PlanoFootball.com

East rolls past Plano, 38-14

Posted on 26. Sep, 2009 by Brian Porter in Varsity

Call it weird. Call it freaky. But Plano East will undoubtedly take it.

“We look up and we’re down 14-0,” Plano coach Jaydon McCullough said. “And we didn’t give up the big play.”

But Plano East made one, and another, and another Friday as it defeated Plano, 38-14, at John Clark Stadium in a District 8-5A opener.

Kyle Foster made the game-changing play when he broke up a pass in the flat, fell to the ground, got a friendly bounce of the ball back into the air off his body and got up, snatched it out of the air to return an interception 12 yards for a 14-0 advantage with 2:17 remaining in the first half. And no one in the stadium seemed quite sure what to think as he strolled into the end zone.

Plano East (2-2, 1-0 in 8-5A) rode the momentum to victory, while Plano (1-4, 0-1) lost consecutive games for the second time this season. It stopped a Plano two-game winning streak in the series and gave Plano East a 14-13-1 all-time edge. Plano East broke their series record for points scored, scoring five touchdowns for just the second time in the series and for the first time with five different players.

“It starts with defense. We’ve got a great defensive team,” Plano East coach Johnny Ringo said. “All the credit goes to the players.”

Plano had just 103 total yards before, on the final Plano offensive snap of the game, Murat Kuzu broke down the left sideline 69 yards for a score, but for the fourth time this season Plano was held to 15 or fewer points.

“We’re very disappointed,” McCullough said. “We planned on winning. We just weren’t able to respond.”

For the fourth time in five games, Plano’s opponent scored on its opening series. In each of the five games, the team to score first has won and four of those have been in the loss column.

“It’s the same ol’ same ol’,” McCullough said. “We never can get momentum. We didn’t run the ball effectively and we didn’t pass protect.”

Ryan Foster made a pair of backbreaker plays midway through the second half. He converted a fourth down that had the makings for a defensive swing play for Plano at midfield. And then he capped a 15-play drive with a 3-yard scamper into the end zone and with 11:52 left the game was all but sealed, 28-7.

Plano East drove 80 yards in 13 plays to open the game with a 11-yard Brandon Lewis touchdown run. On the first play of Plano’s second possession the play that will go down as perhaps the strangest in the history of the series resulted in a 14-0 lead with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter.

Plano East got up, 21-0, when Stanley Johnson took a toss down the right sideline 27 yards for a score with 5:48 left in the first half.

Then Plano caught what appeared to be its break. A Grant Pierce punt which sailed 50 yards through the air clipped the Plano East deep man and center Brandon Bordonaro, the first man down on the return, pounced on the ball at the Plano East 22. Plano moved inside the 10 and two plays later Lyndell Johnson intercepted a pass that could have cut the lead to two scores at halftime.

It ended up being a big play, as Holt Hoetger caught a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap the opening drive of the second half and trim the deficit to 21-7.

Plano East countered with the game-clinching drive that drained more than seven minutes off the clock and saw the team convert its third fourth-down opportunity of the game. Plano East also connected on a field goal and scored a touchdown to put the game away, before Kuzu broke loose on the only big Plano play of the night.

Plano East’s defense came exactly as promised. The team allowing the fewest yards in the district shut down Plano. It held the Wildcats to 44 total yards in the first half and 59 in the second half before Kuzu’s long run. For the first time this season, Plano was held under 200 yards and has yet to compile a 300-yard game on offense.