National title contender’s defense holds foe to -14 yards rushing in win
Allen High (Allen, Tex.) is considered a legitimate contender for the 2013 mythical high school national title. The Eagles are undefeated, possess a powerful offense, the nation's most ballyhooed home stadium and a truly ferocious defense. How ferocious? Just ask the Plano East football team (Plano, Tex.).
In a matchup of regional rivals, Allen cruised past Plano East in a 62-17 blowout. While there are exactly as many impressive stats as one might imagine in the course of a 45 point victory, one stood out above all others: Allen held Plano East to -14 yards rushing.
That's right, by the end of the game, Plano East had gone backwards when attempting to run the ball forward. The incredible stat was part of an impressive all-round defensive performance in which Plano East had just 9 yards of total offense after the first quarter and trailed 38-0 with just less than 5 minutes remaining in the first half. As noted by the Dallas Morning News, by the end of the game, Plano East had nearly as many punt yards as total offensive yards (226 to 256).
"The kids were ready to play," Allen coach Tom Westerberg told the Morning News. "Our coaches are doing an awesome job getting them ready. … It's always fun to get off to a fast start.
"It's the sixth huge defensive effort. They have played good all year long and are continuing to play that way."
It's worth considering that Plano East is no pushover squad, either. The Panthers entered the game with a 4-1 record and had won games by 35 points and 21 points earlier in 2013.
Then they hit the Allen roadblock and everything changed in the span of one dominant performance by the defensive line.
"I think our kids maybe pressed a little bit," Plano East coach Randy Jackson told the Plano Star. "It's a rival and a team that beat us bad last year, so I think they pressed a bit and you can't do that here."
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