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One for the Woodshed: Big plays key Hebron's win over Wildcats
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
CARROLLTON -- For the past three meetings, the Plano Senior football team looked to have Hebron's number.
The Hawks reversed that trend Friday night, fending off a late rally by the Wildcats for a 31-24 victory, a 2-0 start to district play and the program's first-ever win over Plano.
"Getting that win is big," said Brian Brazil, Hebron head coach. "It's great but we know we have five tough games down the stretch and Plano's a dang good football team. Last year, they came out and kicked our butts and I thought we'd wear them down here, but it's a credit to [Plano] that they kept fighting."
After surrendering the Wildcats' longest play of the evening -- a 39-yard touchdown pass from junior Richard Lagow to senior Kevin Merrill -- the Hawks responded with their longest play of the contest as well. Fielding the opening kickoff of the second half, sophomore Jamal Adams took the ball 99 yards for a touchdown to nudge the Hawks lead to 21-10. One series later, a 76-yard hook-up between senior Joseph Farley and wide-open senior Brandon Grant upped that cushion to 28-10.
Farley launched 290 yards on 19-of-25 passing, adding 23 rushing yards for three total touchdowns. Grant led all receivers with 100 yards and a touchdown on three catches.
Hebron would tack on three more points behind a 28-yard field goal by sophomore Joel Carlos for a 31-10 lead with 11:56 left in the fourth quarter.
"It's very tough, discouraging and disappointing," said Jaydon McCullough, Plano head coach. "We made some mistakes; we're human and Hebron's also a very good football team.
"We're young and we just made some mistakes in very crucial situations tonight."
The Wildcats stayed game in the final frame, despite ultimately falling short.
Plano rattled off 14 unanswered points on back-to-back series in the fourth quarter, capping a 13-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown by senior Rakeem Crawford to trim the margin to 31-17 with 7:07 left.
One Hebron three-and-out later, the Wildcats drew to within one touchdown with a 38-second drive helmed by a 34-yard Crawford touchdown run. Crawford shouldered the workload in the second half of Friday's matchup, accruing 59 yards on seven carries to go along with his two touchdowns.
"It was very satisfying to see them come back like that," McCullough said. "Offensively, it gave us something to build off of and I felt like we grew a little bit from this experience."
The Hawks sustained an 11-play drive to bleed the remainder of the clock.
The series was highlighted by a pair of third-down conversions -- Farley connecting with senior Brandon Lanz for 15 yards and a 30-yard shovel pass to senior Dezmond Wortham on a 3rd-and-6.
"We got that 21-point lead and we haven't had a lead like that all year," Brazil said. "I think the kids relaxed a bit and lost their sense of urgency, plus Plano's kids just kept battling. We were fortunate to be able to run out the clock."
The Hawks never trailed Friday, benefiting early on from a fast-moving first half.
Controlling both the clock and field, it was advantageous field position that led to the Hawks' first score as they set up shop at their own 48-yard line after an errant Wildcat punt. The Hawks bled six minutes of clock over the course of 14 plays, highlighted by a 21-yard completion from Farley to Grant. Aided by a pass interference call against the Wildcats on 3rd-and-short, Hebron found the end zone for the first time following a 1-yard Farley touchdown run.
A lengthy third-down conversion keyed the Hawks' second touchdown following a 41-yard completion from Farley to Kiante Griffin. Two subsequent completions to Brett Weir predicated a 4-yard screen pass to Wortham, who broke past Plano senior Marcus Davis and hurdled into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
The Hawks held up their end of the deal defensively as well, never allowing Lagow to get comfortable in the pocket.
One breakdown in coverage was all Plano needed to capitalize though, as Lagow found Merrill down the sidelines for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 51 seconds left in the first half to trim the deficit to 14-7; the same count the teams closed out the half at. Lagow finished with 177 yards passing and a touchdown on 17-of-25 attempts, while Merrill totaled 132 yards of offense. Senior Hunter Gore led all Plano receivers with 76 yards on six catches.
The Wildcats, now 0-2 in district play for the first time since 2006, look to right the ship at 7:30 p.m. Friday from Clark Stadium when they host Flower Mound.
The Hawks seek a 3-0 start that same time when they travel to Lewisville.
"It's just the ebb and flow of the game," Brazil said. "I tell these kids that we have to play 48 minutes and once again, we had to play 48 minutes to win this football game and I'm glad we did."
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