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District Redux: Broncos reunite with former rivals after dominant three-game stretch
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Santos / jennifersantosphotography.com
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
McKinney Boyd is no fool, but its rushing into district.
The Broncos (3-2) head into their bye week with a winning record after three consecutive victories. They closed out the first half of the season with wins against Garland (31-21), Rockwall (44-7) and Lewisville (42-14) powered by the dominant play of senior running back Bryan Driskell.
During that stretch, Driskell rushed for 706 yards and scored nine touchdowns, including a punt and kickoff return, to boost his season totals to 915 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He is now second in the area among Class 5A players in rushing yards and third in scoring.
After opening the season with losses against Mesquite Horn (38-20) and Coppell (31-6), the Broncos have improved in just about every aspect of play recently. While that was to be expected given an easier set of opponents – Coppell is ranked No. 5 in the state by the Associated Press – their recent run is still impressive and remains the perfect momentum boost heading into district.
Boyd's offense as a whole has been increasingly productive this season, culminating with a 483-yard performance against Rockwall and a 537-yard performance against Lewisville. The Broncos were averaging just 238 yards per game up to that point.
While much of that yardage went to Driskell, the Broncos' passing game, and the play of junior quarterback Curtis Ladd in particular, has been improving as well. Ladd threw for 142 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-16 passing (63 percent) against Rockwall and 104 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 7-of-11 passing (64 percent) against Lewisville, which he paired with 90 yards rushing.
Before those games, Boyd was averaging just 75 passing yards per game.
On the season, Ladd has thrown for 470 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions on 39-of-76 passing (51 percent). The Broncos have been in the process of refining their aerial play and continuing to do so once district begins will be critical.
“Curtis has played well,” Drake said. “In terms of grading a quarterback's performance, its about taking care of the football and making the right decisions, those kinds of things. That stuff, in my opinion, is all in his control.”
The Broncos defense has also been contributing more than its fair share of late. They've forced nine turnovers during the past two games and turned in a points of their own on a 31-yard fumble return for a touchdown by senior defensive back Taylor Fann against Rockwall.
Boyd is currently led in tackles by senior safety Dalyon Markham (67), who is followed by senior linebacker Paine Matiscik (53) and Fann (40).
“Defensively, we've done some really good things over the last five weeks,” Drake said. “Coming into the season, we knew we had some young kids that were going to have to go in their and play, and I think they've played really well. In the last three weeks, we've created quite a few turnovers, which has been huge for us.”
The Broncos will need to continue to perform well defensively when they open district by hosting Plano West on Friday at Ron Poe Stadium. The Wolves have one of the area's most prolific offenses and are averaging 447 yards and 33 points per game.
West isn't the only high-scoring team in 10-5A either. The district is packed with playmakers and features the two top offenses in the area in Plano East and McKinney, who rank first and second in yards per game. The Panthers are also first in scoring with 49 points per game.
All of Boyd's new 10-5A opponents are carryovers from one of its previous districts, and the majority of them – Plano, West, East and Allen – were part of the group that handed them an 1-11 introduction to Class 5A during the 2008-09 district seasons.
The Broncos are expected to fare better this time around, and if their recent surge is any evidence of what's to come, a measure of redemption is within reach. The six-team format of the district means most teams will make the playoffs, but it also places a premium on each game – starting with West.
“The unity in this group is strong,” Drake said. “They like each other, they play well together, they play hard for each other and they support each other. I don't want to say that's unique, but some years are better than others with respect to that.”
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