Sports Update
From the ground up: McKinney continues to make gridiron strides
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
Gauging success in sports is often relative and considering how far the McKinney football team has come in only a year, the word 'success' fits quite nicely.
"I feel like our team overachieved," said McKinney head coach Jeff Smith. "I feel like we surprised a lot of people. We overachieved in many ways. That said, I'm not happy with the result, we would have liked to have made the playoffs, but I'm very pleased with the season as a whole and how far they've come."
Last year the Lions were completing a tough 2011 season in which they finished 0-10. This year, the Lions were 5-5 with the opportunity to make the playoffs in the final game of the regular season.
"The fact that we're talking about playoffs is a good tribute to our kids and everything they did," Smith said. "It means a lot. Last year it was all about going to [Class] 5A and how we would adjust to that, with us being one of the smallest schools in 5A. Our kids didn't worry about it, they started working in the offseason. Especially our group of seniors, who put the work in and did everything we asked of them and they did a really good job."
The Lions would lose their regular season finale to their cross-town rivals, McKinney Boyd. Still, Smith knows it says a lot about a program to go from winless one year to still in the playoff hunt entering the district finale the very next year.
"We were in the playoff picture right to the end and that's what I want, to have that chance," he said. "It's a positive. Hopefully our young guys have had a chance to watch and learn from that and gain confidence as a program from that, that we can compete and go further moving forward."
The Lions' dynamic passing attack was led by senior quarterback Robert Somborn, who finished the year 196-of-309 on pass attempts for 2,858 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
"Robert progressed really well this season," Smith said. "His leadership and his physical ability were tremendous."
Somborn's top target was Connor Fuentes, who had 72 receptions for 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns. Other Lions receivers also had strong seasons as Somborn shared the wealth with TV Williams (45 receptions for 789 yards and 10 touchdowns) and Jonathan Shannon (50 receptions for 738 yards and eight touchdowns).
McKinney's ground game was led by Shannon's 691 yards and five touchdowns, followed by Tommy Candela's 596 yards and three touchdowns.
"Connor Fuentes had over 1,000 yards receiving, one of the most in the district," Smith said. "And he does it so quietly with great play. He was steady all year long. Jonathan Shannon and TV Williams also had great years stepping us, so did Tommy Candela."
Smith said there were just as many key contributors for the Lions on the other side of the ball.
"Defensively, one of our safeties, Mac Simpson, was solid all year as was Matt Reynolds and Dalton Harris at linebacker," Smith said. "And our defensive line was one of our strengths this year with Isaac Luviano, Kennan Samuel and Troy Taylor."
McKinney began its 2012 campaign with a 55-46 shootout victory against Mansfield Legacy. It marked the team's first win since the 2010 season.
"Our first game of the year was pretty important," Smith said. "We were coming off that tough year before. Mansfield Legacy is a good team and we had to play them on the road. Our kids were still kind of reeling from questions of 'What are we? Are we going to get this done?' Our kids won that game and it was a difficult one to win and that really charged us and got us off to a good start."
Wins against Frisco Heritage, Irving Nimitz, and North Garland followed, as McKinney suddenly found itself at 4-0, before losses to Denton Ryan and Plano Senior. The Lions would rebound, taking a 24-12 win against district rival Plano East.
"The Plano East game is the biggest win we've had since I've been here," Smith said. "That really put us in a good spot and to beat a program of that magnitude was a big deal for our kids."
The Lions would falter the rest of the way, but Smith said the confidence the team gained from this season compared to last cannot be denied.
"I'm excited for our program, because I feel like we've laid the groundwork to the benefit of our future classes and teams," he said. "We got some really nice pieces coming back as well as some role players who played a lot of snaps this year on both sides of the ball. We got to get stronger and faster, like every team. Finding our identity, that's going to be our task this offseason."
With the 2011 season getting farther behind them with each day and the marked improvement of this season still fresh in their minds, Smith said he's ready to embrace the challenge of next fall as he takes one last look as the promising season the Lions just had.
"What I'll remember most is the joy of each win," he said. "Coming off the season we had last year, we don't take anything for granted. Every win is sweet and special. Seeing the joy and excitement on our players' faces after the opening season win was special. It was great to see our hard work pay off. That's what you play for and that was the most satisfying thing this past season."
"I feel like our team overachieved," said McKinney head coach Jeff Smith. "I feel like we surprised a lot of people. We overachieved in many ways. That said, I'm not happy with the result, we would have liked to have made the playoffs, but I'm very pleased with the season as a whole and how far they've come."
Last year the Lions were completing a tough 2011 season in which they finished 0-10. This year, the Lions were 5-5 with the opportunity to make the playoffs in the final game of the regular season.
"The fact that we're talking about playoffs is a good tribute to our kids and everything they did," Smith said. "It means a lot. Last year it was all about going to [Class] 5A and how we would adjust to that, with us being one of the smallest schools in 5A. Our kids didn't worry about it, they started working in the offseason. Especially our group of seniors, who put the work in and did everything we asked of them and they did a really good job."
The Lions would lose their regular season finale to their cross-town rivals, McKinney Boyd. Still, Smith knows it says a lot about a program to go from winless one year to still in the playoff hunt entering the district finale the very next year.
"We were in the playoff picture right to the end and that's what I want, to have that chance," he said. "It's a positive. Hopefully our young guys have had a chance to watch and learn from that and gain confidence as a program from that, that we can compete and go further moving forward."
The Lions' dynamic passing attack was led by senior quarterback Robert Somborn, who finished the year 196-of-309 on pass attempts for 2,858 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
"Robert progressed really well this season," Smith said. "His leadership and his physical ability were tremendous."
Somborn's top target was Connor Fuentes, who had 72 receptions for 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns. Other Lions receivers also had strong seasons as Somborn shared the wealth with TV Williams (45 receptions for 789 yards and 10 touchdowns) and Jonathan Shannon (50 receptions for 738 yards and eight touchdowns).
McKinney's ground game was led by Shannon's 691 yards and five touchdowns, followed by Tommy Candela's 596 yards and three touchdowns.
"Connor Fuentes had over 1,000 yards receiving, one of the most in the district," Smith said. "And he does it so quietly with great play. He was steady all year long. Jonathan Shannon and TV Williams also had great years stepping us, so did Tommy Candela."
Smith said there were just as many key contributors for the Lions on the other side of the ball.
"Defensively, one of our safeties, Mac Simpson, was solid all year as was Matt Reynolds and Dalton Harris at linebacker," Smith said. "And our defensive line was one of our strengths this year with Isaac Luviano, Kennan Samuel and Troy Taylor."
McKinney began its 2012 campaign with a 55-46 shootout victory against Mansfield Legacy. It marked the team's first win since the 2010 season.
"Our first game of the year was pretty important," Smith said. "We were coming off that tough year before. Mansfield Legacy is a good team and we had to play them on the road. Our kids were still kind of reeling from questions of 'What are we? Are we going to get this done?' Our kids won that game and it was a difficult one to win and that really charged us and got us off to a good start."
Wins against Frisco Heritage, Irving Nimitz, and North Garland followed, as McKinney suddenly found itself at 4-0, before losses to Denton Ryan and Plano Senior. The Lions would rebound, taking a 24-12 win against district rival Plano East.
"The Plano East game is the biggest win we've had since I've been here," Smith said. "That really put us in a good spot and to beat a program of that magnitude was a big deal for our kids."
The Lions would falter the rest of the way, but Smith said the confidence the team gained from this season compared to last cannot be denied.
"I'm excited for our program, because I feel like we've laid the groundwork to the benefit of our future classes and teams," he said. "We got some really nice pieces coming back as well as some role players who played a lot of snaps this year on both sides of the ball. We got to get stronger and faster, like every team. Finding our identity, that's going to be our task this offseason."
With the 2011 season getting farther behind them with each day and the marked improvement of this season still fresh in their minds, Smith said he's ready to embrace the challenge of next fall as he takes one last look as the promising season the Lions just had.
"What I'll remember most is the joy of each win," he said. "Coming off the season we had last year, we don't take anything for granted. Every win is sweet and special. Seeing the joy and excitement on our players' faces after the opening season win was special. It was great to see our hard work pay off. That's what you play for and that was the most satisfying thing this past season."
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