Coppell bottled up Plano's running game, but Murat Kuzu (5) turned in a career high 9 receptions. / Thad Fenton

One of the area’s best running backs was held to 61 yards and his quarterback was held under 200 yards passing. But, three second-half takeaways was enough to help lift Coppell past Plano, 23-6, at Cowboy Stadium in a bi-district playoff game.

Plano (7-4) bowed out of the playoffs in the first round for the first time since 1999. Coppell (11-0) advances to meet Duncanville (8-3) in an area playoff at 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at Arlington’s Cowboys Stadium.

The first two possessions of the second half and some key stops late in the game helped Coppell past Plano. Joe Minden scored on a 2-yard keeper with 8:38 left in the third quarter to put Coppell up, 14-3, with 8:38 left. A freak fumble on the ensuing kickoff bounded through the air and straight to a Coppell defender. Cam McDaniel scored on a 10-yard run three plays later and Coppell had a 20-3 lead with 7:37 left in the third quarter.

The turning point in the second half was this fumble on a kickoff immediately following a Coppell score. In 1:01, a 7-3 game became a 20-3 contest. / Thad Fenton

But, the game was far from decided. Plano responded with an 11-play, 75 yard drive that ended in a 24-yard field goal conversion by Chris Moore to cut the lead to 20-6 with 11:48 left to play. Facing a fourth-and-goal from the Coppell 6, Plano could have gone for the touchdown to narrow the margin to 10 points but chose the field goal. Either way, it was going to face a two-score deficit.

That’s where Coppell’s defense kicked in. It intercepted Plano on the second play of its next possession and again on the fifth play of the next Plano series. Then Tanner Rice got a big sack to close out a drive with 4:43 to go. It resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Nick Jordan to seal the victory, 23-6, with 1:57 left.

On a day where fate didn’t bounce in Plano’s favor, the offense used the final drive to showcase some of the players that got it to the playoffs. Quarterback Connor Michelsen completed 5-of-7 passes on the final drive for 36 yards and had another 12 yards rushing. He completed passes to Steele Hoetger, Murat Kuzu and Clayton Parlin on the drive. Kuzu and Parlin each hauled in career highs in receptions.

Sam Morell breaks up a touchdown pass intended for Tyler Landis. / Thad Fenton

The defense did exactly what logic suggested it needed to win. Cam McDaniel, the senior tailback who had averaged 158 yards rushing in the regular season, was limited to 61 yards on the ground. Joe Minden, the senior quarterback who had averaged 225 yards passing in the regular season, was held to 184 yards passing and no target had more than 80 yards receiving. Two Coppell plays went for more than 15 yards, as the defense controlled the big-play offense.

But, Coppell scored early and then kept Plano out of the end zone. Tyler Landis scored on a 13-yard pass with 2:27 left in the first quarter to give Coppell a 7-0 edge. Plano countered with Moore’s first field goal conversion, this one from 41 yards, with 6:40 left in the first half to trim the lead to 7-3 at halftime. But three takeaways and a couple of quick scores in the second half lifted Coppell past Plano.

Coppell 23, Plano 6

But, the alignment is 1-2 in the postseason. Plano’s chance will come today.

Plano (7-3), making its 46th playoff appearance and fourth straight, meets Coppell (10-0) for the first time at 1 p.m. today at Coppell. That’s generally bad news for Plano’s opponents. The Wildcats hold a 37-8 record in the opening round of the playoffs and have not been ousted from the playoffs in the opening round since 1999, when it drew a Mesquite opponent en route to a state semifinal appearance.

The winner draws Duncanville (8-3) in an area playoff at 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at Arlington’s Cowboys Stadium. Plano has eliminated Duncanville from the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

First though, Plano must get past Coppell, the District 7-5A champion. The team finished ahead of Denton Guyer and Southlake Carroll, which is no small feat, in district play.

The Coppell defense gets the team started. It has not sacrificed more than 20 points all season, or more than 17 since district play began. Offensively, Cam Daniel leads Coppell with 1,584 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns. Joe Minden adds 2,252 yards passing and 18 touchdowns. Tyler Landis has 748 yards receiving on 51 receptions. Coppell ranks as the No. 2 offense in the area, trailing Flower Mound. It has the fourth-leading defense.

Plano, meanwhile, will be after its 90th playoff victory and seventh straight opening-round victory today. The offense has the capability to hang with anyone, evidenced earlier this season when it faced Flower Mound. It begins with quarterback Connor Michelsen (136-for-240, 2,069 yards), who has a combined 31 rushing, passing and receiving scores. Murat Kuzu and Kevin Merrill share rushing chores. They have combined to compile 1,133 yards rushing and 1,651 all-purpose offensive yards this season. Brandon Hamilton has 700 yards and 7 touchdowns on 32 receptions to lead all Plano receivers this season.

Get set for today’s game. See Plano’s offensive totals and its averages. You can note the success Plano has had this season when it controls the rushing game and check in on the last time it happened. View Plano’s all-time playoff results, notable facts about the program and check in with Plano’s coaches. The AP poll has Coppell ranked No. 6, but Matt Wixon, the top picker in the Dallas Morning News’ staff selections, picks Plano and he might know what he’s talking about based on one upset he went alone on already this week.

That’s why the following video produced by the Plano Wildcats Booster Club is so appropriate. See Plano’s “Boys of Fall” here.

Steele Hoetger had a pair of touchdown receptions Friday as Plano won the city championship and clinched its fourth straight playoff berth. / Thad Fenton

Plano (7-3, 4-3) defeated Plano West, 27-17, at John Clark Field to win the city championship and with it came a playoff berth for the fourth straight season. Plano will meet Coppell at 1 p.m. Saturday at Coppell in a bi-district playoff game.

For consecutive seasons, Plano used a late season rally to qualify for the playoffs. A year ago it took consecutive wins over McKinney Boyd and Jesuit Prep. This time, Plano rolled through Lewisville, Plano East and Plano West, all at John Clark Field, and clinched a playoff berth as it got some help from Flower Mound Marcus.

Plano was in trouble early, needing to defeat Plano West and get a Marcus win over Hebron to clinch a playoff berth. Plano West drew a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and Marcus got down to Hebron.

Then Plano began a run to keep its season alive. Michelsen capped a 9-play, 57-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to cut the lead in half with 1:23 left in the first quarter. Sam Morell and Brence interceptions helped give Plano the halftime lead. The Morell interception was turned into a 33-yard Moore field goal and Brence’s pick resulted in the first touchdown pass from Michelsen to Hoetger for a 17-14 halftime lead.

But, Marcus was still trailing.

Plano swept games against Plano East and Plano West, part of a three-game swing that swept it into the playoffs. / Thad Fenton

Plano West’s bid at upsetting Plano’s chances at a playoff berth – a feat that would have left all Plano ISD teams out of the playoffs for the first time since 1989 – seemed to get a boost when Leon Taylor connected on a 38-yard field goal to tie the game, 17-17, with 11:50 left to go.

Michelsen found Hoetger on a 4-yard touchdown pass – their second of the night – with 7:39 to go and Moore iced the game with 4:04 left when he connected on a 31-yard field goal. For good measure, Collin Brence hauled in his second interception to stop any thoughts of a rally.

At about the same time that Plano was putting the final touches on the victory, Marcus was rallying at Hebron. It was down 7-0 at halftime. Hebron got up 14-7 and again 21-14. But Marcus scored a late touchdown and was successful on the conversion run to help lift Plano into the playoffs.

Plano 27, Plano West 17

INDIVIDUALS

• Marcus wins. Plano just needs to close this out to advance to playoffs.
• For consecutive seasons, Plano is attempting to reach playoffs with the fourth spot on the final week of the season.
• Plano 27, West 17: Moore 31-yard FG. 4:04 left
• Tank Stallings says Marcus up 22-21. They scored, went for two and are up.
• Plano 24, West 17: Hoetger 4-yard pass from Michelsen. 7:39 left.
• Hebron 21, Marcus 14 (5:00 left)
• Plano 17, Plano West 17: Leon Taylor 38-yard FG, 11:50 left
• Plano 17, West 14 (end of third quarter)
• Hebron 14, Marcus 14 (9:12 left)
• Hebron 14, Marcus 7 ( 3rd Quarter)
• Plano 17, Plano West 14: Haltime

• Hebron 7, Marcus 0 (Halftime)
• Plano 17, Plano West 14: Steele Hoetger 12-yard TD pass from Michelsen. 1:53 left.
• Hebron 7, Marcus 0: Second Quarter
• Plano West 14, Plano 10: Chris Moore 33-yard FG, 8:22 left in first half.
• Sam Morrell interception has Plano offense back in business.
• Plano West 14, Plano 7: End of first quarter.
• Plano West 14, Plano 7: Connor Michelsen 2-yard TD run caps 9-play, 57-yard drive to cut Plano West’s lead in half. 1:23 left in the first quarter.
• Total yards – Plano: 15; West: 141
• Plano West 14, Plano 0: Jarrett Horan 2-yard TD run. 4:38 left in first quarter.
• Plano West 7, Plano 0: Carlos Wiggins 78-yard TD reception from Carson Smith. 7:18 left in first quarter.
• Kickoff just moments away. West will receive.
• Kickoff is a little more than an hour away. Keep checking here throughout the night for updates of tonight’s action, including score updates at Hebron. The Dallas Morning News’ Kyle Whitfield looks at playoff scenarios, including a look at District 8-5A. As usual, we agree with Matt Wixon in his blog. He notes that four playoff teams are too many, except in District 8-5A. If you got Tom Kimbrough and John Clark in a room, they’d agree with Matt. Except, Tom and John are big Wildcat fans and would certainly have to consider that the fourth spot could reward their team in consecutive years.

Plano (6-3, 2-3) meets Plano West (3-6, 0-5) at 7:30 p.m. today at John Clark Stadium in the regular season finale for both teams. Plano West is eliminated from playoff contention.

Plano must defeat Plano West and if it does, it will need some help to claim a playoff berth. It needs Marcus to defeat Hebron on the road and then would clinch a playoff berth with a head-to-head tiebreaker against Hebron.

The season started well for Plano. It went unbeaten in non-district play. The district schedule was unkind, as Plano was forced to meet the top four teams in the standings in successive weeks. It resulted in a 1-3 hole that Plano could climb out of with the right turn of events tonight.

Most folks are predicting a Marcus loss at Hebron tonight, but here is why we think Marcus will win. Plano plays very well traditionally off a loss and Marcus defeated Plano off a loss to Flower Mound. Plano is 3-0 against Hebron. They’ve predominantly won those games by being the more physical team and making key plays. That’s something Marcus will do. They may be the district’s most physical team and can make plays when they have to. Plus, as Matt Johnson and Xavier Harbert explained in last week’s defensive postgame report, never underestimate the power of Facebook.

We’ll be back prior to kickoff with game notes throughout the night’s contest and will do our best to keep you updated on the Hebron-Marcus game.