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Plano 41, Dallas Skyline 20
Skyline was held under 300 yards of total offense and a meeting between two of the state’s best defenses came down to Plano’s ability to make plays in all three phases as the Wildcats defeated Dallas Skyline, 41-20, on Saturday in a Class 5A-Division I Region II football championship.
Plano (13-1) won its first regional championship since consecutive regional championships in 1993 and 1994 and compiled a 13-win season for the second time in three years. Plano has compiled 30 wins in the past three seasons and this was win No. 120 for Gerald Brence.
Plano advances to a state semifinal against either Euless Trinity or Arlington Bowie. The game will tentatively take place at 5 p.m. Saturday at Texas Stadium.
I’ll be back a little bit later to break down this game and next week’s state semifinal. Scroll to the bottom of this blog to provide your thoughts on the game, this season and next week’s game.
Final: Plano 41, Dallas Skyline 20
Looks like its over: Michael Daniel just scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season and this one seems to be over. Plano 41, Skyline 13. Skyline had not allowed any second half points in the playoffs, until Plano scored 20 at this point. 4:00 left in the game.
He’s a 4,000 Superman: Rex Burkhead just compiled 177 yards to go over 4,000 all-purpose offensive yards in his career. To celebrate, he just added 12 more on the very next play. He might get to 200 rushing yards today.
Time for some Brence talk:So, if Gerald Brence gets criticized for being conservative for 14 years, then don’t you like this? Plano has thrown the ball all day long. They aren’t conservative anymore. Everything people always wanted Gerald to do, he’s doing. Now, he just passed two plays in a row and the second was intercepted in the end zone. What’s that they say about three things can happen passing the ball and two are bad?
Lott hauls it in: Kris Lott just hauled in his team-leading ninth touchdown of the season and Plano leads, 34-13. Alex Lott used to tell me Kris was going to be the best athlete in the family. He has a ways to go to get Thomas II, but I think Alex might be right.
Rex is over 100 again: Rex Burkhead just went over 100 yards rushing and he just had his 15th carry.
No cape needed:Rex Burkhead just returned a punt untouched 64 yards for a touchdown to put Plano back up, 28-13. I keep saying this. You get the ball in Rex’s hands as much as possible. Good things will happen. He runs, can catch, can throw, blocks with the best of them, punts, returns punts, can walk the dog and take out the trash. One guy even thinks he washes my car in his off time. If he’s not all-state first team and named the Metroplex’s Player of the Year, then that’s a shame.
Skyline strikes first: Skyline just busted a big play on the Plano defense and Troy Stoudimire scored on a 44-yard run to trim the deficit to 21-13.
Where’s Mickey Timbes and Brad Denton? We’re within earshot of the Plano radio station, or at least a Plano radio station. I’ve heard them compare Skyline to the old Houston Oilers. They’ve stolen Harry Carey’s patented call “Holy Cow!” That’s pretty good stuff. What happened to Mickey and Brad? It’s not that I dislike this broadcast, but it’s the playoffs and Plano fans need Mickey and Brad on the air. Again, no offense intended.
Halftime: Plano seems to be in control of this one, 21-6, at halftime. There are concerns. They may have to play the second half without either starting defensive end. Beau Brence went down with what is being reported as a dislocated elbow. If I know Beau, he will do everything he can to return. Plano passed as much in this first half as they ever have under Gerald Brence. It still comes down to defense from here. If Plano can stop the big downfield passing play, the Wildcats should be in their first state semifinal since 1994. My prediction: Plano 37, Skyline 17.
What a play call: Plano capped an 8-play drive with a great call. The Wildcats lined up in I-formation and seemed to be running on third down. Rex Burkhead took the handoff and then dropped back to find quarterback Carson Meger wide-open for a 20-yard touchdown pass. A little razzle-dazzle gives Plano a 21-6 lead. That’s Burkhead’s 12th all-purpose touchdown of the postseason and 42nd of his career. Have I said he’s a stud?
Kenny Watkins again: Kenny Watkins broke up a touchdown pass on the last Skyline drive and this time he pulled down an interception. Watkins now has three interceptions in the playoffs and has been the consistent leader of the secondary. Plano 14, Skyline 6. 3:00 left in first half.
Superman flies in for No. 11: Rex Burkhead just scored his 11th touchdown of the playoffs when he took an option pitch and ran three yards to the pylon, beating a Skyline defender. He now has 41 all-purpose career touchdowns.
Skyline strikes back:Skyline drew a roughing the kicker penalty to extend its second drive and scored on a 22-yard pass from Troy Stoudimire to Dajon McKnight. Skyline just intercepted Carson Meger for the second time today and Skyline seems to be back in business in Plano territory again. Yet, they’ve moved back 19 yards. Kenny Watkins just broke up a pass in the end zone and Plano still leads, 7-6, with 9:10 left in the first half.
Kershaw, Hardy leading the defense: Landen Kershaw and Brennan Hardy each have a pair of tackles and at the end of the first quarter, Plano leads 7-0.
Grant Davis is hot: Grant Davis has five catches for 58 yards in the first quarter and his last catch was good for a 23-yard touchdown to put Plano up, 7-0, with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter. Plano has two third downs at this point. The Wildcats passed both times. The first was intercepted and the second was a touchdown.
Defenses stand early: Skyline intercepted Plano its first series and Plano retailiated with a pair of tackles for loss by Landen Kershaw and Brennan Hardy before forcing a punt.
Welcome to Mesquite: The Plano Star Courier’s Cory Mageors, the REAL star of K&C Masterpiece, is sitting beside me raving about the Mesquite ISD. The meal up here is great. The hospitality gets no better than in the Mesquite ISD and there’s no better hostess than Kay Neurohr. Cory was already impressed and then he went to the bathroom here in the press box. He says there’s rugs, pictures, flowers and Soft Soap up there. He said it was like his momma’s house. That’s Mesquite for you, Cory. They make you feel welcome with some good old-fashioned southern hospitality. Maybe I can talk Kay into inviting us over for dinner one night.
Getting here early: Plano is the visitor today and their parking lot was half-filled more than two hours before game time. That must have been some tailgate. They won tailgating, let’s see if they can win the game.
My keys to the game: Get Superman the ball. Plano is unbeaten this season when Rex Burkhead gets 20 or more carries and 0-1 when he doesn’t. Get him involved early in every way possible. Focus on the short passing game and screens. Try to bust Skyline with a deep pass here or there, but Rex gets better the more the passing game can spread the defense. Make Skyline run east-west and force them into situations they don’t want. Skyline has a lot of talented athletes and you must stop the big play. Win special teams and field position. Play Plano football and do what you do.
Quarterback Club President has game: This just in from the Plano Wildcats sendoff today. Craig Martin has skills. I heard he jumped right in the middle of the band at the sendoff and was dancing. His son C.J. tells me he “lays the wood” every time he gets the big hit. Maybe he got some of those moves from pops. I like a booster club president that will let down his hair and have some fun with the boys. I’m sure they got a kick out of it too. Can we get a video of this or at least schedule a booster club karaoke night. Seriously, way to go Craig. I want to see you get Carlos Cuevas (Lil’ Los) on the dance floor.
Career numbers: Plano is 29-8 with Rex Burkhead on the roster, but here’s a look at some career numbers for Superman. He has 40 all-purpose touchdowns and more than 2,600 rushing yards in three seasons. If he gets to 3,000 this year, that should be good news. It should mean Plano is playing for a state title. Burkhead has 3,824 total offensive career yards.
End is near: Whether Plano wins the state title or loses at some point in the next three games, the end is near for coach Gerald Brence. I heard a lot of negative vibes about him this week in this blog and apparently I’m his apologist. So, as such, let me throw out some numbers. In 15 seasons, Brence has compiled 119 wins. That’s an average of about eight wins a season. That average took a hit during the 0-10 season in 2003. If Plano wins today, Brence will have averaged 10 wins across his final three seasons. So, I’m thinking Brence must be the R.C. Slocum of Plano. Slocum was a really good coach that won games for Texas A&M. If Plano wins a state title this year, Brence will have two. Tom Kimbrough had three and John Clark had two before Brence. Slocum won about 8 to 9 games a year, but it wasn’t enough for the Aggies. I’d think they’d take that now. Brence gives you winning seasons, winning seasons a lot of other teams would kill for. He’s coached Plano to a regional championship in two of the past three seasons. Expectations at Plano are state title every season. They’ve tasted prime rib and don’t want bologna.
