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On the line: MISD playoff chances up for grabs this week
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Santos / jennifersantosphotography.com
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
McKinney Boyd and McKinney North will look to strengthen their playoff chances when they take on Plano and Wylie, respectively, this week, while McKinney looks to upset a reeling Plano East team also in pursuit of its first district win.
North (1-5, 1-2) vs. Wylie (1-5, 1-2)
Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ron Poe Stadium
Both teams are mired in a four-way tie for fourth place in 13-4A with fellow one-win teams Royse City and Denison. Wylie has yet to play either of those teams, while North has already beaten Royse City, 35-21.
A win against Wylie would give the Bulldogs a tiebreaker against another potential playoff team and guarantee them at least a three-way tie for fourth place in district. A loss would all but force them to win out against a schedule that still includes Wylie East (4-2, 2-1) and Denison.
“We had to win to go [last year], and we came out and got it done,” said Mike Fecci, North head football coach. “I guarantee that they'll be ready for us. We're the ones that knocked them out last year, and I'm sure they’re telling their kids to not let us knock them out again. It's going to be tough. They're going to come over here ready to play, and we've got to answer the bell.”
The Pirates are coming off a 50-7 win against Greenville – the lone winless team in the district – in which quarterback Carson Cook threw for 174 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on 14-of-22 passing (64 percent).
Cook has accounted for the bulk of Wylie's offense so far this season. He's thrown for 1,088 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions on 96-of-177 passing (54 percent) and rushed for another pair of touchdowns. His favorite target is wideout Kalen Winkler, who has 36 catches for 460 yards and five touchdowns to lead the team in scoring.
The Pirates are averaging 331 total yards – the majority of which comes from their average of 219 passing yards – and 33 points per game. They don't have a player with more than 200 rushing yards on the season, though running back Leland Dotson is the closest with 192 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries.
Wylie's defense is giving up an average of 327 yards – split almost evenly between rushing and passing – and 33 points per game, though its totals for points allowed was given a big boost by last week's win against Greenville. The Pirates have allowed 40-or-more points to an opponent three times this season and twice during district.
The Pirates opened the season on a five-game losing streak made up of setbacks against Sachse (44-36), West Mesquite (34-33), Mesquite Poteet (21-14), Lovejoy (47-21) and Wylie East (46-38) before beating Greenville.
The Bulldogs are coming off a competitive one-score loss to Lovejoy, 24-17. The Leopards are undefeated in 13-4A and tied for first place with Sherman, which represents North's only other district loss.
“I think teams will really start to separate this week,” Fecci said. “It's a big game for us.”
Boyd (4-2, 1-0) vs. Plano (4-2, 1-0)
Friday at 7:30 p.m. at John Clark Stadium
Boyd opened district with a vengeance in a dominant 55-28 win against Plano West. The Broncos used the same combination of a powerful rushing attack and a defense capable of forcing numerous turnovers that has fueled their current four-game winning streak.
During that stretch, the Broncos have averaged 348 rushing yards per game. The performance of senior running back Bryan Driskell has accounted for the bulk of that yardage, as he's rushed for 1,116 yards and scored 16 touchdowns this season to rank top-three in the area in both categories.
The Broncos defense has forced 16 turnovers – 10 fumbles and six interceptions – during the team's four-game winning streak, and last week, they held the Wolves potent rushing attack to 188 yards and an average of 4.48 per carry.
This week against Plano, they'll battle a team with a similar mantra. The Wildcats ball-control offense rushed for all but three plays in the second half of a 38-21 win against McKinney last week, and their defense is holding opponents to 22 points and 346 yards per game, split evenly between passing (161) and rushing (185).
In its district-opening win, Plano paired a running game with an efficient performance from quarterback Richard Lagow, who threw for 137 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-16 passing and rushed for another two touchdowns. On the season, the senior signal caller has thrown for 1,076 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions on 52-of-88 passing (59 percent).
“They're going to try to establish the ground game; that's what they do,” said Don Drake, Boyd head football coach. “Then they're going to throw the play-action pass. [Lagow] is a big kid with a really strong arm. He can throw the ball down the field very easily.”
The Wildcats make use of a pair of running backs, Andre Morman and Braylan Campbell, who have similar numbers on the season. Morman has rushed for 467 yards and four touchdowns on 69 carries, while Campbell has amassed 329 yards and two touchdowns on an equal amount of rushes.
Boyd and Plano both enter Friday's contest after district-opening wins, and whoever comes out victorious will have a great chance at making the playoffs. With the six-team setup of 10-5A, two wins may even be all a team needs to qualify.
“I think if you get two wins it could very well be enough, depending on how the rest of things shake out,” Drake said. “Certainly, if you're up 2-0 with three to play, you feel like you have a pretty good chance at grabbing at least one of those to get yourself in the playoffs. So, it's a big ballgame on both sides.”
McKinney (4-2, 0-1) vs. Plano East (4-1, 0-1)
Thursday at 7 p.m. at Ron Poe Stadium
After holding its own in a district opening-loss against Plano, 38-21, McKinney returns to the gridiron this week to take on a Panthers squad crippled by the loss of starting quarterback Mario Smalls, who is sidelined with a broken fibula.
East was destroyed by Allen last week, 56-0, after opening the season on a four-game winning streak that saw it putting up the best offensive numbers in the area. The Panthers entered their district-opener averaging 48.75 points and 539.5 yards per game and amassed just 198 yards in the shutout.
Part of that result comes from playing Allen – which is ranked No. 8 in the state in the most recent Associated Press poll – and part comes from transitioning to quarterback Taylor McGehee, who threw for 86 yards on 7-of-13 passing (54 percent) against the Eagles.
The Panthers still have a pair of quality offensive outlets in wideout Collin Shaw – who has 480 yards and six touchdowns on 24 receptions – and running back Ricky Ilodianya – who has rushed for 429 yards and seven touchdowns on 66 carries – but nothing can replace Smalls' production.
Before his injury, the senior signal caller had thrown for 1,062 yards, 12 touchdowns and just one interception on 72-of-99 passing (72 percent). Under his guidance, the Panthers never scored fewer than 35 points.
East's defense gave up 389 yards against the Eagles, the bulk of which came on 249 rushing yards – Allen's strong suite, but also a team weakness. The Panthers are much stronger against the passing game, where opponents are averaging just 157 yards per game.
“They're just like every team in this district,” said Jeff Smith, McKinney head football coach. “They're very athletic. They've got some size on their offensive and defensive lines. They're very multiple on both sides of the ball, so they will be a really big challenge.”
With one less day than usual to prepare for Thursday's game, the healthy Lions should enter the contest with an advantage. They won't be reinventing their high-powered offense, which is averaging 487 yards and 39 points per game.
The Lions managed to outgain Plano in last week's loss – 379 to 327 – and should be sharper when they host the Panthers on friendly turf this week. The size disparity between McKinney and each of its new district opponents is sizable, though the Panthers are the largest. Beating them would be an upset of the highest order.
“For our team, [Plano] was a lot of firsts,” Smith said. “It was the first time we played in that stadium with that many people. We were playing a school that's been in 5A a long, long time, and we're going to play another one this week. I think there was a little bit of an adjustment for our football team – maybe the first quarter – adjusting to the speed and the atmosphere and everything there is. As hard as we explain it and tell them about it and prepare them for it, you have to go experience it.”
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