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Wildcats hungry to rebound against Hebron
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
The Plano Senior football team wasn't quick to put its district-opening loss to Allen in its rearview mirror.
Instead of shifting the 44-7 defeat -- the Wildcats' most lopsided loss since 2009's 51-7 decision against the Eagles -- to a thing of the past, Plano will now be tasked with growing from that experience, digging deep and testing its resiliency Friday on the road against Hebron at 7:30 p.m.
"I hope our kids come out, play like they're capable of playing and not have a hangover from what happened last Friday," said Jaydon McCullough, Plano head coach. "That's what I've been talking to our kids about.
In eyeing its first win in District 8-5A play, the Wildcats endure no easy task against the Hawks, who ride a three-game win streak into Friday's contest. In addition, Plano will look to overcome one of 8-5A's more infamous environments when tussling in "The Woodshed," the phase coined for Hebron's stadium in 2000 during the Hawks' time as a Class 4A powerhouse. As such, the Wildcats look to take a page out of Allen's playbook, doing what it can to negate any degree of home-field advantage.
"If we can score early and put some points up there," McCullough said, "plus play some good defense, then hopefully we'll be able to take their crowd out of it a bit."
That won't be easy as the Hawks have showcased one of the area's stingier defenses.
Since surrendering 37 points to Colleyville Heritage in Week 0, Hebron has surrendered just 13.7 points per game, including last Friday's 21-15 win over Flower Mound. Helming that charge has been 6-foot-6, 240-pound Arkansas commit Deatrich Wise up front, with Steven Lanz -- an aggressive linebacker McCullough likened to Plano alum Ben Laures -- also a factor on the edge.
The front seven is yielding just 97 rushing yards per game this season.
Plano will attempt to right the ship after mustering 99 yards on the ground Friday, a road bump in the otherwise-strong season for seniors Kevin Merrill, Sam Morell and Rakeem Crawford.
Lined up out wide, Baylor commit Kiante Griffin anchors the Hawks' secondary, while also being one of Hebron's top deep threats at receiver.
"What sets Hebron apart is that they play some guys both ways," McCullough said. "When Griffin comes in, he can be a great decoy, but he's also someone who they're not afraid to jump throw it up to."
Griffin is just one of a plethora of targets at the disposal of quarterback Joseph Farley, a two-way threat doubling as Hebron's second-leading rusher. One week removed from surrendering 324 yards through the air to Allen, Plano's secondary of seniors Marcus Davis, Tyler Grant and Morell will pay mind to Griffin's presence on the deep ball while also aiming to check Connor Richmond, Brandon Grant and Brandon Lanz.
A balanced attack by nature, the Hawks will spread the ball around in the backfield. Against Flower Mound, Hebron soldiered on without the services of lead rusher Dezmond Wortham, dividing carries between Farley, Braelen Evans and Vandy Parkes. It is part of an identity shift by the Hawks, who were among 8-5A's highest-scoring offenses last year. This season, Hebron is averaging just 21.5 points per game.
"[Hebron's] a different team this year," McCullough said. "They're a team that will grind it down and play great defense. Their quarterback will run it, mix in some play-action and play physical defense."
That may mean Plano acclimating itself to a defensive slugfest, uncharted waters given how its season has transpired.
But in trying to draw Hebron out of its comfort zone by reigniting the offense that eluded the Wildcats last week, not only can Plano capture its fourth win over the Hawks in as many tries, but rebound to draw even at 1-1 in the district race.
"That's the big challenge," McCullough said. "Are we going to be able to put that loss behind and go forward?
"We've got to put it behind us because we've got another big game on Friday."
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