Top McKinney Sports Stories 2012 - (No. 10) Out with a bang: North ends season on high note, runs over Denison, 62-24

(Editor's note: Undeterred by the breaks of a tough season, the McKinney North football team saved its best effort for last, winning two of its final three games, including an impressive 62-24 thrashing of rival Denison in their season finale. The original article appeared on Nov. 9.)

McKINNEY - With seemingly nothing left to play for but Bulldog pride, McKinney North saved its best for last.

North (3-7, 3-4 in District 13-4A) beat the Denison Yellow Jackets, 62-24, Friday night from Ron Poe Stadium. Senior running back Justin Jones rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns as the Bulldogs stuck to their ground-and-pound style until their season's final whistle.

"To come out that way and end it like that, that was nice," said Mike Fecci, North head coach. "It was what we set out to go do - go play the game the way you play it, go hard and get after people. This team had every reason in the world to come out here and not do that, and I think what they showed tonight is, they've got a lot of character, they've got a lot of guts."

Six days removed from a 50-26 loss to Wylie East that ended their playoff hopes, the Bulldogs quickly reminded fans their season wasn't over. They scored on their first four offensive possessions, and senior Marc Bresnahan added a 64-yard punt return touchdown to make it 34-11 by halftime.

Justin did the heavy lifting, carrying the ball 31 times, but it was sophomore counterpart Ronald Jones who punched in the game's first touchdowns. He scored on his first two carries, a 35-yarder and 42-yarder in the first quarter, then added a 3-yard touchdown and finished with 98 yards on eight carries.

"We got the ground game going early, Justin and Ronald both pounding it up in there," Fecci said. "I can't say enough about our offensive line, how much better they've gotten since week zero, just consistently each week getting better and better. They're very tight-knit. They take it personal; they love running the football."

Denison struggled to get anything going on offense until the fourth quarter, when many of North's backups were in on defense. Quarterback Clifton Hines completed 7 of 14 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, and Denard Whitfield ran the ball 20 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns, with his longest run 12 yards.

Though his passes came few and far between, North junior Ben Dutze had a perfect night, completing all seven throws for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wide-out Marcus Nobles scored them both on his only two catches in the game, a 23-yarder and 27-yarder on identical in-routes.

North kept its foot on the gas, driving through the middle of Denison's defense, nearly the entire game. After Ronald scored his third touchdown of the night on North's opening possession of the second half, the Bulldogs recovered their second straight squib kick, and Justin scored from two yards out to make it 48-11 halfway through the third quarter.

"We finally got our swag back tonight," Justin said. "We gave it all that we've got and left it all on the field."

Denison responded to North's first touchdown when Jake Walters kicked a 36-yard field goal, making it 7-3 early, and Whitfield's first touchdown cut it to 21-9 in the second quarter. Derick Bennett returned a blocked North extra point attempt 73 yards to close the gap to 34-11 at the half, but that was as close as Denison would get.

Nobles and Justin scored on consecutive North possessions in the second and third quarters, and Denison didn't score again until the first play of the fourth quarter, a 15-yard screen pass from Hines to Whitfield to make it 55-18.

North countered with seven straight Justin Jones runs, capped by a 2-yard plunge up the middle, his final touchdown as a Bulldog.

"We run the football (and) Justin Jones stepped into that role," Fecci said. "I can't say enough about the kind of kid that he is, the kind of work ethic that he has and the kind of burning desire that he has to be a great teammate. All those things encompass him and make him who he is; I'm glad we had him.

North nearly doubled Denison's yardage on the night (465 to 249), gaining 374 of it on the ground, and had just three penalties for 35 yards. It scored the most points for a Bulldogs team since 2006, when they put up 63 against McKinney Boyd.

"That's the legacy these guys will leave; it may not be a playoff legacy, but it's going to be guts and you've got to go play no matter what happens," Fecci said. "They play the game the way the game needs to be played - they play hard, and they always have. It's hard to replace that type of work ethic, and hopefully that's the legacy that these younger guys will carry forward."

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