{"id":408832,"date":"2026-08-17T11:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/408832\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:44:10","slug":"senior-wideouts-standing-out-in-planos-run-happy-offense-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/408832\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior wideouts standing out in Plano\u2019s run-happy offense \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a wide receiver arrives at Plano<\/a> High School, they know what they\u2019re signing up for even before they don their purple and white jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time you come to Plano as a wide receiver, you know you\u2019re going to block,\u201d Plano coach Kyle Tutt said. <\/p>\n

After all, the Reapers are a run-happy team. They carried the ball on 70% of their offensive plays last season. That shouldn\u2019t change much with Cooper Beaty<\/a> now taking handoffs from new quarterback and fellow junior Ryder Knapp.<\/p>\n

But when Knapp gets to use his arm, he\u2019ll have a dynamic platoon of wide receivers at his disposal in seniors Ethan Taxis, Logan Martin and Finley Winter.<\/p>\n

Taxis, who also plays defensive back, was a mainstay for the Plano offense last fall. He led the team with 26 catches for 219 yards and added 235 rushing yards, scoring four total touchdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthan Taxis coming back is going to give us a great opportunity,\u201d Tutt said. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the kids that had a high volume of minutes on the offensive side and defensive side of the ball last year. We plan to see him continue to grow in that role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taxis is also the most seasoned member of the trio, but not the oldest. That distinction belongs to the 18-year-old Winter, who is known amongst his teammates as \u201cUnc.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the kids on the team look up to him,\u201d Taxis said. \u201cThe younger guys look up to him because he always knows what to do, everything right to do. If you need to learn something, he\u2019s always there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Plano's<\/p>\n

Plano’s Ethan Taxis goes for yards after a catch during last season’s game with Woodstock in Plano. (Photo provided by Mark D. Parris)<\/p>\n

Winter played exclusively on defense last season, playing outside linebacker in the final six games and totaling 37 tackles and a forced fumble.<\/p>\n

Now the Reapers are tapping into his potential on the offensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is he going to be a great wide receiver, but he\u2019s also a great blocker for us,\u201d Tutt said, \u201cand I think you\u2019ll see that in our formations and the things we do with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Winter, Martin is waiting to record his first varsity catch. He was one of Plano\u2019s starting cornerbacks in 2025, recording 43 tackles and three interceptions, including a pick-six.<\/p>\n

This year, Martin will also line up as the X receiver \u2013 a spot well suited for a track athlete with blazing speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to burn that DB,\u201d Winter said.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s a run-first offense in Plano, and Tutt says his wideouts know where they fit into the equation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have taken that ownership of doing that [blocking],\u201d he said. \u201cThey take that lead from the offensive line that we have this year, and that we are going to be a physical, upfront team, and they want to be physical on the edges.\u201d<\/p>\n

More importantly, the three have embraced their roles on the team\u2019s six-man leadership council, alongside Beaty, Niko Bandyk and Quinn Lyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re half of our leadership team that work together to facilitate our program and our culture,\u201d Tutt said. \u201cWe put a lot on their shoulders, and they\u2019ve done an excellent job leading our team this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Reapers enter their third year under Tutt\u2019s command, looking to wash away last fall\u2019s 1-8 record. <\/p>\n

Plano opens the season Aug. 21 with a nonconference game at Ottawa, but another opponent has the seniors\u2019 attention: Sandwich.<\/p>\n

The archrivals will meet Sept. 4 in the final \u201cWar on 34\u2033 matchup for the foreseeable future as the Indians prepare to jump ship for the Illinois Central Eight next year. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost to them last year. I want to beat them this year,\u201d Taxis said. \u201cSenior year, I\u2019m coming for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a wide receiver arrives at Plano High School, they know what they\u2019re signing up for even before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[135877,619,586,160,162,161,41688],"class_list":["post-408832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-fnd-kendall-county","tag-friday-night-drive-front-headlines","tag-high-school-football","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-news","tag-plano-preps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}