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Glass Half Empty: Wolves topple Wildcats, lose playoff tiebreaker
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
With the outcomes of two other matchups hanging in the balance to determine the final District 8-5A playoff team, the Plano West football squad could only control its performance against Plano Senior.
And Friday night from Clark Stadium, the Wolves were successful on that front.
Unfortunately, West's 24-10 victory over the Wildcats would prove all for naught in the playoff race.
Despite a 4-3 finish to district play, the tiebreakers denied the Wolves a bid for the final 8-5A playoff spot.
By virtue of Plano East's 52-28 win over Lewisville and Flower Mound Marcus' 42-28 victory over Hebron, the Wolves finished in a three-way tie for third place with the Hawks and Panthers.
With margin of victory determining the final spot, East's -5 proved one point better than West's -6, thus surrendering the final playoff seed to the Panthers.
It made for an unsettling night that should have figuratively culminated a superb turnaround from a winless 8-5A campaign last year.
The result on the scoreboard managed that part, as West accrued all 24 of its points in a lopsided first half that saw them outgain Plano, 242-66.
"Offensively, we dominated in the first half," Hughes said. "The defense played well all night but offensively in the second half, we became complacent. We've got to play four quarters."
Generally, a 24-point run contains a play on offense or defense that opens the floodgates firmly in favor of the team on top.
In Friday's case, it was a special teams turnover by the Wildcats that made amends for a four-play opening drive by the Wolves.
A mishandled punt return by senior Tyler Grant was promptly recovered by West senior Jonathan Vincze to set the Wolves up at the Plano 21-yard line.
One play later, West senior Nathan Orbach beat out senior Sean Oliver for a jump ball on a 21-yard touchdown pass from junior Travis Korry for a 7-0 edge with 10:04 left in the opening quarter.
"In the first half, everything seemed to go our way," Hughes said. "There was the turnover and the way the offense played, but in the second half I felt we looked like we did against Hebron: complacent."
The Wolves didn't let up.
Senior Carlos Wiggins ripped off a 62-yard run to highlight the Wolves' second drive of the contest, with Korry adding the finishing touches with an 8-yard keeper and the 14-0 cushion with 4:41 remaining in the first frame.
Korry would balloon that margin to 21 one possession later, erasing a third-and-13 on a 14-yard run that nudged the Wolves past midfield. Four plays later, the signal caller found his way into the end zone for the second time with a 12-yard run.
Korry accounted for all three West touchdowns, compiling 50 rushing yards on 13 carries plus a 12-of-17 passing clip for 102 yards. Wiggins chipped in a game-high 125 rushing yards on 15 carries.
"For [Korry] to step in as junior and quarterback our team says a lot about him," Hughes said. "He's got tremendous work ethic, the kids love him and he's a leader."
While West has grown familiar to the dual-threat aura of Korry at quarterback over the past six weeks, the Wildcats were breaking in a new signal caller of their own as junior Richard Lagow was inactive for Friday's contest after fracturing his tibia against Plano East last week.
In his stead came senior Sam Morell, a rush-first quarterback who altered the identity of Plano's offense drastically; a case made apparent in the days of practice leading up to the game.
"We knew it was going to be tough basically putting in a new style of offense in a week," said Jaydon McCullough, Plano head coach. "It was OK, but the muffed punt hurt us early. We just didn't have a good first half, but Plano West is a good football team."
The Wildcats only took to the air four times in the opening half under Morell's guise, divvying up the offense between he, senior Rakeem Crawford and senior L.J. Ausama.
The end result was just 66 yards in the first half, as Plano only advanced as far as the West 36-yard line in the first half.
The Wolves proved a bit more abundant, tacking on a 38-yard field goal from junior Zakk Myer to cap a 24-0 opening half.
West's pace slowed to a crawl in a second half that saw them amass just 43 yards, while giving up 150 to the Wildcats.
"I was proud of the way the kids responded in the second half," McCullough said. "They played with a lot of pride and I just wish we could have put it all together."
Jumpstarted by a 33-yard field goal by senior Cole Eckeberger to open the third quarter, the Wildcats' lone touchdown on the night came on a nine-play, 80-yard drive helmed by 31 rushing yards by Morell.
The quarterback capped the series through the air though, hooking up with senior Hunter Gore on an 11-yard touchdown strike with 2:47 left in the contest.
Morell's night included 66 rushing yards on 18 carries alongside a 4-of-11, 33-yard passing night.
Senior L.J. Ausama added 66 yards on the ground as well, amassing the bulk of his yardage on reverses in the second half.
The rushing wasn't limited to the Wildcats and Wolves though, as a streaker donning only boxers scampered roughly 40 yards to the north end zone with 2:19 left in the contest, bolting over the fence and disappearing into the night amid an array of cheers.
The Wildcats finish the season up with a 1-6 run through 8-5A, clocking in at 4-6 overall on the year. For the Wolves, a 4-3 bid in 8-5A matched by a 6-4 record overall leaves the team on the outside of the playoff picture for the second straight season.
"We're not saying this is an acceptable season," McCullough said, "but at the same time we know this is a difficult district, but we've got to do better. As soon as we get the equipment clean, it's time to start the offseason. But at the same time, we want to honor these seniors for the work they've done."
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