This past Friday, the McKinney Lions went out against the Wildcats from Plano at Ron Poe Stadium. Following a loss against Plano West the week prior, the Lions were hungry to get redemption against the Wolves’ crosstown rivals. The Lions haven’t played against the Wildcats since Plano was moved up to 6A in 2014. In the two years prior to that in which the two teams played, the Lions lost both games and were outscored 66-28 across those two years. This year however, the Lions reversed that pattern, after a 31-28 win.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lions were down 3-7, but after touchdowns from Quinton Quirrenbach and Matt Gadek, McKinney finished the first half with an interception by Tyson Wilson up 17-7. The Lions were able to stop the Wildcats from kicking a field goal in the second quarter with a Tyson Wilson block. The Wildcats then came back with a score of their own to close the gap and make it 17-14 at the end of the third. The fourth quarter is where the game got interesting. John Marrs threw another touchdown to Quirrenbach to make the score 24-14. Plano then answered with a touchdown of their own and narrowed the gap to three points again. Matt Gadek then scored his second touchdown of the game to raise the score to 31-21. In one final desperate attempt, Plano scored a touchdown and attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by junior WR Troydell Griffin, and the Lions knelt to win the game.

QB John Marrs finished with 15 completions for 216 yards and two touchdowns. RB Matt Gadek ran 27 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, CB Tyson Wilson finished with 1 interception and a blocked field goal.

The Lions travel to Denton this week to take on the 4-1 Denton Guyer Wildcats. The game is on Friday at 7:30 pm at C.H. Collins Stadium.