Bye weeks were made for football teams like McKinney North.

After a winless pre-district run that saw the Bulldogs drop games against Carrollton Newman Smith (21-17), Prosper (31-10) and Frisco Centennial (42-21), taking this week off will provide them with a measure of separation between that rough start and the beginning of their first season in District 13-4A.

“If you're 0-3, you want that bye week because it gives you the chance to stop and ask where you're really at and what you're about,” said Mike Fecci, North head coach.

North took two days off this week to rest, including Friday, before the seven-week grind of district commences. The Bulldogs won't get another break until the end of the season. If they make the playoffs, their streak of consecutive games would stretch across two months.

For now, they can spend some time reflecting on their year to date. Fecci said after Friday's loss to Centennial that he's “never felt better at 0-3” than he does now, and he's since reiterated and expounded on that sentiment.

“I like the mindset of our kids,” he said. “What I mean about that is they're not too down on themselves. They're disappointed that we're 0-3. There's no hiding that fact. They don't want to be 0-3, nobody wants to be that, but I still feel like we have a good nucleus with our team. I still feel like our team buys into each other and buys into what we're trying to get done.”

The Bulldogs opened and closed pre-district play on a promising note, but plenty of disappointing moments mired their progress in between.

The highlight of their season so far came early against Smith when they jumped to a 17-0 lead at the half on a field goal and two touchdown passes from junior quarterback Ben Dutze, who was making his first varsity start.

But momentum ebbed away from the Bulldogs from there as three turnovers in the second half and a Smith offense newly capable of capitalizing chipped away at their lead and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:47 left in the game.

After finding less success against Prosper the following week in a game that was never in question, the Bulldogs bookended their pre-district schedule with a quality performance against Centennial – at least, most of one.

After falling behind 35-0 midway through the second quarter, North managed to make a game of it the rest of the way. The Bulldogs scored the final 14 points of the first half on an 11-yard pass from Dutze to senior wideout Evan Jones and a 38-yard run from junior running back Trey Smith, the team's leading rusher, set up by an interception.

North held the Titans – its most difficult opponent – to just one touchdown in the second half and matched it with one of its own, and while that showing did nothing to change the outcome of what was still a lopsided game, it added another tinge of positivity to their pre-district performance.

“Overall, we've improved each week,” Fecci said. “The level of our competition has gone up each week, and I think we've improved each week because of it. I think Friday night was evidence of where we've come in this program. It wasn't too long ago that if we were down 35-0, we probably would have checked it in, and we never did that Friday. We just kept fighting and kept clawing and kept scratching.

“That's a testament to the kind of kids we have, and that's what I think gives us an advantage when we go into district play.”

North can take heart in the difficulty of the schedule it's played – Prosper and Centennial remain undefeated and Smith went 2-1 in pre-district – but things won't ease up when they open district against Sherman.

The Bearcats opened the season with consecutive wins against Little Elm (57-56) and Sulphur Springs (49-44) and a competitive loss against Highland Park (35-21). They enter district as a front-runner for the 13-4A title.

“Theoretically all three of the teams we've played should be in the playoffs and that's good,” Fecci said. “That's only going to benefit us down the line.”

In his first season under center, Dutze has thrown for 379 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions on 38-of-79 passing (48 percent) and has rushed for an additional two touchdowns. His top target is Jones, who has 109 yards and a touchdown reception on 15 catches, though he's down a good job of spreading the ball around and has connected with nine different players.

“I think Dutze has improved each week in his decision-making process,” Fecci said.

Dutze has benefited from the week-by-week improvement shown by an offensive line composed of senior Shawn Yoo and juniors Uche Ugwunze, Austin Horton, Travis Chapman, Nathan Knipe and Jose Quintero.

The Bulldogs entered the season with a two-way philosophy that required every player to be able to play a position on both sides of the ball, but their offensive and defensive line have so far been able to keep to their own sides.

Jones and fellow wide receiver and defensive back Marc Bresnahan have been among the few players who have seen significant time both ways, as Fecci said the system, as expected, had been somewhat phased out.

Once they come back from their bye and enter the grind of district, the Bulldogs could find a need for a deeper roster. If things go well for them and they make the playoffs, they won't be getting another break for awhile.

“[The bye] always comes at a good time,” Fecci said. “We can take a breath and work on our grades and get some people healthy. We also have to go back and work on a few things that we've identified as things we need to work on and go to it.”

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