And the junior varsity will also be on a short week, playing in a rare Wednesday game. Here’s coach Tanner Craven’s thoughts on the short week.

One of the most memorable moments from Friday's game was Zach Laures' unique tackling style. He took Johnny Haynes' towel and kept it. / Thad Fenton

The first Plano (2-0) shutout since 2006 was denied when MacArthur scored with 6:14 left. Plano will attempt to start the season with a 3-0 record for the third time since 2007 when it travels to Mansfield Legacy at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The combination of Murat Kuzu and Kevin Merrill kept Plano’s offensive engine stirred Friday. Kuzu had 92 yards rushing and another 42 receiving as the workhorse of the offense. Merrill had 87 total yards after turning in a 100-yard rushing performance in the season opener.

But, the defense keyed the victory. Matt Johnson’s interception in the first half led to the game-winning field goal and Collin Brence’s fumble recovery in the second half resulted in a touchdown. Blair Burns also had an interception, along with Brence’s second of the season and Dwayne Hicks’ fumble recovery.

 The first two series of the second half were used to help push the game out of reach. Brence’s fumble recovery came on the fifth play of the second half. Facing a short field, Plano scored seven plays later when Kevin Merrill got the call in a Wildcat formation.

Hunter Gore waits for the ball to fall into his chest on his first varsity touchdown catch. / Thad Fenton

Bobby Geibler’s tipped pass on the successive drive helped to force a punt and a mixture of Kuzu and Merrill got Plano into MacArthur territory. Then it was time to showcase Hunter Gore. He caught a 24-yard pass from quarterback Connor Michelsen to move Plano inside the 20. He was targeted on the next play, but the pass fell incomplete. After a Merrill run, Michelsen came back to Gore on a 10-yard circus catch for a touchdown. The diving Gore twice attempted to grab the ball before it fell into his hands in the end zone for his first varsity touchdown and a 24-0 lead with 1:29 left in the third quarter.

Brence’s interception on the next drive gave the defense a stop, but MacArthur responded on the following drive to end the shutout when Shay Smith caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Shahzeb Khan with 6:14 left to play.

Kuzu finished the game with the final three carries, adding 15 yards to his tally and falling just eight yards short of giving Plano consecutive 100-yard rushers to open the season.

Murat Kuzu had 134 total yards and fell eight yards shy of a 100-yard rushing performance. / Thad Fenton

The defense had two interceptions and a fumble recovery on three straight drives in the first half, but it all only resulted in a field goal. But the moment drew notice. Chris Moore, who had previously been most noted for his junior varsity punt that went more than 70 yards last year, converted easily on a 49-yard field goal with 9:46 left in the first half for a 10-0 lead. He also missed wide on a 55-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half.

Perfect execution on a razzle dazzle play led Plano to a 7-0 lead with 5:58 left in the first quarter. Connor Michelsen made a direct handoff to Kevin Merrill, who flipped a reverse toss to Clayton Parlin streaking across the backfield. The basketball point guard quickly got around end and picked up a downfield block from Michelsen and scooted into the end zone.

Plano had tried the reverse with Merrill getting the carry on the fifth play of the game, but a block was missed and it only went five yards. This one was executed perfectly.

Of note to fans who may remember the days of the Gerald Brence Power-I and the Veer offenses of Tom Kimbrough and John Clark would be the way the game started. Plano’s first four plays were passes – something which may have never happened in school history. Then came four straight rushing attempts on the first drive and the next passing attempt was intercepted at the MacArthur 4.

Also of note is the performance of Brandon Hamilton in the first two games. He has 11 receptions for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He was held out of the end zone Friday, but hauled in six receptions.

Plano 24, MacArthur 8 (Final score)

Plano 24, MacArthur 8: Shutout bid ends at 6:14 in fourth quarter.

Plano 24, MacArthur 0: End of 3rd quarter

Plano has not shutout an opponent since Berkner in 2006.

Plano 24, MacArthur 0: Hunter Gore 10-yard touchdown pass from Michelsen. 1:29 left in third quarter.

Plano 17, MacArthur 0: Kevin Merrill scores on 11-yard run out of Wildcat formation. 7:27 left in 3rd quarter.

Second half will get started momentarily.

Here’s some halftime statistics:

Rushing — P: Kevin Merrill 4-27, Murat Kuzu 11-47, Clayton Parlin 1-7, Connor Michelsen 3-17,  Passing — P: Connor Michelsen 13-25-1, 117 yards; Receiving — M: P: Kevin Merrill 1-16, Murat Kuzu 2-22, Hunter Gore 2-20, Brandon Hamilton 5-40, Steele Hoetger 3-19, 

Plano 10, MacArthur 0: End of first half. Moore missed a 55-yard FG attempt wide right at end of half.

Plano 10, MacArthur 0: Chris Moore 49 yard field goal had plenty of distance. 9:46 left in first half.

Plano 7, MacArthur 0: End of first quarter. Zach Laures ripped off Johnny Haynes’ towel and didn’t give it back.

Plano 7, MacArthur 0: Clayton Parlin scores 7-yard touchdown on reverse handoff from Kevin Merrill. 5:58 left in first quarter.

Plano 0, MacArthur 0: Plano opened game with four straight passes for what may be the first time ever. Nine play drive ends in interception.

Plano (1-0) will attempt to open the season with consecutive wins for the fifth time since 2005 today when it meets Irving MacArthur (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. at John Clark Stadium.

MacArthur won the meeting last season, 14-13, and Plano defeated MacArthur, 33-7, in 2008.

The start to this season had some similarities to last, Lakeview scored on the first play from scrimmage. It was a sight reminiscent of the first play from scrimmage in the season opener a year earlier at MacArthur. In that game, MacArthur vaulted to a 14-0 advantage and despite numerous fourth quarter opportunities Plano couldn’t rally.

Both squads enter the game off victories last week led by their quarterbacks.

Shahzeb Khan passed for 173 yards and three touchdowns as MacArthur defeated Mansfield Timberview, 26-10. Johnny Haynes and Jason Frimpong combined for 188 yards rushing on 29 attempts. Haynes also caught six passes for 86 yards.

Connor Michelsen also passed for three touchdowns, but he also found the end zone on the ground, last week as Plano defeated Lakeview, 35-18. Michelsen completed 10 of 18 passes for 209 yards. He found Brandon Hamilton for a game-high 157 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions. Kevin Merrill had a game-high 118 yards rushing on 12 carries. Lakeview wasn’t allowed to go over 200 yards of offense until the final series of the game, a performance ranking Plano among the top defenses in the area.

Today’s game will be the last for a while at Plano’s traditional home field for the Wildcats. The team will travel to Mansfield Legacy on Sept. 9 and will be idle before opening the district season at Allen Sept. 24. It will play a home game at Kimbrough Stadium Oct. 1 and won’t return to Clark until Oct. 22.

Greg Peterson (6) scored on a 19-yard run and the successive two-point conversion Thursday and MacArthur's gamble failed in a 23-13 loss to Plano. / Thad Fenton

A failed conversion kick would eventually put the MacArthur coaches into a late 14-13 jam. If they wanted to have a chance to play for the win they needed to make something happen quickly.

A time-consuming drive in the fourth quarter resulted in a Jordan Baird interception that had the makings of putting the game away. Then the MacArthur defense got the stop it needed and forced a punt. As luck had it, officials ruled the ball was legally touched and not grounded before Plano recovered.

The only bullet left in MacArthur’s belt was a gamble that backfired. Still trailing, 14-13, and with Plano knocking on the door deep in their territory with less than two minutes to play, they decided on a risky maneuver. After a 10-yard Greg Peterson keeper to move to the MacArthur 19, he was allowed to score virtually untouched on the next play. The logic was it would give MacArthur an opportunity at one possession to tie.

That’s where JV head coach Tanner Craven made the call to put MacArthur away. He gave Peterson the nod again on a keeper and with 47 seconds left Plano had changed a tight 14-13 advantage into a two-score lead, 22-13. MacArthur never recovered.

The defense needed quite a few key plays in the second half as MacArthur virtually shut down Plano’s offense. MacArthur scored on the opening drive of the second half and with 6:53 left in the third quarter it had rallied almost all the way back from a 14-0 first quarter deficit. But, the conversion kick missed its mark. And behind defense and special teams play in key situations Plano was able to hold MacArthur out of the end zone from there.

Cole Eckeberger (32) and Jake Dinucci (5) participate in the coin toss Thursday prior to the start of the junior varsity game. / Thad Fenton

Corbin Whitehair got Plano on the board early when he hauled in a 46-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Alexander with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

And 1:28 later Tyler Grant followed a number of critical blocks on a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown ­– his third defensive score in two games, all coming on interceptions. Cole Eckeberger’s conversion kick following the touchdown proved to be the game-winner.

MacArthur was limited to one big play the entire first half, a 42-yard touchdown run that cut into the deficit. But the defense opened the game with a Brandon Laures sack and a tackle for loss by Francis Mtuke. The Grant interception ended the next drive. Mtuke opened the third drive with a sack followed by Baird’s tackle for loss on a punt attempt prevented by a poor snap.

Grant, who is showing a knack for being in the right place to make big plays, had two chances at interceptions in the second half. Jordan Stiff also had a chance at an interception.

Ultimately, successive holding penalties on a late fourth quarter drive and the ruling on the punt inside the final two minutes changed the game, forcing MacArthur to the only option it had left – the gamble against Peterson that it lost.