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Everything in its Right Place: Bulldogs remain comfortably in 4A
Photo courtesy of Rog Pachuta
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
McKinney North will remain in its comfort zone during the 2012 football season.
While former district rival McKinney makes the jump in classification into a district packed with the largest schools in the state, the Bulldogs will hang back in Class 4A in the hope of continuing the successful trajectory they’ve put in place the past two seasons. After just missing the playoffs in 2010, they grabbed the extra win needed to make the cut last season and, in the process, broke a lenghty hiatus from postseason action. They finished with a 6-5 record.
But to extend their run with another playoff appearance next season, the Bulldogs will have to get past a new set of opponents. They’ll be moving from District 10-4A into 13-4A, where they will face Royse City, Lovejoy, Sherman, Wylie, Greenville, Wylie East and Denison.
The Titans (12-1 in 2011) are by far the most difficult of the three teams the Bulldogs will use to tune up for their first foray in a new district, a group that also includes Carrollton Newman Smith (2-8) and Prosper (9-3).
Smith begins the progression on a soft note. While the Trojans challenged a number of their district opponents last year – losing to playoff teams Frisco and Frisco Liberty by one and four points, respectively – their lonely pair of wins came against Carrollton Creekview and Carrollton R.L. Turner, who lurked at the bottom of their district.
From there, the Bulldogs will take on Prosper in their first home game. The Eagles will be making the move to 4A football after years as a successful 3A program that included a state championship in 2008. The Eagles shared a district with Lovejoy (8-4) the past few seasons, and the teams figured as prime competitors in a weak league. So, how the Bulldogs fare against Prosper will provide a hint of what they can expect in at least one of their district games.
Things take a turn to the other extreme from there, as the Bulldogs close pre-district against Centennial, an established 4A power. The Titans beat North handily last season, 45-16, on their way to the regional semifinals, and with a strong array of returning talent on both sides of the ball, including dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jordan, they should remain a powerful team next year. Facing them right before district leaves the Bulldogs with two games against weaker opponents to fine tune their game and a full slate afterward that will feel more manageable in comparison.
One thing North's pre-district schedule is lacking is a game against another McKinney school. Since the Bulldogs will be confined to their own district this year, those opening three games were their only opportunities to face either McKinney or Boyd – an opportunity they've opted against.
Not that their schedule will be lacking in familiarity. The Bulldogs have shared a district with more than half of the teams soon to be in 13-4A within the past four years and two, Wylie (4-6) and East (8-3), will be carryovers from their current district.
The Bulldogs have also recently shared a district with Sherman (9-4) and Denison (2-7), who played alongside them three years ago. Sherman and East will be among the favorites going in, while teams that struggled last year such as Greenville (0-10) and Royse City (3-8) will come in with something to prove. Where the Bulldogs will settle in should be established fairly early on, as they bounce from one of the district’s tougher teams, Sherman, to one of its weaker, Royse City, to start league play.
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