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No. 8 PLANO (1-0) at IRVING MACARTHUR (0-1)
7 p.m. Thursday at Irving Schools Stadium

When we saw them last: Plano shut out Garland Lakeview Centennial 56-0 behind a balanced attack between RB Rakeem Crawford and QB Richard Lagow. Irving MacArthur put up enough offense to win, but its defense faltered in a 40-33 loss to Mansfield Timberview at Mansfield's R.L. Anderson Stadium.

2010 result: Last year’s matchup in Week 1 was a battle of two unbeatens, after MacArthur beat Timberview 26-10. Plano and MacArthur put up similar stats throughout the game, but MacArthur’s five turnovers helped Plano to a 24-8 win.

What’s at stake: Pride. Plano has a No. 8 area ranking to improve upon and a loss to MacArthur would set them back in the hunt to being one of the area’s best regular-season teams. MacArthur has a tradition of good football that they can defend with a win over Plano.

Key matchup: Defenses. While the outcome of Plano and MacArthur’s games were different, both were able to move the ball on offense through the air and on the ground. The defense that steps up and makes the most stops will lead their team to victory.

Players to watch: Plano LB Xavier Harbert and DE Dwayne Hicks will face the challenge of disrupting MacArthur dual-threat QB Justin Chavez.

Prediction: Plano 35, MacArthur 7