Tag Archives | Clayton Parlin

Halfback tandem, defense carry Plano past MacArthur

By on September 4, 2010 in '10 Fall Season

Three different players combined to score touchdowns and three more collected interceptions Friday as Plano defeated Irving MacArthur, 24-8, at John Clark Stadium.

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, Irving MacArthur 8
MacArthur            0          0          0          8          –          8
Plano                     7          3          14        0          –          24
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
P – Clayton Parlin 7 run (Chris Moore kick), 5:58
Second Quarter
P – Moore 49 FG, 9:46
Third Quarter
P – Kevin Merrill 11 run (Moore kick), 7:27
P – Hunter Gore 10 pass from Connor Michelsen (Moore kick), 1:29
Fourth Quarter
M – Shay Smith 15 pass from Shahzeb Khan (Johnny Haynes pass from Khan), 6:14

 

M TEAM STATS P
14 First downs 25
19-80 Rushes-yards 39-201
189 Passing yards 200
269 Total yards 401
16-32-3 Passing 20-35-1
5-172 Total punting 2-66
4-17 Penalties-yds. 8-55
2-2 Fumbles-lost 1-1
INDIVIDUAL STATS                                       
Rushing — M: Johnny Haynes 10-77, Jason Frimpong 5-13, Shahzeb Khan 4-(-10). P: Murat Kuzu 22-92, Kevin Merrill 11-71, Clayton Parlin 2-23, Connor Michelsen 4-15.
Passing — M: Shahzeb Khan 16-32-3, 189 yards. P: Connor Michelsen 20-35-1, 200 yards.
Receiving — M: Johnny Haynes 6-73, Shay Smith 4-47, Jason Frimpong 4-36, Demichael Washington 1-20, Cyvantae Hubbard 1-13. P: Hunter Gore 4-56, Steele Hoetger 5-44, Brandon Hamilton 6-42, Murat Kuzu 4-42, Kevin Merrill 1-16.
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Game notes: Plano vs. Irv. MacArthur

By on September 3, 2010 in '10 Fall Season

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:

 

M HALFTIME STATS P
3 First downs 14
8-0 Rushes-yards 19-98
70 Passing yards 117
70 Total yards 215
5-13-2 Passing 13-25-1
3-108 Total punting 1-24
3-13 Penalties-yds. 5-30
1-1 Fumbles-lost 1-1

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.

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Plano turns away Lakeview, 35-18

By on August 28, 2010 in '10 Fall Season

Connor Michelsen passed for three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth Friday as Plano defeated Garland Lakeview, 35-18, at John Clark Stadium in front of a capacity home crowd.

Connor Michelsen passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another Friday as Plano won its fifth season opener in the past six seasons. / Thad Fenton

Plano (1-0) has won its season opener in five of the past six seasons. It meets Irving MacArthur, the only team since 2005 to defeat it in a season opener, at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at John Clark Stadium.

Michelsen paired with Brandon Hamilton on the big play through the air and Kevin Merrill did enough on the ground to keep Lakeview honest. Michelsen completed 10 of 18 passes for 209 yards, including a pair of touchdown passes to Hamilton and another to Clayton Parlin. Merrill had 118 yards rushing as Hamilton turned in 157 yards receiving on five catches.

But it looked like déjà vu early. For consecutive seasons, Plano could only watch as the opening snap from scrimmage resulted in a long score to put it in an early hole in the opening game on the schedule.

But it responded quickly and used a big fourth quarter to put Lakeview away. Parlin scored on a 28-yard pass completion from Michelsen just 53 seconds into the fourth quarter and Hamilton’s second touchdown put the game out of reach with 6:42 left. In between the scores, Michelsen followed a 63-yard Merrill run with a 2-yard score.

"Big Play" Ben Laures proved he's a ball hawk on special teams Friday, blocking a punt on Lakeview's second series. / Thad Fenton

But the opener didn’t come without some hitches, like losing four fumbles on offense and dropping what appeared to be at least three sure interceptions. It finished the game minus-two in the takeaway category.

Hamilton gave Plano the big play in the first half. Michelsen found him on a post pattern and the senior did the rest on a 50-yard touchdown combination to give Plano a 14-6 lead with 6:07 elapsed in the game. He also had a 45-yard reception late in the first half, then came a few more hitches it will look to correct this week. Plano was unable to turn the redzone opportunity into points, one of two final offensive series in the first half that ended in fumbles. The series prior to those began at Lakeview’s 29 and didn’t produce points.

Kevin Merrill got the season started with a 100-yard game despite sharing the backfield Friday with Murat Kuzu and Rakeem Crawford. / Thad Fenton

Lakeview stayed within one score at halftime with a big play of their own when Davonta Black found Jarvis Baxter on a 33-yard touchdown strike with 2:03 remaining. A failed conversion pass following the touchdown proved to be the difference, 14-12, at halftime.

Ben Laures wasted little time before he picked up where he left off last season. He blocked a punt on Lakeview’s second series of the game when he jumped and stopped the ball and a split second later caught it. He landed and rumbled in for a 7-yard touchdown return and Plano led, 7-6.

About half of Lakeview’s offense and points in the first half came on the first offensive snap of the game.

Davonta Black made a nifty move away from a defender jumping to block a pass attempt when he recognized a gaping hole in the middle of Plano’s defensive line – left by an all-out blitz — and went virtually untouched 73 yards, and 17 seconds into the season opener Plano was down, 7-0.

Plano 35, Gar. Lakeview 18
Plano         14              0                0                21           –             35
Lakeview  6                6                0                6             –             18
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
L – Davonta Black 73 run (kick blocked), 11:43
P – Ben Laures 7 blocked punt return (Daniel Moore kick), 8:41
P – Brandon Hamilton 50 pass from Connor Michelsen (Moore kick), 5:53
Second Quarter
No scoring
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
P – Clayton Parlin 28 pass from Michelsen (Moore kick), 11:07
P – Michelsen 2 run (Moore kick), 8:45
P – Hamilton 47 pass from Michelsen (Moore kick), 6:42
L – Denton Edwards 3 run (kick failed), 0:00
L TEAM STATS P
16 First downs 12
37-136 Rushes-yards 27-144
69 Passing yards 209
205 Total yards 353
8-22-2 Passing 10-19-0
9-267 Total punting 4-173
13-68 Penalties-yds. 6-67
0-0 Fumbles-lost 4-4
INDIVIDUAL STATS                                                   
Rushing – L: Devonta Black 18-97, Robert Charles 4-15, Styles Winston 3-11, William Reese 8-8, Denton Edwards 2-5, Marquis Denmark 1-4, Sherrod Haynes 1-(-4). P: Kevin Merrill 12-118, Murat Kuzu 4-18, Clayton Parlin 1-6, Rakeem Crawford 5-4, L.J. Ausama 1-3, Connor Michelsen 4-(-5).                      
Passing — L: Davonta Black 7-19-2, 62 yards; Denton Edwards 1-3-0, 7 yards. P: Connor Michelsen 10-18-0, 209 yards; Richard Lagow 0-1-0, 0 yards.
Receiving — L: Jarvis Baxter 3-42, Robert Charles 2-12, Ceaser Brown Jr 2-10. P: Brandon Hamilton 5-157, Clayton Parlin 3-40, Steele Hoetger 1-18, Rakeem Crawford.
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Varsity vs. Lakeview game notes

By on August 27, 2010 in '10 Fall Season

Plano 35, Lakeview 18 (Final)

Plano 35, Lakeview 12: Brandon Hamilton 47-yard touchdown pass from Connor Michelsen. 6:42 left. Hamilton has 157 yards and 2 TDs.

Plano 28, Lakeview 12: Connor Michelsen 2-yard touchdown run following Merrill 63-yard gain. 8:45 left.

Plano 21, Lakeview 12: Kevin Merrill just went over 100 yards rushing with a 63-yard carry to the Lakeview 3, 8:49 left in game.

Plano 21, Lakeview 12: Clayton Parlin 28-yard touchdown reception from Connor Michelsen, 11:07 left in game.

Plano 14, Lakeview 12 (end of third quarter)

Another Plano fumble in redzone results in another squandered scoring opportunity early in second half. Plano has lost three fumbles.

Haltime Statistics:

L   P
5 First downs 6
20-94 Rushes-yards 11-28
50 Passing yards 96
144 Total yards 124
4-9-0 Passing 5-11-0
5-136 Total punting 3-134
7-32 Penalties-yds. 3-22
0-0 Fumbles-lost 2-2

Plano 14, Lakeview 12 (Haltime)

Plano 14, Lakeview 12: Jarvis Baxter 33-yard touchdown pass from Davonta Black. 2:03 left in first half.

In a timeout and with 4:28 left in first half the score is Plano 14, Lakeview 6. Lakeview has 30 yards since opening play of game.

Plano 14, Lakeview 6: End of first quarter.

Plano 14, Lakeview 6: Brandon Hamilton 50-yard touchdown pass from Connor Michelsen on a post pattern. 5:53 left in first quarter.

Plano 7, Lakeview 6: Ben Laures scores on a 7-yard punt return after recording the block. Chris Moore’s kick gave Plano lead. 8:39 in 1st Q.

Lakeview 6, Plano 0: QB Davonta Black 73 run for touchdown. Blair Burns blocked kick. 11:43 left in first quarter.

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Scrimmage wrap-up

By on August 21, 2010 in '10 Fall Season

The most pressing question in football camps around the state right now starts with an assessment concerning readiness.

Teams, like Plano, playing in zero week, have to be ready in a short amount of time. So, one scrimmage is all they have to make assessments.

Plano seems to have answered a few questions Friday at E.H. Hanby Stadium. There were some mistakes, as can be expected in a scrimmage, but by and large it was a good showing.

“I think we have a chance to be a good football team,” Plano coach Jaydon McCullough said.

But, he wasn’t pleased with two turnovers in the 12-minute timed quarter.

“If we make two turnovers a quarter, we’re not going to be a very good football team,” McCullough said.

Offense

Anyone who missed the junior varsity games last season may have been surprised by the performance of Plano’s backup quarterback Friday. Richard Lagow’s performance demonstrated that like most every other position, this team has depth.

“We used this as a situation to let him have a lot of reps,” McCullough said.

One reason is Connor Michelsen is locked in as the starting quarterback, according to McCullough, and also played well.

At running back, Plano has some options. Rakeem Crawford and Kevin Merrill appear as if they give the offense a pair of speed-back options and Murat Kuzu can fill the power-back role. The combination of the trio could be lethal, and McCullough has committed to using all three.

Plano may split out only one receiver measuring more than six feet tall this season, but there are some capable playmakers. Steele Hoetger and Brandon Hamilton appear locked in as the outside receivers. Clayton Parlin and L.J. Ausama will play the slot, with Kuzu and Merrill also being effective tools in the receiving game. Sam Leavitt was used at tight end.

On the line, the team could have the personnel to go two-deep at every position. Clayton Bennett anchors the unit at center.

“I think we’re going to be strong in the interior,” McCullough said. “The years we have been strong in the interior we’ve been pretty good.”

Defense

The secondary may have stolen the show with a pair of interceptions late, but some credit had to go to the defensive line Friday.

Taylor May and Arthur Skinner at tackle and Xavier Harbert and Dwayne Hicks at end gave Mesquite some trouble up front.

“I like our offensive and defensive lines,” McCullough said.

The linebacking corps mixed players in and out with success. McCullough doesn’t think the group is getting overlooked, at least not by him.

“I feel like we’re two deep there,” McCullough said.

He’s already compared Matt Johnson to Chris Mendenhall, an undersized but more than capable linebacker who helped key the 2007 defense alongside hard-hitting linebacker C.J. Martin. On this team that player is Ben Laures, a key to last season’s defense, at middle linebacker.

In the secondary, Austin Hall and Kobie Douglas both played the cornerback position opposite Blair Burns, who showed he can play physical when the time calls for it. Each cornerback position came away with an interception in the game.

Special Teams

The structure of the scrimmage didn’t offer much of a look at special teams, but there were a few things to take away.

Hoetger was worthy of mention. His first two punts of the scrimmage were for 55 and 47 yards.

Chris Moore took the placekicking chores.

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State 7-on-7 Day 1 Report (Part 1)

By on July 12, 2010 in '10 7-on-7, Video

Defensive back Kobie Douglas and receiver Clayton Parlin discuss Plano’s day 1 performance at the state 7-on-7 tournament. Plano lost its opener to defending 7-on-7 champion Round Rock Stony Point, but rallied to win the pool.

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