lot and it was just a tough night, but again I give Allen the credit, they got after us, they had a good game plan and they executed it."

The Skeeters had a rough night moving the ball, finishing with only 194 yards of offense, but they were able to pull to within 35-28 when Alex Cooper hit Jordan Bracy on a 20-yard touchdown with 10:44 left.

Mesquite then forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with a chance to tie, but it went nowhere, as Allen's defense recorded one of eight sacks on the night to quickly thwart the drive.

Westerberg said the Eagles changed defensively from their normal three-man rush to using more four-man fronts and that helped keep Cooper, who has thrown for more than 3,000 yards and is also a running threat, corralled.

Cooper, who was 20-of-30 for 166 yards, got up slow after a sack in the first quarter and seemed to be favoring his back for the rest of the game. The senior, who established himself as one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the area at eluding pressure, was limited in what he could do during the final three quarters, but that had as much to do with what was lining up across from him as an injury.

"I don't think that is what that (Alex Cooper injury) was the biggest thing, they just got after us," Robinson said. "They were able to pressure him, which made it tough for him, and you have to give them credit, they did a great job."

Allen put the game away with a textbook power rushing display in the fourth quarter. The Eagles took over at their own 24 and moved 76 yards in 10 plays-all on the ground. Ward, who had 28 carries for 111 yards, capped the five-minute drive with a 5-yard touchdown run that made it 42-28 with only 3:56 left.

Mesquite was able to move to the Allen 39, but the drive ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down and the Eagles were able to run the final 2:24 off the clock.

Those final seconds were the first time Allen was able to truly relax, which was the opposite of how it was feeling early on.

The Skeeters could not have asked for a better start, as Javon Jones sacked Murray on the first play from scrimmage and then on third down, the Eagles fumbled and Christian Williams recovered at the 37-yard line.

Mesquite moved efficiently from there, using a seven-play drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Junior Session to give them a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Allen drew even later in the first quarter, taking advantage of a poor Skeeter punt to move 25 yards in five plays, with Murray sneaking in from a yard out and they took a 14-7 lead when he hit Cole Carter on an 8-yard touchdown pass.

But Mesquite would turn the tide in sudden fashion, with a little help from the Eagles, midway through the second.

Jones blocked a punt that Joseph Holmes recovered at the Allen 23 and one play later, Tyson Reed raced untouched to the end zone to tie the game at 14-14.

The Eagles muffed the ensuing kickoff and Aaron Lloyd pounced on the loose ball for the Skeeters in Allen territory. Six plays later, Session's 3-yard touchdown run gave Mesquite a 21-14 lead.

But the Eagles regrouped, with Murray engineering the late touchdown drive to tie the game going into halftime, and that momentum carried over until the end.

It was a bitter ending for Mesquite, which completed a 10-0 regular season for only the second time in school history and they were hoping the season would end a month from now like it did during their perfect 15-0 run to the 2001 state championship.

And while the tears were flowing from players on the Skeeter sideline, an 11-win season and back-to-back playoff appearances are a far cry from the consecutive 1-9 seasons they endured in 2009-2010.

"When you talk about this senior class, it is a real special group," Robinson said. "They are the ones that brought us back and I can't say enough good things about them.

"They're the ones last year, when we were predominantly a junior team and they stepped up with the help of the few seniors we had to get us back and then had a great season this year. . This senior class will always be special to me."

As for Allen, they can celebrate advancing past the second round for the first time since the state title season in 2008. And while the Eagles know they have a long way to go toward duplicating that feat of four years ago, they are feeling good about what lies ahead.

"I don't think we've played our best game yet," Westerberg said. "I don't think it was a statement game, but you have to win some good ones along the way and we hadn't been out of the second round in a few years so getting past that and getting to the third round, the kids are excited about that."

Current Rating: 1 of 1 votes!

Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****

 Plano Apartments
 Plano Attorneys
 Plano Auto Dealers
 Plano Auto Parts
 Plano Auto Repair
 Plano Beauty Salons
 Plano Car Rental
 Plano Dentists
 Plano Doctors
 Plano Flowers
 Plano Hotels
 Plano Insurance
 Plano Loans
 Plano Mortgages
 Plano Movers
 Plano Pizza
 Plano Realtors
 Plano Restaurants
 Plano Storage
 Plano Tax Preparation
 Plano Travel
 Featured
 More...