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Road block: McKinney tries to stop district leader Allen
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
McKinney (5-3, 1-2) vs. Allen (7-1, 3-0)
Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ron Poe Stadium
McKinney head football coach Jeff Smith is ready for his team's biggest challenge of the season on Friday. He knows it won't be easy, but he believes his Lions are prepared nonetheless for the No. 7 ranked Allen Eagles, the highest ranked one-loss team in the state and the District 10-5A top dog.
The Eagles are undefeated in district, besting Plano East, Plano West and Boyd. The Lions, meanwhile, began district with a loss to Plano Senior before regrouping to beat Plano East, followed by last week's loss to West. Smith knows that a win against Allen would go a long way to keeping them in the playoff hunt.
"We feel our kids know our system and run it well," he said. "We have to go out there, throw the football, move the chains and keep the ball out of their hands. That's a big thing. If we can control the clock and control the ball, then we have a chance."
The Lions will look to quarterback Robert Somborn to continue his strong play. Somborn passed for over 400 yards last week.
"We throw the ball well and we need to do that in this game and to do that we need to protect the quarterback," Smith said. "And they do a really good job of pressuring the quarterback, so it'll be a test for us. There's going to be a lot to be seen on our front offensive line and how we protect him."
The Lions must improve their kicking game and avoid missed tackles, areas Smith said plagued the team in last week's loss. Still, Smith is pleased with the resiliency his team has shown throughout the season.
"I'm proud of the way our kids have bounced back from adversity all year long," he said. "And I expect us to bounce back this week."
Smith is excited to see what his team can do when they line up against one of the state's best programs.
"We have very little to lose and a lot to gain in a game like this," he said. "Anybody can be beaten on any Friday night in Texas high school football. We can't go in uncertain and unknowing. We have to go in there and attack it. We have to fire up everything we got."
McKinney Boyd (5-3, 2-1) vs. Plano East (4-3, 0-3)
Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Kimbrough Stadium
It's one of the oldest axioms in sports. No team can be underestimated, not even one that's winless in district play.
McKinney Boyd head coach Don Drake knows that Plano East may have lost its last three district games, and to him, that makes them a dangerous team.
"I know they've been frustrated over the last three weeks in terms of their play," Drake said. "They felt like they started the season real well at 4-0, but they had some injury issues the last few weeks and haven't fared as well. I would imagine we're going to get a very dangerous team and if they want to make the playoffs, they have to win. They'll be ready, for sure."
The Broncos, though, are just as hungry, wanting nothing more than a rebound victory Friday to erase last week's loss to Allen.
"I'd say we're pretty hungry. We know what we have to go do," Drake said. "You get down to weeks nine and 10 and your backs against the wall. We're all in that situation, other than Allen. We all need to get more wins if we want to make the playoffs."
The first two months of the season have all been leading to this, the stretch run leading into the playoffs.
"Now's not the time to get on a downward spiral for sure, you have to play your best football here at the end of the year," Drake said. "Every week you have to be ready to go play because you never know what's going to happen Friday night. Anytime you line up, you have that potential."
The Broncos will look to improve on an offense that has failed to meet expectations over the last two weeks as Boyd has scored only 22 points in that span.
"Our offensive execution for the last two ballgames hasn't been very good," Drake said. "We got to get some better production out of our offense. We have to get that cleaned up if we expect to have a chance to win the game."
Drake knows the difference between winning and losing is often decided not just by execution, but how well you respond to a shift in momentum, something the Broncos hope to control Friday night.
"[Allen] jumped on us pretty quick and we didn't respond well to that," he said. "They whipped us. That's how I felt, they got after us. It got away from us early and we have to prevent that from happening again. When the momentum shifts away from you, you have to get that flipped back in your favor."
McKinney North (2-6, 2-3) vs. Wylie East (6-2, 4-1)
Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Wylie Stadium
The McKinney North football team did what was needed last week to keep their playoff hopes alive. Now they have to do it again.
It's a challenge Bulldogs head coach Mike Fecci is happy to accept.
"We have to win our last two," he said. "To go into this week and have a chance in week nine to still make the playoffs, that says a lot about our kids. They're excited about the chance to keep playing. It's the time of the year you still want to be in it, and we are."
North opposes a strong Wylie East squad that's 4-1 in district play.
"We have to play with emotion and make plays, like we did the other night," Fecci said."It's going to be a tough challenge for us. They pose issues and have mismatches, so we're going to have to control the ball, get points out of our drives and not let their get in front of us."
Wylie East has a solid offense, one Fecci knows his team must limit and contain if they want to play football beyond their tenth game.
"They're very good offensively," he said. "They have some very good outside receivers, a good tight end, and a great running back and quarterback. They're very explosive offensively. It's what they do."
While the Bulldogs must win out to make the playoffs, other factors might also need to fall in their favor. Depending on various factors, North might be in a tie-breaker scenario with other district opponents, which could be decided by points scored and points allowed.
"We're not guaranteed by any means, if we win out, but if we do we'll have a very good chance if we can do that, it'll just come down to points," Fecci said. "It's pretty important. We'll sit down and look at the numbers as we get closer to game time and see what we have to win by, not just win. We'll figure that number out and give ourselves a chance."
As North continues to fight for its playoff life, Fecci believes the team will be in good shape if the Bulldogs show the same level of fight and determination they displayed in last week's 31-6 win over Greenville.
"That was a big win for us," he said. "It showed our kids that, 'Hey, if you want something, you have to go out and fight for it. You have to earn it.'"
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