PLANO – Consider Friday a full-circle moment for Plano football team.
The Wildcats had their playoff hopes take a hit in the penultimate week of the 2024 season after a 24-21 loss to Prosper Rock Hill, which went on to upset McKinney the following week and claim the final postseason spot in District 6-6A – with Plano being the odd man out.
With similar stakes hovering over Friday’s rematch from Clark Stadium, the Wildcats got one back on the Blue Hawks and have their first playoff appearance since 2022 to show for it – overcoming a 10-0 halftime deficit to overtake Rock Hill, 21-16.
With a bye next week, Plano finishes out its 6-6A campaign at 5-3 and in sole possession of third place. Rock Hill, meanwhile, drops to 3-4 and tied for fifth place with Princeton – as well as a game back of fourth-place Plano West –heading into the final week of the regular season.
“It’s been a process getting a very young team like this to believe,” said Cody White, Plano head coach. “Our motto all year has been ‘faith to finish’ and these dudes have the faith to finish. That last 24 minutes, we played pretty well. They’ve earned it and I’m proud of them.”
The Wildcats closed out the regular season at 6-3, the program’s highest win total since 2017. Needing a win to ensure a return to the playoffs, Plano conjured arguably its best half of the season after being shut out through the first two quarters, 10-0, while mustering only 34 yards of offense.
“It was quiet (at halftime), but we knew that it was a 48-minute game and these guys have found ways to win all year long, and we reminded them of that,” White said. “The game isn’t judged on 24 minutes but 48, so we just had to make something happen on offense.”
The Wildcats were quick to flip the script coming out of the break by stringing together 21 unanswered points, including back-to-back touchdown drives to open the third quarter. Plano exceeded its entire first-half yardage total in just six plays, moving the chains on fourth-and-3 on a 22-yard run by senior Chance Culley and later getting a 6-yard touchdown pass from sophomore CJ Smith to sophomore Kaedyn Brown to cut Rock Hill’s lead to 10-7 with 8:50 left in the third quarter.
Culley found the end zone on the team’s next possession, punctuating a nine-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal to give the Wildcats their first lead of the night at 14-10 with 2:00 remaining in the frame.
Following a defensive-minded first half, Plano accrued 201 of its 235 yards over the final two quarters.
“It starts with Chance Culley, who is the best running back in this district,” White said. “Our offensive line did a good job for him and then our young guys really settled in and made some plays as far as throwing the football. It was a team effort. We have to find ways to move the ball offensively without having to rely so much on Chance and we did that enough to give ourselves a chance tonight.”
Culley recorded 123 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, and he and sophomore Kameryn Brown took over late after Plano’s defense forced a turnover on downs with 7:56 remaining in the game. The Wildcats shaved 4:53 off the game clock behind eight straight runs for 53 yards between the two running backs before Smith dropped off a shovel pass to Kaedyn Brown for a 4-yard touchdown and a 21-10 lead with 3:03 remaining.
“That was a drive that I think got a lot of demons out of this program from their recent history,” White said. “It’s been a while and you have to get your guys to learn and believe they can win. If we can do that, we can build something pretty special here.”
Rock Hill, held scoreless since the opening quarter, made it interesting late after senior Nate Vincent found senior Bryce Allen for a 26-yard touchdown, but the Blue Hawks were unable to convert the two-point try nor could they recover the onside kick.
Rock Hill used its final two timeouts and backed Plano to third-and-8, but Culley was able to break through the defense for an 11-yard gain – eschewing a likely touchdown run in favor of intentionally going down to allow Plano to kneel out the remainder of the game clock.
It was the proverbial tale of two halves, as Rock Hill’s defense dictated the early goings. The Blue Hawks posted their second straight first-half shutout and built a 10-0 lead on a 24-yard field goal by senior Cohen Jones followed by an interception from senior Donyae Williams, which set up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Vincent to junior Alijah Adefunmi with 4:19 left in the opening frame.
“They’re a good team and they really got after us early on,” White said. “They were coming off their bye week and did some different stuff. Coach (Mark) Wilkinson does a good job over there, but our guys have played 10 straight weeks without a bye and that’s tough. I’m proud of them.”
Allen tallied 63 receiving yards and a touchdown in defeat, as Rock Hill takes its pursuit of back-to-back playoff spots down to the final week of the regular season. The Blue Hawks return to action at 7 p.m. Friday from Children’s Health Stadium against McKinney – needing a win plus a loss by Plano West against Prosper to secure a postseason berth.
Plano, meanwhile, will get an extra week to rest up and see where the chips fall elsewhere in the district to determine whether they’ll be competing in the Class 6A Division I or Division II playoff brackets.