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Reapers Slay Green Dragons

Plano Advances To 3A Quarters With Win At Aledo

By Bill Lidinsky

  When a high school football team goes on the road for the first time in any playoff season, there usually comes a sense of anxiety, a fear of the unknown so to speak, especially when said team knows relatively little about their opponent.

  This season could have applied to the Plano football Reapers as they embarked on their initial road game of the 2007 post season traveling 150 miles west on November 3 to battle a team somewhat foreign to them in the Aledo Green Dragons.

  But what became evident quite quickly during last Saturday afternoon’s second round gridiron contest is that the Reapers suffered from none of this trepidation whatsoever. In fact, they seemed very calm, cool, and collected in embracing the road game challenge. So much, that they “puffed” out any Dragon hopes of victory in the opening period.

  Behind 21 first quarter points and a remarkable 139 yard rushing effort by sophomore Jeremy Cannon in the opening stanza, Plano squelched any fears of nervousness on their way to a 41-20 victory. The defending IHSA 3A champions have now won their last seven straight post season contests and the last 10-of-11 dating back to the 2005 campaign.

  “Overall we’ve got to be very happy. We were on the road and we won by three touchdowns and now we get to play in round three,” said Plano head football coach Jim Green. “Obviously we scouted Aledo very well, but we’ve never played them because they were 1A last season before they went to their co-op. But we got off to a good start against a very strong club and we carried it from there.”

  The Reapers took the opening kickoff and quickly went to work. In just one minute and seven seconds, Plano went 64 yards on five plays. Cannon’s 39 yard jaunt set up senior Adam Iverson’s 10-yard touchdown run at 10:51. Kevin Jernigan’s point after kick was good and the Reapers led almost in a blink of an eye 7-0.

  Plano cornerback Brian Green then intercepted Aledo on their first possession at the Reaper 47. From there, Cannon accounted for 48 yards out of the next four plays including a 12-yard touchdown run at 6:02. Jernigan's kick again was true and the Reapers were in charge early 14-0.

  “I had a lot of energy in the first quarter. The blocking was there and I was able to break loose on a couple of big runs,” Cannon said. “Our defense helped us out early and we were able to gain a big advantage.”

  Aledo dented the scoreboard next however after the Reapers fumbled deep in their own territory. Matt Dawson tallied in a 26-yard run with just 1:06 to go in the opening period. The Green Dragon’s point after kick was no good and Plano still led 14-6.

  But on the next series, Cannon gained 52 yards from scrimmage on the first play. From there, Green switched roles to quarterback and dove into the end zone for a 3-yard score to give the Reapers a 21-6 advantage after Jernigan's kick as both team’s entered the second quarter.

  No scoring in the second period despite Green’s second interception on defense, but the two clubs braced for what would be a exciting second half of football.

  “We knew Aledo wouldn’t give up,” Jim Green said. “The initial possession of the second half was critical and we believed we had to set the tone in the third quarter and we did.”

  The Green Dragons opened the final half and gained some yardage. But on a fourth and one from their own 44, senior cornerback Alec Haws picked off Aledo quarterback Brett Anderson’s pass and rambled 46-yards for a touchdown. Jernigan's kick was good and Plano was in control 28-6.

  “I needed a pick. The coaches were telling me that it was my turn. So I jumped around and picked it on their quick slant,” Haws said. “The coaches told me all week that if I picked one nobody would catch me. That’s what happened.”

  Aledo added two scores late in the third quarter to make things interesting as the fourth period started with the Reapers only up by eight 28-20. But Green hit pay dirt at 10:57 of the final period on an 11-yard run and Cannon capped the festivities on a 61-yard scamper at 7:43 to give Plano the 21 point victory.

  “Everyone just blocked down very well. I saw one guy that was about to catch me, but my lineman pulled and took him out an I was gone,” Cannon said.

  Cannon ended up with 230 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns on the day, while senior Luis Alvarado toted the ball 14 times for 74 yards. Plano amasses 333 yards rushing, while Aledo could only muster 74. The Green Dragons did put up an impressive 179 yards through the air in the loss.

  “We took their best shot in the third quarter and we withstood their punch,” Jim Green said. “That’s what a championship team has to do on the road in the playoffs and we did it. Now we have to move on.”

  Plano (10-1) will now go on the state quarterfinals on Saturday at St. Joseph-Ogden (11-0) who defeated Wilmington last Saturday night 26-7. The game will mark a rematch of the state title game from 2006 in which the Reapers were a 47-42 victor.

  Needless to say, once again the Reapers will face a critical road playoff contest in 2007 in order to continue their run toward a second straight IHSA 3A football crown against the very same team they defeated to claim glory in 2006.

  “St. Joe is much the same as they were last year. They have a couple of new people and we can’t forget the juniors they had that played so well against us in the championship game last year,” Green said. “No matter what, we’re going to have to play another great game on the road if we expect to be state champions again. Aledo gave us a nice test, but the next test may be our greatest if we want to defend our championship.”