Following a week four bye week, the McKinney Lions football team begins district today. Following the realignment over the winter, the Lions were moved up to 6A, and put in a district with Allen, Wylie, all three Plano schools, Denton Guyer, and McKinney Boyd.

This district was named one of the 5 toughest divisions in Texas football by ABC Channel 8. It was also compared to the Big Ten in college football, in that there are two conceived powerhouses (Allen and Denton Guyer), but the article named MHS as a comparative to Michigan State, a dark horse that could come from out of nowhere and win the district. When talking about preparing for 6A compared to 5A, Senior starting Quarterback John Marrs had this to say: “The speed of the game is much faster and the players are much bigger and more physical. You gotta go into each week preparing for a fight because there are 8 good teams in every single district.”

Last year, the Lions went 3-7 in District 10-5A. This year, the Lions have started at 3-0 and look to continue their undefeated streak as long as possible. On the team, the chemistry has changed. Junior Wide Receiver Quinton Quirrenbach sees that the “[higher] chance of making playoffs… makes this season so much more exciting.”

Not only is the chemistry of the team changing, but the feeling around McKinney High is changing itself. Junior defensive lineman Marcus Ramsey sees that “the feeling has changed dramatically around the school. Last year people would only come to socialize and wouldn’t actually watch the game and now they’re a lot more supportive and hype at the games.” Despite a 3-0 start though, some people still don’t believe McKinney High can collect a significant amount of wins in the new district. Ramsey again says “we’re so slept on but we just go out and use all the doubters comments as motivation to show them what McKinney High Football is all about.”

The Lions have a tough schedule ahead of them, but they believe that they can go out and collect some wins in one of the hardest districts in Texas. The Lions play today against the Plano West Wolves down in Plano at John Clark Stadium at 7:30.