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Wildcats recharge, refresh before high-profile district opener
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
The goals and expectations for the Plano Senior football team's non-district schedule took form well before its Aug. 26 season opener.
In fact, that anticipation pretty much set in when the offseason got underway.
"We were looking toward the next season and saying that we'd like to be 3-0 going into the off-week," said Jaydon McCullough, Plano head coach. "We'd like to look at a lot of different players and evaluate them in a varsity game. We'd like to go into that bye having confidence, scoring points, being able to stop people, forcing turnovers and being sound in the kicking game.
Like last season, Plano has emerged from non-district play at 3-0. The Wildcats have done so in style too, outscoring a slate of Garland Lakeview Centennial, Irving MacArthur and Manfield Legacy by a combined margin of 153-35.
For a team laden with newcomers on both sides of the ball entering the season, Plano has blistered opposing defenses to the tune of 51 points per game.
Junior quarterback Richard Lagow has steadily acclimated himself to the varsity game, yet to throw an interception among his 482 passing yards and six touchdowns. That yardage has been dispersed across the board, with nine receivers hauling in passes; a trait similar to last year's Wildcats offense.
In the backfield, senior Kevin Merrill has embraced the role as Plano's go-to rushing threat, complemented by seniors Sam Morell and Rakeem Crawford.
"If you look at our red-zone scoring, we've been pretty efficient so far," McCullough said. "Same for moving the chains and not turning the ball over. I feel like we're pretty balanced between the run and the pass, plus we're dispersing the ball real well."
Despite having a defensive unit returning just three starters from last season, the Wildcats have stood firm in surrendering 11.7 points per game and forcing seven turnovers -- three interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Helmed up front by seniors Xavier Harbet and Dwayne Hicks, the Wildcats' only manner of resistance was a mid-game rushing spurt against MacArthur that had Plano on its heels until buckling down in the fourth quarter.
"We've done better," McCullough said. "We're young and we've made strides in the last two weeks. We've been rotating a lot of kids; everybody's had a chance to play and if there are two kids who are equal at a position, we're going to find a way to play them both."
Building that depth has been a fixture in Plano's non-district campaign with the Wildcat backups seeing lengthy playing time in the wins over Lakeview and Legacy.
"If you've got depth at each position, it creates competition," McCullough said. "It makes practice fun and not monotonous because they're competing every day."
Plano can now put that progress into practice amid the rugged terrain of District 8-5A.
Like the majority of their district bunkmates, the Wildcats have an added week of preparation. During the bye week, the Wildcats have enjoyed a stretch of practices lasting 60-90 minutes with an emphasis on learning and teaching.
"We want them to get their legs back under them," McCullough said. "We want them to get their batteries recharged and for them to be ready to go next week because it's a new season. We're 0-0."
And if the Wildcats are going to have two weeks to prepare for an opponent, it seems the state's No. 1-ranked team would make for an adequate choice as reigning district champion Allen comes calling Sept. 23 from Clark Stadium.
"Ultimately, you want to be the best," McCullough said. "To be the best, you've got to beat the best and to me, Allen's the best right now."
The Eagles have gotten the better of the Wildcats in each meeting since 2005, with the latest edition a high-profile district opener as Allen has played every bit to its paper in amassing a 3-0 record with wins over Cedar Hill, Justin Northwest and Longview.
"We realize what kind of a challenge this is going to be," McCullough said. "We're excited about it and it's definitely the kind of game you want to play in. There's a lot of attention, glamour and such, but there's a price to pay.
"There's great risk, but great reward."
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