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Lion tamers: Allen cruises past McKinney to secure district title
BY Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
MCKINNEY -- A football team can't do much if it doesn't protect the ball.
McKinney (5-4, 1-3) learned this the hard way, plagued by costly turnovers early in a 67-14 loss to Allen (8-1, 4-0) Friday from Ron Poe Stadium.
"It was a tight game. [McKinney] has got a great offense that can move the ball up and down the field, but our defense stepped up and played real well," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach. "We gave up quite a few yards in the first half, but buckled down in the second."
"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a lot of times early," said Jeff Smith, McKinney head coach. "We didn't capitalize and that was hard on us; we could've used those points, but we weren't able to do it because of turnovers and bad snaps, those kinds of things."
Allen clinched its seventh straight district title with the win.
The Lions moved downfield quickly on their opening drive before a fumble at the Eagles' 35-yard line gave Allen its first possession. The Eagles capitalized off the Lions turnover as a few plays later sophomore quarterback Kyler Murray saw an open space and took off for the 18-yard touchdown run, giving Allen an 8-0 lead after a successful two-point conversion.
On their next drive, Murray connected with junior Kendall Clinton for a 21-yard completion that gave the Eagles a first and goal from the 4. Murray ran in a 1-yard score two plays later to expand the Eagles lead to 15-0 late in the first.
Murray finished the night 12-of-16, passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns to one interception while also running in two scores.
"[Murray] can go with just about anything teams throw at him," Westerberg said. "It's a lot of fun for an offense to have a dual-threat quarterback like that."
The Lions were struggling before quarterback Robert Somborn found Connor Fuentes for 39 yards on play action. Two plays later Somborn again found Fuentes for 23 yards for a first and goal from the 3.
Somborn finished the night 16-of-31 for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
The Lions, however, turned it over again, this time on second-and-goal. A poor snap from under center sailed over Somborn's head, which Allen recovered for the turnover.
The Lions' defense forced a third-and-10 from their own 20, which saw Murray thrown an interception to McKinney cornerback Jumaane Ross-Brown, preventing the Eagles from reaching the end zone for a third time. The Lions, however, did little with the new possession, resulting in a punt that gave Allen the ball at midfield.
It took the Eagles only two plays before senior running back Marcus Ward ran in a largely untouched 30-yard score for a 22-0 Allen lead. It was the first of two long touchdown runs for Ward.
"He's playing really well," Westerberg said. "Getting better every week."
Somborn and company fired back as he quickly found T.V. Williams for a 58-yard score, cutting Allen's lead to 22-7 midway through the second.
"I was proud of how well our kids fought," Smith said. "Our kids battled and I'm proud of their effort."
On Allen's next possession, Ward picked up where he left off, taking in a bruising 22-yard run past the goal line for the 29-7 Eagles lead. Murray and his Allen teammates continued to assert their might with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Murray to junior Cole Carter to make it 36-7 Eagles.
The Lions responded again but, with less than 20 seconds left in the half, Eagles junior running back Jaelen Barlow busted through for a spectacular 63-yard run to make it 43-14 Allen at the break.
The onslaught continued in the second half.
Allen took just 11 seconds off the clock on a three-play drive as Murray and senior receiver Cameron Calcote teamed up for a 35-yard score and 50-14 Allen advantage.
The Eagles continued to pad their lead with several starters on the bench as touchdown runs by senior Oliver Pierce and junior Ryan Hoogerwerf as well as a 19-yard field goal by junior Carlos Arochi sandwiched set the final at 67-14.
That win, combined with a loss by Galena Park North Shore, bumped Allen up to No. 6 in the latest AP Class 5A state poll. The Eagles close the regular season at 7:30 p.m. Friday when they host Plano Senior.
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