Andrew Snyder - Plano Star - December 2, 2008

PLANO - Cedar Hill came into its game against Plano Senior with an undefeated record, giving Plano another chance at a high profile win.

It was the football players’ first game of the season and they wanted to open with a victory. But there was no such luck for the Wildcats, as the Longhorns not only safeguarded their reputation, but enhanced it with an 82-45 win.

The Longhorns were operating together like a team halfway through the season.

“We were obviously lacking in our quickness compare to theirs,” said Phil Parlin, Plano head coach. “That made it very difficult for us and got us into some foul trouble.”

Cedar Hill’s defense kept Plano to the outside and away from uncontested rebounds. The Longhorns established a rhythm of stopping Plano, driving the ball across the court and scoring. The only means the Wildcats had of stopping the Longhorns was through fouls, but that just shifted where they got their points from. Plano had 22 fouls total on the night. In contrast, Cedar Hill never panicked on defense.

“We got hit in the mouth,” said Zach Robles, Plano junior.

At this point, some Wildcats were already considering themselves beat.

“It really hurt us when we got down 12-2,” Parlin said. “The kids get that mindset of, ‘there we go again.’”

What kept the Wildcats from falling irredeemably far behind in the first quarter was the effectiveness of some of their outside shooting. Robles made dual three-point shots in the first quarter, two-thirds of the team total.

But a Cedar Hill run in the opening minutes of the second quarter further deflated the Wildcats. After opening with a dunk, the Longhorns stole the ball back and scored, then repeated the procedure across the half. Plano had opportunities to split the drives, but one Cedar Hill blocker was enough to stop the Wildcats from scoring. Longhorn players were ever aware of their teammate’s position on the court and fed the ball to the key spot.

Towards the end of the half Plano got its first effective defensive stop. Sophomore Rashad Smith reached his arms around the Cedar Hill offense, sending the ball into the hands of senior Rex Burkhead, who streaked to the goal for the most kinetic Wildcats points yet. On the defensive side senior Ryan McDuff spent himself trying to stop the Longhorns offense, but to little effect. Such energetic moves were somewhat of a stretch for the new guys on the field still adjusting to a new sport.

“It always takes a while to get back into basketball shape,” Burkhead said. “You think that you’re in shape coming from football, but once you get on the court there’s a big difference.”

Parlin was still impressed with the footballers’ efforts.

“Rex and Ryan competed very well,” he said. “They still don’t know everything we’re running, but we’ll get better.”

A solid play couldn’t get Plano too excited though, as they were still down 40-23.

It resolved back into score and steal and score again for the Longhorns in the third quarter, only difference being that this half they added some style. They weren’t ostentatious, but a solo dunk or an alley-oop made it clear they were comfortable with their lead.

The balance seemed to shift somewhat late in the game, with Cedar Hill looking tired and scoring fewer points and Plano staying consistent yet behind. But fouls continued to stifle the Wildcats momentum. When they took the ball a foul ensued, when they attempted to score a foul ensued. Some players showed their potential: Burkhead put together four points on a shot and a subsequent drive to the goal and McDuff continued to spearhead the Wildcat defense. But contributions came from few sources.

In the fourth quarter Plano was outscored 25-10 and their defeat sealed, 82-45. The Wildcats high scorer was Burkhead, with 10 points.

“It was a tough loss,” Robles said. “We had new members, we didn’t focus and we didn’t play with heart.”