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Varsity rolling into state tourney

By on June 22, 2010 in '10 Spring Football

There are about as many 7-on-7 theories as there are teams that play it.

When it comes to the state tournament, most seem to agree the best approach is to qualify early and take advantage of the remaining games along the road to College Station.

Plano (19-1) seems to have done both well. It narrowly missed qualifying in its first tournament – which took place after just one team practice – and the following week earned its sixth straight state tournament berth. Plano has gone 9-0 in league play and Saturday went 3-0 at SMU in another state qualifying tournament. The Division I state 7-on-7 tournament takes place July 9-10 on the intramural fields at Texas A&M University.

“We’ve got to stay confident,” said senior Murat Kuzu, who in the 11-man game can be used as a quarterback, running back or slot receiver. “Everyone has to play their assignments, run their routes, catch the ball and we can’t make turnovers. Our routes are unstoppable. We’ve got really good quarterbacks and receivers.”

The team has demonstrated a variety of receiving weapons, not the least among them being Steele Hoetger. The senior made the trip to state last season, along with a large number of players on this year’s team.

“We’ve got good communication with (quarterback) Connor Michelsen,” Hoetger said. “Our defense is fine. I think we just need to come closer as a team. I think our team’s pretty set.”

An emerging weapon out of the mold of Kuzu is L.J. Ausama. He shared snaps at running back on junior varsity last season with Jared Janacek. He didn’t get too many receptions out of the backfield, but his varsity appearance in the playoffs against Euless Trinity proved he was capable catching the ball.

“I don’t think he’s surprising anybody,” Hoetger said. “He’s fast. He’s quick. He’s doing just what he did last year.”

So, what more does Plano have to do before making the trip to the state tournament.

“We can’t make the same mistakes we did last year,” Kuzu said.

That team won its pool and lost an overtime first-round tournament game. It seems as if this team believes a deeper penetration into the tournament bracket is possible, and for good reason. The team is 9-0 in state tournament qualifying pool games, the barometer for who gets a shot at going to state and who stays home.

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Plano motivated for more entering summer

By on May 27, 2010 in '10 Spring Football

There’s plenty to motivate Plano this summer.

The spring season seemed to demonstrate the Wildcats will have speed, strength, size and depth to go along with the leadership it takes to win and make playoff runs. The district champion junior varsity squad mixes with a large number of underclassmen who gained considerable varsity playing time last season to make this a team with high expectations.

The greater motivator for the team seems to be a long memory. Trinity ended their season for the third straight year in 2009. No other opponent had ever done that. They are also aware of district foe Allen.

“You look back at the last five years and the two teams we have predominantly had trouble with was Allen and Trinity,” Plano coach Jaydon McCullough said.

It may have been those opponents were a bit stronger and a bit more physical. Plano doesn’t intend for that to be the case this season.

“We’re really focused in on the offseason program,” McCullough said.

The spring offered a taste of potential. The offense made its share of plays, but the defense also showed some shutdown ability.

Reflecting back to the best two teams in recent memory – 2005 and 2007 – those teams could make a play on offense but could flat shut opponents down defensively.

“This is the hardest offseason we have had in a while,” said senior-to-be safety Collin Brence. “Every chance we get, we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to take this opportunity to continue to get better, no matter what we have to do.”

The offense showed a variety of weapons it will use through the air and on the ground in the fall.

“I was very pleased with the offense,” senior-to-be quarterback Connor Michelsen said. “I think we’re going to perform pretty well. We just need to cut out some of the mistakes, iron out the little things and keep the big picture in mind.”

When the offense clicked in scrimmages this spring, it seemed to have the ability to move the ball in small chunks and go to the air for a big strike. More often than not that was the combination of Michelsen and Clayton Parlin, a small but more than capable receiver. He’s reminiscent of Alex Lott from the 2005 team.

“We can’t rely on that big strike,” Michelsen said. “We’ve got to keep drives going.”

And that comes back to the running game where Murat Kuzu, Rakeem Crawford, Kevin Merrill and several other players could play key roles.

“I feel like we’re really playing tough, physical Plano Wildcat football,” McCullough said.

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Spring game rewind

By on May 23, 2010 in '10 Spring Football, Video

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More to come

By on May 21, 2010 in '10 Spring Football

Spring football has come to a conclusion, but our coverage at www.PlanoFootball.com has not.

Stay tuned for more coverage in the coming days. We’ll have video interviews with coach Jaydon McCullough, senior-to-be quarterback Connor Michelsen and senior-to-be safety Collin Brence, along with other video from Thursday’s scrimmage.

Also, stay tuned this summer for more coverage from 7-on-7 as the Wildcats look to qualify for the state tournament in College Station. The first 7-on-7 state qualifier will take place before the end of the month.

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Big plays lift Maroon in spring game

By on May 21, 2010 in '10 Spring Football

A sustained drive is nice, but there’s nothing like a quick-strike offense for comfort.

A long reception and two long runs resulted in three second-half scores Thursday as Maroon defeated White, 24-10, in the annual spring game at John Clark Stadium in front of a crowd of about 3,000.

The game closed Plano’s spring season. A short break will precede the start of the 7-on-7 season for skill position players.

Two plays into the second half, Maroon took the lead for good when Connor Michelsen found Clayton Parlin along the left sideline. The basketball guard hauled in the long pass and made a shifty move past a defender to score on a 52-yard play, the longest pass play of the scrimmage. It marked the third time in four spring scrimmages the tandem had hooked up on a touchdown completion.

Another two-play drive was the difference in the scrimmage. Andre Mormon was held to a 1-yard gain on the first play of the drive and then went 69 yards for a touchdown to put Maroon up, 17-3, with 11:48 left.

Maroon got an insurance score on the first play of the successive drive. Grant Sanders hit a hole in the line of scrimmage, made a spin to get out of a tackle and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown to break open a 24-3 advantage.

White rallied late behind Richard Lagow. He hit Steele Hoetger on a 16-yard pass completion and then came back to the senior-to-be on a 24-yard touchdown strike to trim Maroon’s margin to 24-10 with 6:54 left.

But, Maroon had White pinned deep on a drive to try and cut the deficit in half. Lagow found Hoetger on a 13-yard gain to move outside their own 30. Then Kobie Douglas made the play to seal the win. He stepped in front of a receiver and came up with an interception that moments later allowed Michelsen to drain the clock for the win.

The first half was dominated by the defense played by both teams.

White opened with a sack recorded by Arthur Skinner on the first play of the scrimmage. Bobby Geibler’s pressure for the Maroon forced White into a field goal that resulted in an early 3-0 lead.

Maroon was poised to take the lead to halftime when it moved inside the White 10. But a penalty and incompletion forced them into a field goal for the tie.

The most exciting play of the scrimmage failed. Maroon went deep into the playbook to find a little razzle-dazzle play. Michelsen initiated an end around that turned into a reverse that was pitched back to Michelsen, but the pass fell incomplete.

On another Maroon play, receiver Clayton Parlin caught the defense off-guard. The Maroon was facing a fourth down and Parlin casually walked under center and got the two yards the team needed to move the chains.

White didn’t show quite the trickery of Maroon, but had many more sustained drives behind Lagow and Michael Gale at quarterback.

Maroon 24, White 10
White       3    0    0    7    –    10
Maroon    0    3    7    14    –    24
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
W – Cameron Klein 38 FG, 6:55
Second Quarter
M – Chris Moore 24 FG, 0:30
Third Quarter
M – Clayton Parlin 52 pass from Connor Michelsen (Moore kick), 11:28
Fourth Quarter
M – Andre Mormon 55 run (Moore kick), 11:48
M – Grant Sanders 55 run (Moore kick), 10:39
W – Steele Hoetger 24 pass from Richard Lagow (Klein kick), 6:54

W                 TEAM STATS                 M
18                   First downs                        13
27-106           Rushes-yards                    25-200
193                 Passing yards                    130
299                Total yards                         330
15-37-1          Passing                               10-20-0
3-91               Total punting                     5-191
4-50               Penalties-yds.                   6-40
1-0                  Fumbles-lost                     1-0

INDIVIDUALS
Rushing — W: Murat Kuzu 12-58, Michael Crawford 10-48, Michael Gale 5-0. M: Andre Mormon 4-69, Grant Sanders 2-58, Mark Ollison 8-51, Andrew Alexander 3-8, Clayton Parlin 2-6, Kevin Merrill 3-6, Connor Michelsen 3-2.
Passing — W: Richard Lagow 7-20-1, 107 yards; Michael Gale 8-17-0, 86 yards. M: Connor Michelsen 10-16-0, 130 yards; Andrew Alexander 0-4-0, 0 yards;
Receiving — W: Corbin Whitehair 3-57, Steele Hoetger 3-47, Sean Oliver 3-37, Michael Crawford 1-16, Kevin Leamy 1-8, Branden Nguyen 1-8, Murat Kuzu 2-7. M: Clayton Parlin 2-59, Kobie Douglas 4-41, Sam Morell 2-12, L.J. Ausama 1-11, Kevin Merrill 1-7.

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Third Spring Scrimmage – A Peek At The Action

By on May 14, 2010 in '10 Spring Football, Video

The Plano Wildcats held their third Spring Football scrimmage under cloudy skies at John Clark Stadium on Thursday. Watch the video for a taste of the action.

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