The result was two losses by a total of 11 points, including last week’s 13-10, double-overtime defeat against Leander at Wildcat Stadium.
Although the Wildcats (0-2) have tested themselves, tonight they will take a huge step up in competition when they battle a 3-0 Plano team that’s ranked second in the state in 5A and seventh in the country by Rivals.com.
“Everybody’s excited for this opportunity and challenge,” Temple coach Bryce Monsen said of his team's final game before the Wildcats begin District 12-5A. “It’s fun to get to play a very good Plano team that’s nationally ranked.
“We played well enough to win against Leander. We still have to find a way to win a football game, but our kids gained confidence. We were very disappointed that we didn’t win, but the kids know they have a very big task at hand against Plano, so we didn’t talk about the Leander game for very long.”
After opening the season with wins against fellow Metroplex teams Irving MacArthur, DeSoto and Lewisville Hebron, Plano first-year head coach Jaydon McCullough says he’s ready to see his Wildcats get out of their comfort zone and test themselves on the road.
“We’re looking at this as a dress rehearsal to see how we travel if we’re fortunate enough to get out of district and make the playoffs,” McCullough said. “This is good for our kids to travel to play a team of Temple’s caliber. We have a lot of respect for their tradition.
“We know that Temple is much better than its record, like Hebron was last week,” he added. “Temple has a good football team that is talented, solid and well-coached. They have a lot of pride in their program, and I’ve told our kids, ‘If you think they’re going to lay down, you’re wrong.’”
Along with its pursuit of its eighth state championship, Plano has a little extra incentive tonight. The Wildcats need one win to become the third program in Texas high school football history to amass 700 victories.
Dallas Highland Park (702) and Amarillo (700) have reached that milestone this season. Temple is fourth with 676 wins, well ahead of fifth-place Corsicana (639).
“We’re proud of our seven state championships, and we’d like to add an eighth,” said McCullough, a 1981 Plano graduate who played in two playoff games against undefeated Temple teams - a 19-16 Temple win in 1979 and a 16-10 Plano victory in 1980.
“We have really good kids who are very motivated and goal-oriented. They understand, they want (that state title) and they don’t shy away from that. But if they get on their high horse, I’m not afraid to knock them off.”
To knock off Plano, Temple must first find a way to contain prolific, highly recruited running back Rex Burkhead. A 6-foot, 205-pound senior and a four-year varsity player, Burkhead rushed for 1,768 yards and 33 touchdowns last season as Plano reached the 5A Division I state semifinals before losing in double-overtime to eventual champion Euless Trinity, this year’s top-ranked team.
Burkhead has 367 yards and five scores this year.
“They call him Superman, and he’s a physical runner who can stop on a dime and also has the speed to break a long one,” Monsen said of Burkhead, who had 376 all-purpose yards - including 172 rushing and an 89-yard kickoff return - against Hebron.
Monsen jokingly added: “Hopefully he misses the bus or gets food poisoning.”
Said McCullough: “He’s been on the varsity since he was a freshman, and he’s the most humble kid you’d ever meet.”
Of course, Temple has a star running back of its own in speedy junior Lache Seastrunk, a 1,532-yard, 19-touchdown rusher last year who’s added 341 yards and three scores this season.
“You better get him before he gets going, because you’re not going to catch him,” McCullough said of Seastrunk. “We’ve got to contain him, and, to be honest, we haven’t done a good job so far. We’ve got a ways to go on defense and we’re making some personnel changes.”
Said Seastrunk of battling Plano: “We’re looking forward to the competition. It’s going to bring out all we have.”
Back to Plano’s offense, the Wildcats have a dynamic aerial combination in accurate senior left-handed quarterback Carson Meger (school-record 3,352 passing yards, 24 TDs in 2007) and big-play senior receiver Kris Lott (72 catches, 1,263 yards, 11 TDs in ’07).
“Plano is a lot like the Pflugerville team we faced last year (in the first round of the playoffs) - tremendous athletes,” Monsen said, referring to the squad that edged the Wildcats 34-31 in overtime and reached the 5A Division II state final before losing to Katy. “Plano has even bigger kids and they have a lot more kids.”
Plano possesses a deep arsenal of offensive weapons, but both coaches know that Temple’s defense has the potential to slow down the visiting Wildcats tonight.
“Our kids have played six quarters of really good defense,” Monsen said. “The Wildcats have played some tough, tough folks so far and our defense has played well.”
McCullough, too, is wary of facing Derrick Davis, Garfield Hawk and Temple’s defense - not to mention a Wing-T offense that Plano just doesn’t see much of in its area.
“Their defense is big, strong and aggressive,” he said. “And their type of offense, they believe in it and it presents some problems for us.”
gwille@temple-telegram.com
