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Maroon Monsoon: Wildcats pounce on Patriots in season-opening shutout
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
GARLAND -- The first offensive series for the Plano Senior football team's 2011 campaign couldn't have gone any better against Garland Lakeview Centennial.
Operating just outside the red zone, junior Richard Lagow dumped his first pass of the season off on a quick screen to senior Kevin Merrill. Behind some timely blocking, the blue and white sea of Patriot defenders gave way to nothing but open field for Merrill, who scampered 24 yards for a touchdown and 6-0 lead.
The score came just two-and-a-half minutes into the game and laid the groundwork for an eventual 56-0 clobbering of the Patriots Friday night from Williams Stadium.
With a bevy of new faces testing the varsity waters for the first time, the Wildcats acclimated themselves to Friday night's atmosphere in short order.
Offensively, Plano had the freedom to mix up its attack as it pleased. With sets running the gamut from the shotgun to under center, and run to pass, the outcome was all the same as Plano piled on 319 yards of offense on the night.
The first start of Lagow's varsity career proved fruitful, spreading the ball among five targets for 106 yards on 8-of-17 passing and three touchdowns. Even netting a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 2:19 left in the opening quarter, Lagow added touchdown passes of 37 and 5 yards to senior L.J. Ausama and freshman Mitchell Hanson, respectively, for an eventual 34-0 edge by halftime.
Ausama led all Wildcat receivers with 61 yards on three catches, along with a touchdown. Merrill added 102 total yards of offense.
Defensively, Plano overpowered Lakeview up front and buckled the opposing offense at every turn; not yielding a Lakeview first down until 2:45 remaining in the first half.
Prior to that, the longest drive the Patriots pieced together was their opening push: an 8-yard, three-and-out.
Any other efforts were busted up by errant passes and defensive stops, with seniors Xavier Harbert, Dwayne Hicks and Cole Eckeberger serving as judge, jury and executioner.
The secondary chipped in as well, with senior Tyler Grant snagging the first Wildcat interception of the season. The cornerback picked off a high throw from Lakeview quarterback Denton Edwards with three minutes left in the opening quarter and returned the ball to the 1-yard line, setting up the Lagow sneak score.
Even the Wildcats' special teams got in on the mix with Ausama stringing together a 45-yard punt return for a score on Lakeview's second three-and-out.
Six plays into the second half, capped by a 1-yard Merrill touchdown and 40-0 lead, the Wildcats pulled back the reins and devoted the final 20 minutes of the game to their backups.
The Patriots didn't fare any better with Plano senior Jake DiNucci and Eckeberger each picking off passes; the latter taking his interception 48 yards to the house for a 50-0 edge with 2:47 left in the third quarter.
On the ground, Centennial mustered just 42 total yards, led by 31 from Demarcus Hall.
"As a coach, you want all your kids to be able to play," McCullough said. "Normally, that's not the case, especially in our district, but when all the kids get to play and contribute it's very satisfying."
The offense was turned over to the tandem of freshman Christian Hutzler and senior Rakeem Crawford, with the latter recording 101 of his 128 rushing yards in the second half. Crawford added a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a nine-play drive for the game's exclamation point and the 56-0 final.
The Wildcats return to action Thursday for a 7 p.m. road tilt against Irving MacArthur.
"We're 1-0; we're happy and excited, but it's just one game," McCullough said. "In 1997, we were 7-3, had an outstanding team and started out 3-0, but missed the playoffs. I think with that team, we peaked too early and because we did so well early, I think we got complacent.
"That's what I'm going to guard against ... but I'm proud of these guys."
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