They’re not geographically close to each other, unlike the proximity of the schools involved in the Odessa Permian-Midland Lee, Sherman-Denison and Lufkin-Longview rivalries.
They haven’t played each other regularly through the years, unlike Temple’s series with Killeen, Killeen Ellison, Waco and Bryan or Plano’s matchups with Plano East.
However, Temple and Plano - two proud, tradition-rich groups of Wildcats and two of the top four winningest programs in Texas high school football history - packed so much competitiveness, intensity and memories into their four meetings from 1978-83 that their rivalry endures even though they haven’t dueled in 25 years.
The rivalry is ready to be revived on Friday night, when second-ranked Plano (3-0) - striving for its 700th win - battles Temple (0-2) at Wildcat Stadium in the first non-playoff meeting between the schools.
Temple fourth-year coach Bryce Monsen wasn’t yet in Texas when undefeated Temple teams took on Plano in second-round playoff games in 1978, 1979 and 1980 and a regional semifinal in 1983, with Temple’s Wildcats winning only the ’79 clash en route to the first of their two state championships.
But Monsen has heard legendary former Wildcats coach Bob McQueen recall his memories - there’s plenty of positive and negative ones - of those four classics against coach Tom Kimbrough’s Plano Wildcats, which were decided by a total of 16 points.
“Coach is like a father, and I could sit here and listen to him all day,” Monsen said after McQueen, now a consultant to Temple’s coaching staff, broke down the Temple-Plano games. “It’s history. When I got here (as an assistant coach in 1995) the stories were always the Plano-Temple games.”
For three men who played key roles in the Temple-Plano rivalry, their memories of those gridiron wars remain vivid.
McQueen guided Temple to 243 wins, 18 playoff berths, 13 district titles and two state championships from 1972-99. But among opponents he faced three or more times, he had a losing record against only four - and Plano was one of them.
Asked which Temple-Plano game he thinks about the most, he chuckled and said, “I’d say the ’79 game, because we won. They beat us more than we beat them, and we don’t have a losing record against many people.
“It was always a David against Goliath thing, because we had about 2,000 students and Plano always had about 6,000,” he added. “Plano has had continuity forever in their coaching staff and they have had their program intact for a long time.”
Kenneth Davis, Temple’s star running back from 1978-80 who had successful careers at Texas Christian and in the NFL, said he still thinks about his three Temple-Plano tilts.
“I have a lot of great memories of those games,” said Davis, now the head football coach at Dallas Bishop Dunne. “We were such competitive schools, and we both had great tradition and well-coached teams.
“We were 1-2 against them,” he added, “so maybe my nephew (Temple junior linebacker Derrick Davis) can even it up for me. It’s a great challenge.”
Representing the Plano camp is first-year head coach Jaydon McCullough, who played for those Wildcats against Temple’s Wildcats in 1979 and 1980. Having been on the losing end of a 19-16 game as a junior and on the winning end of a 16-10 duel as a senior, McCullough can speak to the agony and ecstasy of battling Temple’s juggernaut teams.
“I got to play in those games against Temple as a junior and as a senior, and I’m looking forward to renewing the rivalry,” said McCullough, who’s been on Plano’s coaching staff for 15 years. “We love our tradition here, and our people, we’re not much different than Temple.
“We have a lot of respect for the tradition in Temple, and we’ll play hard. There’s a lot of excitement for this game.”
A summary of the four Temple-Plano games reveals that a single play had a large impact on the outcomes:
1978 (Texas Stadium, Irving): Plano 15, Temple 14
“We thought we could win it all that year, and I had two of my sons starting - Mark was a senior and Scott was a junior,” said McQueen, whose 11-0 team was ranked No. 1 in Class 4A (then Texas’ largest classification) and the nation. “We would have played Craig James and Houston Stratford (in the state final).”
Added Davis: “In ’78 we probably had one of the best teams of all time. It was probably the most talented team Temple has ever had.”
But Plano’s quarterback kept on an option play and fought through Temple’s defense at the goal line for a late touchdown and a 15-14 lead, then a 52-yard field-goal try - a penalty had pushed Temple back - by sophomore Davis fell just short, and Plano escaped with the upset victory.
“I don’t think about it but every day,” McQueen said. “That was my biggest hurt in coaching. To go into our locker room after the game, you’d have thought someone died.”
Said Davis: “I was young, and I cried.”
1979 (Baylor Stadium, Waco): Temple 19, Plano 16
Temple didn’t watch the film of its crushing loss to Plano until April, but that was all it took for Davis and his teammates to develop their goal for the 1979 season.
“As a class we watched it, and we knew we wanted to win for them (the ’78 seniors, including Davis’ brother Ernest),” Davis said. “We were very young and inexperienced in ’79, but that was the most fundamentally sound team. When we won the state championship, those guys were excited for us.”
Plano’s McCullough recalls his punt team slipping on the grass before Craig Lowe raced away to score on a return, and a pass from Robbie Harris to Davis led to the winning score against Plano. The Wildcats went on to beat Houston Memorial 28-6 to win their first state title and finish 15-0.
“We had a total of six starters back and we lost three or four (early in the season), including my son Scott,” McQueen said. “(But) the pain of losing the year before was a big part of the motivation for that group.”
1980 (Texas Stadium, Irving): Plano 16, Temple 10
After Temple completed its fifth consecutive 10-0 regular season and whipped Conroe 35-0 in bi-district, the Wildcats were denied against Plano by what they say was an official’s improper call.
“Craig Lowe had returned three punts for touchdowns in the playoffs, and against Plano we got a punt return for a touchdown that would’ve won the game but it got called back,” McQueen said. “It was a legitimate block, but a guy coming from behind tripped over a blocker and they called a penalty against us.”
Said Plano’s McCullough, a linebacker: “I made 18 tackles in that game, then I went home and took a bunch of Tylenol.”
1983 (Baylor Stadium, Waco): Plano 20, Temple 14
Temple had the lead and the ball when Melvin Collins broke free for a long run that figured to put the Wildcats in position for another score.
According to McQueen, Collins had the ball when he hit the ground, but when the ball bounced through the end zone the officials awarded possession to Plano on a touchback.
“He was clearly down,” McQueen said. “Instead of us scoring a touchdown, Plano drove and scored for a 14-point swing and went on to win.”
Monsen stopped short of guaranteeing a fifth classic in the Temple-Plano rivalry, but he’s certainly happy to see it renewed - and that he’ll finally be in the middle of it.
“They’ve very excited to restart the rivalry and so are we,” he said. “It’s a great measuring stick."
With any luck, Friday night’s clash of the Wildcats might measure up to the first four.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
