After heavy rain swept through much of North Texas last night, one Frisco ISD school’s playoff run was washed away. However, three more of Frisco’s finest have a chance at moving deeper into the 2013 UIL playoffs with a win tonight. Here’s a look at each of those matchups.
L Frisco Centennial (1-1) Vs. South Oak Cliff (2-0)—37-63
Frisco Centennial’s season came to an end as South Oak Cliff’s QB Kenneth Arthur II and RB Jordan Stevenson went completely nuts—combining for 616 yards of offense and nine TDs.
Arthur (13/15, 321 yds, 5 TDs passing, 5/61 yds, TD rushing) and Stevenson (232 yards, 3 TDs) single-handedly torched the Titans defense to secure the win and advance to next week’s regional quarterfinals.
The Titans did manage to make some noise in the second half, outscoring the Bears 23-21. But a 28-point Bears outburst in the first quarter proved too much to overcome.
QB Kelly Cordova (343 total yards, 2 TDs), RB Kamari Burnett (3 TDs), WRs Devin McCord (141 yds, TD) and Stoney Hawkins (88 yds, TD) paced the Titans offense during the loss.
Frisco High (1-0) Vs. Lincoln (1-0)—Fri. 11/22, 9:00 PM @ AT&T Stadium
Dallas Lincoln’s running game was all but stopped by their cross-town rival, Carter, in the bi-district round a week ago; yet they still won easily 30-13. A big reason for this is that their leading rusher, QB Trevon Donnell, can toss the rock pretty well too. Donnell (20/27, 250 yds, TD) adapted early to Carter’s run-stuffing defense and found his favorite targets—WRs (and twin-brothers) Erick Neal (134 yds, TD) and Derick Neal (59 yds).
In Frisco’s 30-23 win over West Mesquite a week ago, QB Jake Battaglia (259 total yards, 2 TDs) relied on RB/WO Matt Nollman to find the end zone. Nollman (141 yds rec., 2 TDs, 96 yds rushing, 2 TDs) was a one-man highlight reel.
The Tigers are a team that likes to air it out (213.8 ypg) whereas Frisco prefers the run (257.9). On defense, Frisco can squelch a passing attack (130.7 ypg) and Lincoln plays well against the run (134.1 ypg).
As is always true in the playoffs, this one will be decided by which team’s playmakers can make the necessary adjustments to carry their team.
Frisco Lone Star (1-0) Vs. Princeton (1-0)—Fri. 11/22/13, 7:30 PM @ Murphy’s Kimbrough Stadium
Champions of District 12-3A, Princeton dispatched first round opponent Ferris, 50-22. The final score can be misleading though, as at halftime Princeton was leading by just seven points, 15-8. Ferris struck first in the third quarter to tie the game up, and then Princeton’s offense roared out of its slumber—amassing 21 unanswered points in just over four minutes.
Led by stars such as RB Trey Jackson (1,733 yds, 22 TDs), QB Jordan Blake (2,296 yds total offense, 36 TDs) and WR Jakari Dillard (702 yds, 11 TDs) the Panthers wear down defenses in the air and on the ground.
Frisco Lone Star knows a thing or two about a balanced offensive attack as well. In fact, the Rangers (180.3) hold the advantage in passing yards per game over the Panthers (149.5). Lone Star trails Princeton in rushing yards per game by less than a first down—266.5 to 257.3.
The Area Round matchup between these two 3A powerhouses is almost a wash on offense—both put up huge numbers in the first round, and each are more than capable of scoring outbursts. However, the Princeton Panthers are much better on the other side of the ball.
Princeton’s total team defense (243.5 ypg) easily bests Lone Star’s (390.5 ypg). The Panthers are quite adept at neutralizing the passing game (85.2 ypg), and their secondary is almost like an extra offensive weapon as they are third in the area in scoring defense (15.5 ppg).
Lone Star showed against Sanger that they can score point for point with an elite-level offense. In order to put up a win over Princeton, the Rangers will not only have to score big, but they’ll have to find a way to stop the Panther’s balanced attack.
TAPPS Quarterfinal
Frisco Legacy Christian (1-0) Vs. Fort Worth Temple Christian (1-0)—Fri. 11/22/13, 7:30 PM @ Flower Mound
In their TAPPS bi-district blowout of Garland Christian, FW Temple Christian left little up to the imagination as they exploded for a 46-13 lead at halftime. Their recipe for success included just one main ingredient: run, run, and then run some more.
RB Justin Carter was almost unstoppable as he racked up 253 yards on just 20 attempts, with a TD. QB Connor Moore (77 total yards) didn’t blow anybody away on the option read, but he did make the most of his seven rushing attempts, scoring on three of those carries. All told, they put up 357 rushing yards, and hung an impressive 53 points on the board. Despite how impressive FW Temple Christian was on offense, don’t overlook the fact that their defense squashed a Garland Christian offense that was number-one in the area in total team offense, averaging 507.8 ypg.
Although this is sure to be one intense battle, I still feel that Legacy Christian has a slight advantage over the Eagles of Temple Christian. Legacy Christian has more weapons than FW Temple, and an easily superior defense. Let’s not forget that Legacy ravaged a FW Calvary school—last week and they had the number-one ranked defense in the area.
Both teams have proven they can put points on the board, but this game will come down to which team can send a message defensively.
