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Running Wild: Williams grounds down Panthers
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@acnpapers.com
ALLEN – On a night in which many fans in the stands sported t-shirts that read “Allen: Plano City Champions 2009,” the Eagles got two-thirds of the way there for 2010.
Allen (6-0, 3-0) reached that spot Friday by defeating Plano East (3-3, 1-2) much the same way it had defeated Plano Senior two weeks earlier – with a dominating second half. The Eagles scored 31 unanswered points and kept their perfect record intact with a 34-24 victory.
“The game was tied at the half, but we knew we could do better,” said Jonathan Williams, Allen junior running back. “Coach (Tom Westerberg) said the first five minutes of the third quarter would be the most important and we came out playing hard.”
Two of those scores came from Williams, who had 136 yards rushing in the third quarter alone and 306 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries for the night.
“I guess we were just running with the hot hand,” Williams said. “That happened to be me, but our offensive line was doing well on opening up gaps.”
And that was the game plan.
“We wanted to take over with the offensive line and running game and wear them out,” Westerberg said. “The line played well and Jonathan did a great job running and protecting the ball.”
Williams scored twice in the third and senior running Paul Walker scored on the final play of the quarter, a 4-yard run, to give Allen a 31-10 advantage and cap a string of 31 straight points.
That seemed to put the game away, but East’s defense had other ideas.
In the span of 110 seconds in the fourth quarter, the Panthers picked off two passes and returned them both for touchdowns. Senior Kyle Foster snagged the first one and ran it back 96 yards for a touchdown while senior Jonathan Hayes grabbed the next one and took it to the house from 53 yards out to make it 31-24 with 4:20 remaining.
“Our kids played hard tonight and the defense did a great job in the fourth quarter,” said Johnny Ringo, East head coach. “Those interceptions got us within striking distance.”
Striking distance, but no further as Allen went back to the ground and methodically moved down the field before senior Blake Boyd drilled a 34-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining to set the final score at 34-24.
“We definitely still haven’t played four full quarters of football,” Williams said. “I think [our record] shows how good we are, but also how good we can be.”
The first half epitomized that statement as both teams had missed opportunities.
East moved inside the Allen 30-yard line on both its first two possessions, but came away with only three points. The Panthers were powered by junior Nathan Meadors, who had 95 yards rushing on 17 carries, but were stopped on third down and pushed out of field goal range on the first drive of the game after a sack from Allen senior Bud Spears. East’s second foray into Eagles territory was stunted by a dropped pass in the end zone.
East had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by senior James Saulnier and 3-0 lead with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
Allen didn't fair any better as its first play from scrimmage was a botched snap and its second drive ended in a missed field goal from 37 yards.
East took advantage of the latter error with a seven-play drive that featured a pair of 20-plus yard catches from senior Ryan Garrey, who led all receivers with seven catches for 119 yards. Another pass from senior Corey Wesley, this one a 7-yard completion to senior Gabe Dunlap, put the Panthers in front, 10-0, less than two minutes into the second quarter. Wesley completed 19-of-28 passes on the night for 225 yards with Dunlap pulling in four of those receptions for 40 yards.
Needing to make a change, Allen sped up its offense.
The adjustment was effective as the Eagles got on the board with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. The drive started with four straight runs by Williams, included a couple doses of sophomore Oliver Pierce, who had four catches for 58 yards as well as a sack, and concluded with a 1-yard quarterback keeper by junior Alec Morris that made it 10-7 with 6:56 to go in the half.
After its defense forced a three-and-out, Allen took over at East’s 35- yard line on the ensuing drive.
A 23-yard completion to junior Andrew Rodriguez made for a promising start, but the Eagles soon found themselves having to settle for a 30-yard field goal to make it 10-10.
That would also be the halftime score as Spears corralled an interception and East senior Darius Hood returned the favor by forcing a fumble.
Allen would wake up in the third quarter, scoring three touchdowns to break things open in an eventual 34-24 win.
“We didn’t execute at times tonight,” Ringo said, “but we have to build on the things we did well because now it is a sprint until the end.
“And hopefully we’ll be in a position where we can be playing in Week 11.”
East returns to the field at 7:30 p.m. Friday when it hosts Hebron at Kimbrough Stadium.
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