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Wildcats win pool with defensive prowess
By Cory J. Mageors Staff Writer
Thanks to a spectacular defensive play by senior Laron Kelly on fourth-and-goal, the Plano Wildcats won their pool Friday and advanced to today’s championship bracket in the FSN Southwest State 7-on-7 Championships.
But it wasn’t an easy Friday that put the Wildcats in a confident position heading into the home stretch of the championship. Plano squeaked out two of their wins by a combined five points, and if not for a leaping deflection by Kelly in their final game of the day, against last year’s runner-up Houston Stratford, the Wildcats would have been 2-1 instead of a perfect 3-0.
“Our defense really stepped up,” said Jaydon McCullough, Plano varsity head coach and central cluster athletic coordinator. “Houston Stratford stopped us on offense on our first three possessions, which we aren’t used to. But the thing I was proud of was that when they stopped us, our defense went right back out and kept them from moving the ball.”
Stratford was on the Wildcats 1-yard line with seemingly no time left on the clock, trailing 39-38. The Spartans found an open receiver in the end zone and lobbed the ball in his direction for the win.
Kelly, however, used “an amazing vertical leap,” to get into the air and knock the ball down, giving the Wildcats the ball back on the 1-yard line.
“From there we went into what we call locomotive, offensively,” McCullough said. “It helps us run the rest of the clock down. Rick Burkhead called some integral plays and Dave Meger’s time management at the end of that game helped us get the win as well.”
Plano started the day off with a 39-35 victory against Tomball in their first game in pool play, and followed up with a 55-32 offensive explosion in the second game against Pleasanton.
The play of senior Rex Burkhead led the way for the Wildcats in the second game, while a couple of key receptions by senior Kris Lott made the difference against Stratford.
“Rex has been amazing today,” McCullough said. “He made a play similar to the play he made in the Skyline playoff game last year where he made a move and left the guy.
“Kris made two amazing catches in the back of the end zone where he just went up for the ball and came down with it behind the defender.”
While the “Tenacious Trio” of senior Carson Meger, Lott and Burkhead gave the Wildcats a leg-up, youngsters Holt Hoetger and Robert Robinson gave Plano an extra element to work with.
Hoetger continued his progress with consistent catching ability, while Robinson utilized his speed to make it difficult for defenses to stay with him.
Though the score of the first game was rather close, McCullough feels the coaches are making legitimate logical decisions to set the team up for success today.
“This isn’t a sprint,” McCullough said. “It’s a marathon.
“We made some substitutions in the first game and let them back into it a little bit. Fortunately we were able to fend them off, but I think the coaches have a plan for this thing that is going to work.”
The Wildcats will have to win five games today in order to capture their first 7-on-7 State Championship.
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